Category Archives: Israeli Politics

The Government Fiddles while the People Burn

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

There is reason to believe that the present government of Israel is not only bloated and venal, but that it is staggeringly incompetent. The Prime Minister acts almost exclusively to protect himself, and not on behalf of the country. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Iran, Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, War | 1 Comment

Interesting Times

Posted on July 9, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

It’s been an interesting week for Israelis, mostly in the bad sense of the word. The news about the application of civilian law (not “annexation”) to parts of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley is that there is no news. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society | 1 Comment

Corona Days in Israel

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

Recently the European Union announced that it would reopen its borders to visitors from some other countries. Israel was not on the list (neither was the US). Many Israelis reacted indignantly, but objectively our Coronavirus situation is not good. On … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society | 1 Comment

Ministers of Silly Walks

Posted on April 26, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

I’ve complained several times (here and here) about the number of ministers and deputy ministers in the planned unity government and their cost. But this is only the symptom of the real problem. What’s truly wrong is that portfolios are … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 1 Comment

The Bibiad

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

The idea of a hero with a tragic flaw echoes throughout Western literature. It’s found in Homer, in classical Greek tragedy, and of course in the Bible. The tragic flaw is sometimes a character defect, a particular weakness in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 2 Comments

Governments and Other Parasites

Posted on April 5, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

Today is supposed to be the day Netanyahu and Gantz finalize their agreement to form Israel’s new unity government. But so what? What is a government for, anyway? Why do we allow ourselves to support such bloated, parasitic organisms? Especially … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 3 Comments

Israel’s Political Zoo

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

The greatest danger to Israel from the coronavirus is not a collapse of the healthcare system and a massive increase in the body count, as happened in Italy. It’s not impossible, but most groups – with the notable exception of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 2 Comments

A Short Political History of Israel

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

In the pre-state period, the socialist Left dominated the yishuv. They created the institutions that would form the basis of the state, and ran them according to their ideology. The Histadrut labor federation dominated the economy; its closely allied kibbutz … Continue reading →

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