ultra-Orthodox Jews

Israeli security forces guard as Jews tour the Palestinian side of the old city market in the West Bank city of Hebron, June 15, 2019. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

Elections reveal a seismic split within Israel’s right

Once the ascendant elite, the settler movement’s political power is on the decline. By Meron Rapoport While political analysts wonder if we have come to the end of the Netanyahu era, little attention is being paid to another major outcome of this election — that is, the decline of the national religious movement’s political power.…

By +972 Magazine September 19, 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

Mahmoud Katusa, seen after his relese from Israeli prison, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Once there’s no Palestinian suspect, the media loses interest

The media played a key role in turning a Palestinian man into the top suspect in a recent child rape case. But ever since charges against him were dropped, the press seems to have lost interest in the case. By Uzi Benziman If you Google the recent rape case of a seven-year-old ultra-Orthodox girl in an ultra-Orthodox settlement in…

By The Seventh Eye July 11, 2019

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Mahmoud Katusa, seen after his release from Israeli prison, at the Beitunia crossing, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 25, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

How the media helped turn an innocent Palestinian into a child rapist

Mahmoud Katusa, who was falsely accused of raping a 7-year-old Jewish girl, fell victim to a press and a public atmosphere that views Palestinians as guilty until proven innocent. By Uzi Benziman In order to understand the false allegations against Mahmoud Katusa, a Palestinian man from the West Bank who was wrongfully accused of raping a…

By The Seventh Eye June 25, 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

Avigdor Liberman holds a press conference following the dissolving of the Knesset and ahead of the new elections, Tel Aviv, May 30, 2019. (Flash90)

Why are Israeli liberals suddenly courting a far-right nationalist?

Liberman’s political maneuvering may just bring about King Bibi’s downfall, but that doesn’t mean secular liberals should forget the reasons they opposed him all these years. Avigdor Liberman has, over the past decade, exerted a greater impact on Israel’s political discourse than any other lawmaker. In just a few years, he made once unthinkable ideas — such as…

By Edo Konrad May 30, 2019

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops during in the West Bank city of Hebron, February 9, 2018. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

The price Mizrahim pay for serving in the Israeli army

Mizrahim are forced to carry out the dirty work of the occupation, coming face to face with their Palestinian subjects in the West Bank. It doesn’t have to be this way. It is hard to know for sure what kind of considerations are at the heart of the growing crisis between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu…

By Orly Noy May 29, 2019

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lights the 'Hanukkia' on the First night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, December 06, 2018. (Marc Israel Sellem/GPO)

Netanyahu will do all he can to destroy Jewish-Arab alliances

The alliance between Palestinian citizens of Israel and the Jewish left has historically been viewed as a threat to the rule of the right. That’s why Netanyahu is doing everything he can to undermine it. By Eli Bitan The Israeli right knows exactly how to harm the left: by making its alliance with Palestinian citizens…

By +972 Magazine December 10, 2018

Police fire "Skunk" water against ultra-Orthodox Jews who are blocking a main road during a demonstration, protesting against the imprisonment of their fellow Haredim, who have been detained by the army for not enlisting, West Jerusalem, November 26, 2017. (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

This is what it looks like to be hit by Israel’s ‘Skunk’

The ‘Skunk,’ a foul-smelling liquid most often used to suppress Palestinian demonstrations, is now finding a new target: ultra-Orthodox Jews. For much of the past year, Israeli forces have been using a foul-smelling liquid shot from a water cannon at high velocity to try and put down a burgeoning protest movement by ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem.…

By Edo Konrad November 27, 2017

Prime Minister Netanyahu attends a joint event of the Knesset and the U.S. Congress, at the Chagall state hall in the Knesset, Jerusalem, June 7, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Netanyahu can count on U.S. Jews to stay silent on the occupation

The prime minister sparked controversy when he announced he wouldn’t be speaking at the biggest Jewish American event of the year. But Bibi knows that no matter what, American Jews won’t speak out against his occupation policies. Prime Minister Netanyahu knows that no matter what, he can count on American Jews not to speak out against…

By Joshua Leifer October 31, 2017

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man argues with an Israeli police officer during a demonstration against businesses that operate on Saturdays in Jerusalem, August 12, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

What’s dividing Israeli society? Just don’t mention the occupation

Is it possible to discuss the sources of Israeli disunity without addressing the country’s military regime in the West Bank and siege on Gaza? Can Israelis ever accept Palestinians as part of that conversation? The plight, let alone the very existence of millions of disenfranchised people living under Israeli military rule, was nowhere to be…

By Edo Konrad October 24, 2017

Ultra-Orthodox Jews clash with Israeli police during a protest against the arrest of a Haredi Jew who failed to comply with an IDF recruitment order, near the army recruiting office, Jerusalem, September 17, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox team up with left-wing Israelis to fight police brutality

In their struggle to combat the state’s attempt draft them into the army, ultra-Orthodox Israelis have faced unremitting police brutality. Now they are teaming up with left-wing and human rights activists to put a stop to the violence.

By Social TV October 8, 2017

Thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest businesses that operate on Saturdays , the Jewish day of rest, Jerusalem, June 29, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Ultra-Orthodox anger over Western Wall deal isn’t about American Jews

The Israeli government’s decision to abandon a deal creating an egalitarian prayer space at the Western Wall led to an unprecedented rift with Diaspora Jewry. But American Jews, and the Reform Movement in particular, are merely collateral damage — caught in the crossfire of an internal ultra-Orthodox power struggle. By Eli Bitan With all the…

By +972 Magazine July 6, 2017