Israeli politics
The PeacemakerMonday, November 26, 2012 by Seth Lipsky | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
About Menachem Begin the thing that I remember most was the way he talked. Begin wouldn’t say that he was born on the eve of the First World War; he’d say, as he did when a group of us from the Wall Street Journal interviewed him in 1981, that he was born “into” World War I.
What are Israel’s Rights in Judea and Samaria? Two ViewsThursday, August 9, 2012 by JHH Weiler, Yaffa Zilbershats, and Avi Bell | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Two differing views of a controversial report on the legality of Jewish settlements in territories seized in the Six-Day War.
Deportation DilemmasThursday, June 28, 2012 by Elli Fischer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
Developed countries inevitably attract migrants in search of freedom or economic opportunity; no less inevitably, some native-born citizens react negatively, occasionally with violence, as neighborhoods change and livelihoods become threatened by the influx of cheaper labor.
The Lone WolfFriday, July 23, 2010 by Elliot Jager | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features
The 70th yahrzeit of Vladimir Ze'ev Jabotinsky (1880-1940) was marked on July 11, at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres. There was nary a mention of it in the Israeli media—an extraordinary omission given that Jabotinsky was not only a founder of the Haganah and the supreme commander of the Irgun but also a towering Zionist theoretician and leader.
Editors' Picks
Who Needs a Constitution? Yaacov Lozowick, Israel State Archives. Popular opinion holds that the religious parties prevented Israel from adopting a constitution. But the archives show that the real obstacle was Ben-Gurion.
How to Draft Haredim Yehoshua Pfeffer, Tikvah Fund. "Haredim today are seen not merely as unequal partners in the army, but altogether as non-partners. To change this, Israeli society needs to focus on fostering partnership rather than equality."
Netanyahu Announces a January Election Yolande Knell, BBC. The Prime Minister has called for an early election because, among other things, an early election is an election he thinks he can win.
The Arab Minority in the Jewish State Anita Shapira, Israel Democracy Institute. How can Israel reconcile the needs of a majority that isn’t used to being a majority with the needs of a minority that isn’t used to being a minority? (Video)
The Element of Surprise Dan Williams, Reuters. The Israelis may have invented the world’s cleverest means of disguising their Iran strategy: a public discussion so cacophonous that no one has a clue about what they might do.
Rabbinical School Encounters Matt Abelson, SPME. “My willingness to criticize the Palestinians, in general, and their political leadership, specifically, was not mainstream.” A Conservative rabbi-in-training responds to Elliot Jager, and to his peers.
Start-Up Nation, Shut-Down Bureacracy , Associated Press. Israel has lots of sun and the best of solar technology. But just try getting the government’s go-ahead for a solar energy project.
Israel’s New Academic Diversity Dror Eydar, Israel Hayom. The opposition of Israel’s academic establishment to Ariel University is less about its location than the fact that Ariel threatens the Left’s hegemony over higher education.
The Wild West Bank Andrew Friedman, Jerusalem Post. When Avri Ran arrived in 1998, Givot Olam was a barren hilltop. Now it is the site of one of Israel’s largest organic farms—and one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the West Bank.
Roots of the Right Elliot Jager, Jewish Ideas Daily. Despite Ben-Gurion’s attempts to silence Begin, the uncompromising commitment to peace and security upheld by Begin, Shamir, and now Netanyahu came to win the hearts of the Israeli people.