Category Archives: Israeli Politics

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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Bibi Derangement in the Age of Corona

Posted on March 22, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

If there is one theme that PM Netanyahu’s opponents are banging away at – and that includes not just his political opposition, but most of the mainstream media in Israel and a small army on social media – it is … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Arabs, Israeli Politics | 1 Comment

Israel at War — with Corona

Posted on March 15, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

Good morning from locked down Israel. I was hoping to write that the Corona virus (called COVID-19) had accomplished what three elections failed to do, and forced the forming of an emergency unity government, as Netanyahu proposed. His main opponent, … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society | 2 Comments

Too Much Democracy?

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

The idea that there should be an independent sovereign Jewish state in the world is, to understate the fact, controversial. Much of the European-oriented West and certainly the Arab Middle East opposes it. Even many diaspora Jews either don’t see … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Arabs, Israeli Politics | 2 Comments

Anger, not Apathy

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

The media say that Israeli voters are apathetic. They aren’t – they are furious. About a third of them aren’t expected to vote at all in the March 2 election, an unprecedented third in 11 months. And polls show that … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 4 Comments

Groundhog Day in Israel

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Victor Rosenthal

Israel should not be in the spot it is in, without a government and heading for a third election within 12 months, an election that – if you can believe the polls – will turn out as inconclusive as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 2 Comments