knesset

Israeli soldiers check the IDs of Palestinian boys in the Old City of Hebron, West Bank, on May 23, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Nearly half of Knesset members were born into a reality of apartheid

Young Israeli lawmakers are arriving in parliament after an entire life in which Israel’s control over Palestinians is the natural state of the world. No fewer than 49 new members of Knesset took their oath of office on Tuesday, in large part thanks to the dizzying success of the stand-for-nothing Blue and White party. The…

By Orly Noy May 1, 2019

A Palestinian citizen of Israel casts her vote in the 2019 election, Taybeh, central Israel, April 9, 2019. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Likud attempts to intimidate Palestinian voters with hidden ballot cams

Poll workers from the Likud party are using hidden cameras to record Palestinian voters as they head to the polls on Election Day. The goal? To intimidate Arab citizens and make sure they stay home. Members of the ruling Likud party placed at least 1,200 hidden cameras on poll workers across Palestinian towns and villages in Israel…

By Haggai Matar April 9, 2019

A Bedouin woman from the unrecognized village of Al-Araqib sits in front of an Israeli police van. Israel has demolished al-Araqib over 100 times. (Illustrative photo by Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The most radical thing you can say in Israel

The Knesset won’t even allow this law to be discussed, let alone voted on, because it proposes making Israel a ‘state of all its citizens.’ Why is that so threatening? The presidium of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, decided on Monday that a proposed law seeking to define Israel as “a state of all its citizens”…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man June 5, 2018

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Israeli right-wing protesters shout at a pro-peace demonstration, Rabin Square, Tel Aviv, August 9, 2014. Hundreds gathered in Tel Aviv to protest Israel’s attack on Gaza, despite a police decision to revoke the demonstration permit. (Keren Manor/Activestills)

Attempts to ‘bypass’ Israel’s High Court will create a ‘tyranny of the majority’

The government wants to strip the High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down unconstitutional laws, giving the government carte blanche to violate civil and human rights. The Israeli government has in recent days advanced legislation to limit or strip the country’s High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down laws it…

By Joshua Leifer April 17, 2018

Joint List MK Yousef Jabareen seen in the Knesset. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Knesset bars Arab MK from JVP-sponsored trip to U.S.

MK Yousef Jabareen was supposed to travel across the United States for a series of lectures on the political reality in Israel. The Knesset decided to put the kibosh on the trip — because it is sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace. The Knesset has forbidden an Arab member of Knesset from traveling to the…

By Edo Konrad March 14, 2018

Right-wing protesters wave Israeli flags as they demonstrate against a ceremony commemorating the Nakba that was held by Palestinian and Israeli students in the entrance to the Tel Aviv University. The event took place under heavy police presence, May 13, 2013. (Photo by: Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

The redundancy of Israel’s ‘Jewish Nation-State Law’

The Israeli government is pushing a law that would force judges to prioritize Israel’s Jewish character over democratic principles. But that has always been the case. The “Jewish Nation-State Law,” which is currently making its way through the Knesset as a proposed Basic Law – the closest thing Israel has to a constitutional amendment – would require…

By Amjad Iraqi July 12, 2017

Police arrest a demonstrator during a protest by thousands of Israeli-Ethiopians in Tel Aviv against violence and racism, May 3, 2015. (Ben Kelmer/Flash90)

WATCH: Ethiopian-Israelis take struggle to the corridors of power

Two years have passed since Ethiopian-Israelis took the streets to protest police brutality and widespread inequality. Now they are bringing their struggle to the Knesset, which recently marked a ‘Day for Equality for Ethiopian Immigrants.’ Members of Knesset, government officials, and social activists joined together to discuss discrimination in housing, budget allocation, higher education, and more.…

By Social TV June 15, 2017

Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli troops during a protest to show solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike, Nabi Saleh, West Bank, April 21, 2017. (Flash90)

Palestinians play a lead role in the theater of occupation

For 50 years, Israelis and Palestinians have lived separately-together under one rule. Only one group has been able to reap the fruits of democracy. By Hagai El-Ad When Israelis vote, Palestinians do not. But they do get to participate: they can watch. Like the residents of the Palestinian village of Beit Ur al-Fauqa in the occupied West…

By +972 Magazine June 2, 2017

Joint List MK Basel Ghattas is brought to court for a remand on his arrest at the Rishon Lezion Magistrate's Court, December 27, 2016. (Yair Sagi/Flash90)

In bid to expel Arab MK, Israel manages to break its own record

MK Basel Ghattas will serve two years for smuggling cellphones to Palestinian security prisoners. That’s a longer sentence than the one handed down to an Elor Azaria, who executed an incapacitated Palestinian. Congratulations are in order to the attorney general and the Knesset for the latest Arab they managed be put up on the cross.…

By Orly Noy March 18, 2017

Israeli LGBTQ activists take part in a vigil in solidarity with the victims of the Orlando massacre, in centre Tel Aviv, June 12, 2016. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

WATCH: What is Israel really doing for LGBTQ rights?

Much fanfare accompanies the Knesset’s annual LGBTQ rights day. But this year, as last year, the event coincided with a raft of LGBTQ rights legislation being shot down. Read more: Why the struggle for LGBT rights in Israel is far from over Why I interrupted a pro-army LGBTQ event in Tel Aviv Increasing homophobia mars…

By Social TV March 6, 2017

The ultra-Orthodox women challenging their society to include more women in positions of power. From left: Tali Farkash, Michal Tshernovitzki, Esti Bitton-Shoshan, and Esti Reider. (Noam Feiner)

Meet the women shaking up Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community has been experiencing tremendous changes, all led by women, over the past few years. At a recent conference, a group of Haredi women spoke about the personal price they pay, and the chance we could one day see them in the Knesset. By Eli Bitan In mid-November, women from the organization “Nivharot” (“chosen” or “elected” in Hebrew)…

By +972 Magazine December 11, 2016

Members of the Eritrean community in Israel light candles at a memorial service for a memorial ceremony for asylum seeker Habtom Zarhum in Levinsky park in south Tel Aviv, October 21, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Israeli teens charged for brutally beating asylum seeker to death

Darfuri asylum seeker Babikir Adham-Uvdo was beaten to death by two teenagers after he was allegedly seen speaking to a group of young women. Why aren’t more Israelis talking about it? By John Brown* Emmett Till was an African-American teenager from Mississippi who was lynched on August 14, 1955 during a visit to his relatives. His…

By +972 Magazine December 4, 2016

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres is seen with opposition leader Isaac Herzog at the funeral of former Knesset member Binyamin Fuad Ben-Eliezer at the Holon cemetery, August 30, 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Now that Peres is gone, it’s time the Zionist Left did some soul searching

Instead of condemning Arab MKs for boycotting Peres’ funeral, Zionist Left parties should ask themselves why Palestinian citizens don’t trust them. Why are so many Jews in Israel disappointed and angered by the Joint List’s decision to not attend Shimon Peres’ funeral? What is the source of the endless bitterness and incitement on the Internet? How…

By Samah Salaime October 5, 2016