tzipi livni

Tzipi Livni holds a press conference in the Knesset, January 1, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Tzipi Livni couldn’t save Israel because Israel doesn’t want to be saved

Tzipi Livni, who bid farewell to politics this week, won’t be Israel’s de Gaulle. She will not be the leader that shakes us out of our collective slumber. Today, it is difficult to imagine any other Israeli leader having the desire to even try. It’s strange to consider that a mere decade ago, Tzipi Livni and her Kadima party won…

By Edo Konrad February 19, 2019

Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz speaks at the annual World Zionist Conference, in Jerusalem on November 02, 2017. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The future is the center: Meet the parties shaking up Israeli politics

Caught between growing extremism on the right and a battered left, Israelis are flocking to a new crop of centrist politicians who prioritize economic issues over solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Galia Ben Haim discussed her political opinions while driving back from jail. In addition to her day job, she volunteers at a women’s prison. The inmates, she says, committed their…

By Dahlia Scheindlin January 28, 2019

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

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Education Minister Naftali Bennett, MK David Bitan, Culture Minister Miri Regev and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attend a Knesset plenum session, December 5, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Welcome to Netanyahu’s Westworld

Israelis have a choice: they can either oppose the occupation or watch the Right turn their country into a sadistic theme park. By Alon Mizrahi ‘Westworld’ is a new science fiction television show that revolves around a futuristic amusement park populated by androids. Westworld caters to high-paying guests who can do whatever they wish within…

By +972 Magazine December 11, 2016

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Haim Zach/GPO)

Why the ‘hijacking’ of Israeli democracy is a myth

We often hear that that Israeli democracy is being ‘hijacked’ by a group of right-wing extremists. Too bad the alternatives aren’t any more appealing. Labor MK Stav Shaffir, darling of the “pro-Israel, pro-peace” crowd, recently implored progressive American Jews to do what liberal Zionists have been attempting for the better half of the past decade: reclaim…

By Edo Konrad November 8, 2015

Mahmoud Abbas. (Olivier Pacteau)

Abbas’ peace project has hit a dead end

He chose the path of moderation. He agreed to a small Palestinian state alongside Israel. He won the support of America and Europe. He proved his obligation to maintaining security for Israelis. And he got nothing in return. The tragedy of Mahmoud Abbas, part one of a two-part series. By Menachem Klein Many hopes were…

By +972 Magazine September 30, 2015

Zionist Camp supporters listen to exit poll results, Tel Aviv, March 17, 2015. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Zionist Camp celebration foiled by election results

The election tie between Likud and Herzog’s Zionist Camp came as a shock to supporters who had gathered in Tel Aviv. Almost defiantly, they followed what became the night’s mantra: Nothing is decided yet. We haven’t lost. By Angela Gruber First, there was a party. When the results of the exit polls kept rolling in,…

By +972 Magazine March 18, 2015

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands on a tractor during a campaign event in the city of Ra'anana in central Israel, February 11, 2015. (Photo by Activestills.org)

The road to a fourth Netanyahu gov’t runs through Haneen Zoabi

The ‘Zionist Camp’ needs the Arab parties in order to form a government. Its decision to vote for disqualifying Zoabi makes that support less and less likely. The Central Elections Commission on Thursday disqualified MK Haneen Zoabi and candidate Baruch Marzel from running in Israel’s upcoming elections. The decision is not final without the approval…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man February 12, 2015

Labor leader Isaac Herzog, December 10, 2014. (Photo by Activestills.org)

For a few votes, Labor joins the attacks on Haneen Zoabi

Two years ago Herzog adamantly stated that the Labor party principally opposes disqualifying any Knesset candidates. Now, in what appears to be the groundwork for joining a Netanyahu government, he and Tzipi Livni want to stop Haneen Zoabi from running for office. The Labor Party and Tzipi Livni’s joint list, “The Zionist Camp,” announced this…

By Noam Sheizaf February 7, 2015

Ksneia Svetlova (Photo by Yasmin Yaira)

Don’t call her the ‘Russian candidate’: Meet Ksenia Svetlova

An interview with the latest addition to Tzipi Livni’s ‘Zionist Camp,’ on the heavy price Israel will pay if it can’t solve the Palestinian conflict, how much Russian and Mizrahi immigrants have in common, and whether the Labor/Livni list will consider forming a new government with Netanyahu. In the Israeli electoral system, party heads often…

By Orly Noy January 29, 2015

Members of newly announced "United List" of Arab parties in Israel ahead of March 17, 2015 election Photo: Courtesy Balad)

How the joint Arab slate challenges Israel’s discriminatory politics

For the first time, the Knesset could have a sizable political bloc that is ‘100 percent for equality, 100 percent against occupation.’ The joint Arab slate should use this to not only challenge the right-wing’s discriminatory agenda, but to expose the center-left’s distorted idea of democracy. Last week, the four main political parties representing Palestinian citizens of…

By Amjad Iraqi January 26, 2015

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress, May 24, 2011. (Photo by Avi Ohayun/GPO)

The ‘anti-Zionist’ camp goes mainstream in Israeli elections

Both Netanyahu and Livni are leveraging their international influence for electoral gain: Netanyahu in Congress and Livni at the United Nations. And, will the real Zionist camp please stand up? Elections are almost always referendums on the incumbent, and an incumbent always has an advantage against any challengers. One of those advantages is the ability…

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man January 23, 2015

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (Photo by Yotam Ronen/Activestills.org)

Is Eastern Europe the next front for fighting the occupation?

While Israel’s behavior has managed to antagonize many European countries, some former Soviet states have yet to take a stand against the occupation. That may just change soon enough. By Inna Michaeli The vile and repugnant behavior of Avigdor Liberman and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs toward Sweden (one of my favorite countries) has re-lit a…

By +972 Magazine January 18, 2015