It seems that in those countries where conservatives win elections, opinion polls and exit polling are proving less accurate.  Think about Trump in the US, or Morrison here in Australia.  Or Israel.  Perhaps conservative voters are less likely to publicise their intentions. Never the less this time the Israeli polling …

We are seeing a rerun of the April 2019 Israeli elections but with one big difference, this time round we will have a government formed. The question is, what government? In the main, the issue in April was whether the people wanted to elect the statesman Prime Minister Netanyahu, or …

The amazing thing about coming to Israel, perhaps especially in summer, is that for all of the fears that people outside of Israel have for her, apparently Israelis themselves are not troubled nearly as much as her supporters overseas are. In Australia we worry for Israel about Iran.  We worry …

The Palestinians have only themselves to blame for unifying the bulk of the Israeli public and for not being a hot issue of division in the forthcoming Israeli elections. A century of unbroken Palestinian intransigence is best expressed by the Palestine Arab Executive Committee’s statement in 1921, “Either us or …

The amazing thing about coming to Israel, perhaps especially in summer, is that for all of the fears that people outside of Israel have for her, apparently Israelis themselves are not troubled nearly as much as her supporters overseas are. In Australia we worry for Israel about Iran. We worry …

How did that happen? Notwithstanding the individual party count from the April 9thelections, the single outstanding overall result was that fully 65 members of the Knesset (out of 120), recommended to President Rivlin that Netanyahu be invited to form a government. With only 45 recommending Gantz. This in itself signalled …

It’s a difficult time for pollsters. Whether it be in the USA, Israel or Australia, it seems that the common denominator is that they are not an accurate indicator of too much at all. Moreover, exit polling which was usually regarded as being more exact, also proved to not be …

These elections are perhaps the most interesting in recent times, even though there are really only two candidates running. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Bibi. Which side of Netanyahu will figure more prominently in the eyes of the Israeli electorate – the statesman also known as ‘Mr Security’, or the person …

A month ago we raised three questions in regards to the forthcoming Israeli election . The first has been answered. A group of three ex IDF Chiefs of Staff – Gantz, Ya’alon and Ashkenazi – have joined together with Yair Lapid to present the Israeli people an alternate leadership to …

Prime Minister Netanyahu has stood head and shoulders above his political opponents for the past decade because he has managed to convince the electorate of two factors. Firstly that in effect he is Israel’s ‘security guard’ and secondly that notwithstanding any of his flaws, no-one else is really up to …

The silly season is upon us and the even sillier season seems to be approaching fast. Israel is going to elections on the 9thof April. On the one hand when it comes to actual policies, it is the Seinfeld election – yet again – an election about nothing – well …

Election fever raged briefly in Israel as a result of the resignation of Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman earlier this month, taking his party with him and leaving the current coalition with just a razor slim majority of 61 seats in a 120 seat parliament. The trigger for Lieberman’s resignation threw …

The relationship between Israel and the United States has evolved over the past decades with the most important factor in this unequal partnership, being the views of the US president of the day. President Truman vacillated on the question of whether there should or should not be a Jewish State and was primarily focused on 2 factors. He …

Next month it will be twenty five years since Oslo and that famous handshake on the White House lawn by Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat under the patronage of President Bill Clinton. And a lot will be written about this anniversary. The one undeniable truth over this period has …

On the annual indexes across the globe conducted by survey agencies, Israeli’s consistently rate amongst the highest of nations whose citizens have the most number of complaints about life. Simultaneously they also poll just as highly on the happiness index. To some wags this simply means that Israelis are most happy when they …

Once again, it is quite surreal being in Israel. And on many levels. But why should this trip be any different? In Jerusalem and Tel Aviv the biggest challenge is finding a seat in overcrowded cafés or restaurants, whilst the residents of the south are still dealing with those “peaceful …

If I hear the phrase “peaceful demonstration” just one more time, I will have no hair left on my head to tear out. One wonders how it can be that otherwise seemingly intelligent people like Labor’s Anthony Albanese can look at the Hamas violence and say: “International law requires a …

Nations Bless Israel. Blessed are you O Lord our G-d, ruler of the universe, who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to reach this day. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לזְּמַן הַזֶּה. My parents – both survivors – came to this great country …

Israel is 70 years young. Her existence is a miracle, her growth and development have defied any reasonable predictions, and her achievements are amazing. The vibrancy and diversity of Israeli life are a marvel. Israel’s democracy and rule of law, morality and ethical principles, remain her compass through troubled waters. …

Last Wednesday I was invited to a Jewish Day School to spend an hour with their Year 12 students to talk about issues related to Israel.  One aspect we discussed were the Land Day protests planned by Hamas that would be coming out of Gaza two days later. It was …