ehud barak

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

Illustrative photo of Israeli soldiers arresting a Palestinian man in the West Bank, June 23, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

The origins of Israeli racism lie in our hyper-militarized society

Israel was established and continues to exist in a mentality of constant war. Our racism is only a symptom. One of the most influential institutions in Iranian politics is the Guardian Council. Among its many roles, the Council filters out presidential candidates, deciding who can and who cannot run in the elections. It even has the…

By Orly Noy July 1, 2019

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon speeks with Benjamin Netanyahu (L) during a Knesset session. (Flash90)

The biggest myth about Israeli politics

It’s tempting to believe that non-politicians are the antidote to bad politicians, but it’s also wrong. In 2011, the Israeli pop singer Roni Superstar released a song called “Adoni” — literally “my lord,” or colloquially, “sir.” For sarcastic overtones, “His highness” will also do. Here is my free translation: “His Highness will tell me what…

By Dahlia Scheindlin April 24, 2019

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and Air Force commander Ido Nehoshtanas inspect an F-15, August 11, 2009. (Edo Israel/Flash90)

The attack on Iran that wasn’t: Ehud Barak’s autobiography

As Israel’s defense minister, Ehud Barak was determined to carry out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program. His book provides the tools to examine the limitations of the U.S.-Israeli relationship and the considerations Israeli leaders put into the decision to go to war. By Shemuel Meir “My Country, My Life: Fighting for Israel, Searching…

By +972 Magazine January 17, 2019

A screenshot from the B'Tselem video documenting the raid on the Da'na family's home in Hebron.

What would you do if soldiers dragged your son out of bed in the middle of the night?

After more than half a century of occupation, most Israelis can no longer imagine themselves in the place of the Palestinians. But if we cannot imagine what it is like to live under occupation, we must at least confront its brutal reality. Twenty years ago, in March 1998, the head of the Labor Party Ehud…

By Orly Noy June 8, 2018

Incoming Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon meets with outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak's at his office in Tel Aviv, March 19 2013 after the new defence minister was sworn in last night. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry/Flash90)

What Labor’s new leader must do to resuscitate the Left

Instead of creating an lifeboat for undesired political has-beens, new Labor leader Avi Gabbay should try to unite Israel’s center-left behind a defiant message in the face of an emboldened right-wing coalition. By Abe Silberstein There are more than enough reasons for Labor Party voters to be thoroughly skeptical of their recently-elected leader, Avi Gabbay. He…

By +972 Magazine August 24, 2017

Palestinian and Israeil flags (Activestills)

Israelis, Palestinians are ready to accept international consensus

For the first time since 1967, both the Israeli public and the Palestinians are likely to accept an outline for a final-status agreement based on international law. By Shmuel Lederman A recent poll conducted by the The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research and the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion on an outline for a…

By +972 Magazine May 6, 2017

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivering a statement to the press at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, December 28, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

What happens the ‘day after’ Netanyahu?

Even as the end of Netanyahu’s reign seems to be approaching, it’s no time to celebrate — the problems in Israel run far deeper than one man. Over the past few years, the top echelons of the Jewish Israeli Left have been trying to figure out how to remove or “replace” Prime Minister Netanyahu. Those…

By +972 Magazine January 24, 2017

People watch the election results in Times Square, New York City, November 9, 2016. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)

Cheer up! Trump’s victory gives us reasons to be optimistic

The election of Donald Trump is a reminder that when the American people want change, they go out and make it. When will the same thing apply to Israelis? The grief that overcame my Facebook feed Wednesday morning is understandable. The thought that a violent, racist, anti-Semitic man such as Donald Trump will now hold run…

By Orly Noy November 9, 2016

Ehud Barak speaks at Haaretz's Israel Conference for Peace at the David InterContinental hotel in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, July 8, 2014. (Flash90)

Don’t call it a comeback: Really, please don’t come back

Ehud Barak isn’t the ‘only hope’ to defeat Netanyahu. He is, however, the most dangerous prime minister Israel has ever had. It seems Ehud Barak is planning a return to politics: posters have appeared calling on him to “run” (where exactly is unclear), and now even Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy reluctantly voiced the opinion that…

By Dimi Reider September 8, 2016

Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai (Photo by Activestills.org)

Tel Aviv mayor says the occupation is a cause of Palestinian terror

Huldai tells Army Radio that Israel may be the ‘only country in the world holding another nation under occupation without civil rights.’ Tel Aviv-Jaffa Mayor Ron Huldai shocked many Israelis Thursday morning when he cited Israel’s occupation as one factor that leads Palestinians to turn to terrorism. Speaking on Army Radio about Wednesday’s deadly shooting attack…

By Edo Konrad June 9, 2016

Binyamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman thank their supporters at the Likud-Israel Beitenu headquarter, January 23 2013 (photo: Yotam Ronen / Activestills)

Avigdor Liberman’s new job: Control over four million Palestinians

Netanyahu may have found an opportunity to take revenge on the old IDF elites, but in doing so has put one of Israel’s most hawkish politicians in charge of the occupation. Avigdor Liberman’s appointment as defense minister is, in my eyes, one of Netanyahu’s most surprising moves (in fact, on Wednesday I argued that it…

By Noam Sheizaf May 19, 2016

Labor chairman Isaac Herzog (Photo by Activestills.org)

The life and death of the Israeli peace camp

Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog is channeling the same tropes and spin Ehud Barak used to destroy the peace process 15 years ago. Will we have to wait another decade and a half for him to admit what he’s done? On a balmy evening in October of 2000, Ehud Barak, then the Israeli prime minister…

By Edo Konrad February 13, 2016