Tag Archives: Knesset

There are not a whole lot of people within the Israeli political system that I’m pleased with at the moment – and that is a polite understatement of major proportions. What evolved yesterday was the final stage of a process of wheeling and dealing that has been destructive for the …

It’s official. Israel’s 35th government was sworn in on Sunday after a full 500 days of angst that included three elections and the problems of an interim government. The Knesset approved the new government by a vote of 73 to 46. People are celebrating the fact that a fourth election …

Well, if nothing changes between now and Wednesday, we will finally see an actual Israeli government being sworn in. The main potential crinkle it would appear, is an internal Likud bun fight over the reduced number of cabinet portfolios left to divide, after the achievements of Benny Gantz. Gantz took …

There is something surreal about the current situation, as if time is standing still. It isn’t, of course.  Someday ‒ let us pray before too very long! ‒ we will look back on this and say, “Remember when…” Here in Israel the gov’t is making noises about slowly reducing restrictions. …

The tenets of “defensive democracy” require Israel to act against those who would use its democracy to undermine the very foundations on which it is founded. Clause 7A of Basic Law: Knesset: 1. A candidates’ list shall not participate in elections to the Knesset, and a person shall not be …

Devastating drought and bush fires in Australia and extreme flooding in Israel. On the political level regarding satisfaction/action assessments by the electorate, much centres on image and perception. Just ask Prime Minister Scott Morrison for one. We are fast approaching the third act of the continuing Israeli election process in …

Despite its many undoubted merits, democracy has one glaring detriment. There is never a dictator to blame for the fate that befalls the people. They alone are responsible for whatever befalls them. Israel is now hurtling towards its third national election within a year. Not Force Majeure  This was not …

I have made no secret of it: the current election campaign has not exactly been an enlightening period for Israel. For many of us, this has been a source of great sadness. Our nation is capable of better – of a more elevated campaign. There has been too much back-biting, …

Israel turned into the Middle Eastern version of Italy tonight as Binyamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition, and the Knesset voted to dissolve itself – a mere 7 weeks or so after the last elections. As far as I understand (and I may be wrong in which case please …

Today – Thursday – is Yom Hashoah, or as it is referred to, Holocaust Remembrance Day for the Martyrs and the Heroes.  The heroes should never be forgotten. In Israel, the Holocaust is commemorated on a different day on the calendar than elsewhere in the world, and it imparts a …

Thirty-seven years ago, during the First Lebanon war, Israeli troops engaged in a fierce and bloody battle with Syrian and affiliated PLO units at Sultan Yacoub near the Syrian border. Tank Commander Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel (pictured) went missing, along with Zvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz. The three were …

“Say It Proud!” It’s about time! Actually, past time. MK Avi Dichter (Likud), chair of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has been promoting a version of this bill for years now. But the situation has shifted, making success not only possible now but very likely. The bill – …

Consider the following remarkable facts regarding Israel’s parliamentary history: 1) For 20 of the 28 years between 1977 (when Likud first won the elections on a platform of “Greater Israel”) and 2005 (when a Likud government withdrew unilaterally from Gaza in stark contradiction to its electoral pledges), the Israeli government …

The question of the response by the JCCV  to the recent visit of former Knesset member Moishe Feiglin to Australia has been raised a number of times in the Australian Jewish News, but some of the key issues involved remain to be discussed. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) …

Now that I will have time again, after a hiatus of some several days, I want to resume my postings. (Actually, I’ve missed writing.) I will touch certain bases here, and return to consider many others later. Please do know that Sunday is the holiday of Shavuot here (and Monday …

Summary: In considering the arguments that Palestinian Arabs and Israeli Jews each make for Jerusalem as their capital, only one party makes a truly compelling case. Jerusalem has long been considered the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinians Question. In 1947, when the United Nations put forward a plan to partition the …

Many is the time that I have alluded to this Campaign, and to Israel’s legal rights in Judea, Samaria, and all of Jerusalem. Today I will move further in explaining the Campaign.  This is for your edification, and in the hopes that you will choose to be involved. Please make …

The chances of a right wing victory in tomorrow’s election suddenly seemed far greater after last night’s rally in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square. After a very frustratingly lackadaisical campaign – with an incredibly negative tone, and with polls showing the left ahead – a bubble of hope welled up. Some …

This is a posting of utmost seriousness, my friends, about a subject that is both weighty and complex. I will do my best to clarify. We’re not looking at an election that is “simply” a contest between two candidates with somewhat different opinions and styles: We are talking about radical …

I comment every year at this time about the difference between the way the secular new year and the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) are celebrated.  In the Jewish tradition it is a time for prayer and introspection. This year in particular, I think, the difference is marked.  For the …