Tag Archives: Netanyahu

From the rabid rants of the myriad of “Bibiphobes”, the uninformed observer would be led to believe that Netanyahu is to blame for every misfortune and every malfeasance on the face of the globe… Let me commence with full disclosure on two matters: First, I am a totally non-observant Jew, …

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 …

Arguably, Netanyahu’s gravest strategic miscalculation was not to call elections in May 2016 rather than capitulate to Liberman’s demand to be given the Defense portfolio.   Earlier this month, I wrote a column with the interrogative title: Sept. 17: Will the Right snatch defeat from the jaws of victory…again? Judging …

With regard to the elections and their tortuous aftermath. Of course. As this is a professional posting, I refrain from telling you where the pain is. In any event, you may be feeling the very same discomfort. ~~~~~~~~~ But I want to preface my discussion of what’s going on with …

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, …

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 …

It’s only a thought, or a rumor, at this point. I want to call your attention to a new, expanded (and highly informative) page I have put on my website about Israel’s rights to the Golan Heights: https://www.arlenefromisrael.info/israels-legal-rights-to-the-golan-heights/ As time allows, I will be updating my site in other ways …

When the polls in Israel closed at 10 PM on Tuesday, the air was fraught with tensions.  Various exit polls, notoriously unreliable in any event, were providing such disparate results that there was little clarity on what the outcome would be. The count was announced early in the morning on …

Intensive investment must be made in civil society frameworks that can not only draw the idea of extended Israeli sovereignty into the main-stream discourse as a legitimate political objective, but as one that can dominate that discourse.   In a significant departure from his usual ambivalent and non-committal policy formulation regarding …

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 …

The unrelenting drive to bring an indictment—any indictment—against Netanyahu has long exceeded the bounds of reasonable law enforcement. The issue at the center of these investigations seems trivial against the background of the existential crises Israel is facing…The first probe, also known as case 1000, involves gifts of cigars and champagne …

There is quite a hullabaloo ongoing with regard to the inclusion of the Otzma Yisraelit faction on the Bayit Yehudi-National Union list (in a technical merger, which means they go their separate ways after the election). In an effort to move past the hysteria and the accusations, I want to …

Not I.  In all of the many years during which I have tracked Israeli pre-election campaigns, I have never encountered a campaign season like this one. I’ve been writing about the multiplicity of new parties, and perhaps that was a clue that I missed: an overt sign of divisiveness.  And …

The purported electoral appeal of the Blue & White line-up is that it includes 3 former IDF Chiefs-of-Staff, yet virtually invariably when top military figures have departed from their field of expertise (security) & ventured into one where they have none (politics), they have been disastrously wrong.  The greatest tragedy …

9 News Australia’s Amelia Adams parachutes in. We wonder if Nine News Australia will have the grace to admit that the Israel’s New Generation review of the upcoming Israeli elections by their UK correspondent was way off-beam?

As has undoubtedly been obvious to many of my readers, even though Israel is in the throes of an election campaign (or the first stage of a campaign), I have studiously avoided writing about it. There has been ample reason for this:  The process has been so convoluted that reporting …

“Thunderbolt!” Of a political nature. I referred in my last posting to the campaign circus that was about to begin.  Turns out it is likely to be even more of a circus than I had anticipated.  There is a feeling in many quarters that we could really do without that …

It’s been tough going on the political scene these past few days. By yesterday, stories were changing almost hourly as tensions built. Conflicting reports emerged simultaneously from various media sources. After (former) Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman submitted his resignation last Wednesday, because of his frustration with Israel’s failure to stand …

“They” refers collectively to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the Security Cabinet, the IDF, and perhaps other persons in leadership roles making decisions on Gaza right now. For the life of me, I am unable to wrap my head around these decisions, or to feel remotely easy about them. ~~~~~~~~~~ Of course, …

This past Shabbat, we read the Torah portion Lech Lecha in synagogue.  In Chapter 17:7-8, the Almighty tells Avraham (emphasis added): “I will ratify My covenant between Me and you, and between your offspring after you, throughout the generations, as an everlasting covenant…I will give to you and your offspring after …