avigdor liberman

A Jewish Israeli man holding an Israeli flag confronts a Palestinian woman holding a kaffiyeh on the sidelines of the ultra-nationalist "Jerusalem Day" march, May 13, 2018. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Jewish-Arab partnership as an antidote to Jewish supremacism

We need to redefine Israeli politics. No more left and right, liberal or conservative, religious versus secular. Instead: a new partnership of Arabs and Jews, working side-by-side to combat Jewish supremacism. By Meron Rapoport and Ameer Fakhoury Israel has been at a political dead end for many months, particularly since the most recent national election…

By +972 Magazine October 30, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at Likud headquarters on election night, Tel Aviv, September 17, 2019. (Gili Yaari/Flash90)

How Netanyahu mainstreamed his dark, anti-democratic vision for Israel

By attacking the judiciary, bringing extremists into his coalition, and trying to subvert voting rights, Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a dark vision of an anti-democratic future for Israeli politics. By Harry Reis Benjamin Netanyahu emerged from September’s repeat elections a failure. Denied his desired majority, the prime minister’s only real hope of retaining power now…

By +972 Magazine October 4, 2019

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man argues with a secular social justice protester in Tel Aviv, July 18, 2011. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

PODCAST: What does Israeli liberalism look like?

Public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin argues that the fierce debate over the separation of religion and state in Israel’s latest elections could lead to a wider liberal shift in society. By +972 Magazine Staff Listen here: iTunes/Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify Almost two weeks after Israeli voters cast their ballots for a second time this year, it is still unclear which candidate will…

By +972 Magazine September 27, 2019

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Israelis protest against a joint Israeli-Palestinian memorial ceremony in Tel Aviv on April 17, 2018. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Netanyahu might be on his way out, but Israelis remain firmly right wing

Voters might be weary of Netanyahu’s decade-long reign, but the numbers show that the vast majority of Israelis remain consistent in their voting habits. The cashier at an organic food shop in Tel Aviv was a burly man with a crew-cut. I asked if he had voted, but he didn’t understand the question. Then he explained in halting…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 18, 2019

Israeli citizens cast their ballots at a voting station in Jerusalem, during the Knesset elections on April 9, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Why Israelis are going to the polls for a second time this year

Five things you should know about the second Israeli national elections in six months. By +972 Magazine Staff How do Israeli elections work? Israel is a multi-party system, which means several parties will be competing for citizens’ votes come Election Day. There are 5.8 million Israeli citizens who are eligible to vote this time. Of the…

By +972 Magazine September 16, 2019

Meretz Chairman Nitzan Horowitz (right), Former Israeli Prime Minister and leader of Israel Democratic Party Ehud Barak (center) and Israeli MK Stav Shaffir seen during a Democratic Union election event in Tel Aviv, July 30, 2019. (Photo by Flash90)

Israel’s Ashkenazi elites won’t let Mizrahim lead the left

More than 70 years after Israel was founded, the old Ashkenazi guard of the Israeli left is still doing everything in its power to prevent Mizrahim and other oppressed groups from taking the reins. By Lev Grinberg Give or take a few seats, it seems things will remain much as they were following Election Day on…

By +972 Magazine September 16, 2019

A Jewish Israeli man shouts at Palestinians while waving the Israeli flag in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day, June 2, 2008. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

Voting Netanyahu out is not going to ‘save’ Israel-Palestine

Israeli citizens are about to vote in national elections for the second time in six months. But has anything changed since April? Why is no one talking about the occupation? And are we really about to see the end of the Netanyahu era? +972 writers talk about why these elections matter. Israeli voters will head to the…

By Natasha Roth-Rowland September 15, 2019

An Arab woman casts her vote at a polling station in the city of Lyd on October 22, 2013. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

How the rising power of the Arab electorate is thwarting Netanyahu

The prime minister didn’t reckon with the rising power of the Arab electorate. For the first time, he’s seeing his anti-Arab incitement stymied by old-fashioned realpolitik. By Meron Rapoport Netanyahu probably did not really believe he would be allowed to pass into law a bill permitting camera surveillance in polling stations on Election Day — not with Attorney General Avichai…

By +972 Magazine September 10, 2019

Democratic Union party leaders Ehud Barak, Stav Shaffir and Nitzan Horowitz hold a press conference launching their campaign ahead of the Knesset elections. Tel Aviv, August 12, 2019 (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

Meretz is the last Jewish anti-occupation party. But for how long?

As Israel’s center-left and centrist parties have dropped the topic of the occupation over the years, Meretz has remained the sole Jewish party to emphasize ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But can it continue to hold out amidst running mate Ehud Barak’s talk of annexation? By Meron Rapoport Meretz has seen its fair share of criticism…

By +972 Magazine September 6, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an event at the President's residence in Jerusalem on July 1, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

If voters won’t get rid of Netanyahu, will the elites do it for them?

The same political system that Netanyahu thinks he has mastered could now bring about his demise. If it was up to the Israeli public alone, Benjamin Netanyahu might well continue as prime minister when the vote on Sept. 17 is over. Polls so far show almost no change in voting patterns for the ideological party blocs…

By Dahlia Scheindlin September 5, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman visit the separation wall between Israel and the West Bank near the village of Tarqumiyah, July 20, 2016. (Haim Zach/GPO)

The Israeli right stopped talking about occupation, and that will hurt it at the polls

Netanyahu has joined forces with religious radicals who have stopped talking about Palestinians and are instead pushing a homophobic and sexist agenda. It may just might seal his political doom. By Meron Rapoport It didn’t take long for Prime Minister Netanyahu to use the doomsday weapon against Avigdor Liberman immediately following the last elections. Netanyahu blamed his…

By +972 Magazine August 27, 2019

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his wife Sara and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia, June 7, 2016. (Haim Zach/GPO)

Netanyahu’s Putin campaign alienates Israel’s Russian-speaking voters

A new election poster of Netanyahu gloating about his relationship with the Russian authoritarian leader may have entirely missed the mark with younger Russian-speaking voters, revealing deep generational divides. By Lily Galili Over the past few years, Israel has seen a small stream of new immigrants from Russia. Tens of thousands of liberal, educated Jews from a fairly high…

By +972 Magazine August 9, 2019

Avigdor Liberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seen at the opening winter session of the Knesset, October 23, 2017. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

The right wing in Israel is in a deep crisis

Snap elections just weeks after Israelis went the polls are the result of a rivalry between Liberman and Netanyahu, but that’s just part of the story. The right is immersed in a crisis of identity, leadership, and politics. By Meron Rapoport What happened to Avigdor Liberman? Why did he insist on cutting short what will…

By +972 Magazine June 2, 2019