Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Alon Tal

David Lau won’t be everyone’s rabbi

Alon Tal — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 16:37:45 +0000

The upcoming election for Israel’s chief rabbis is rapidly approaching, revealing several power struggles within the Orthodox world – most notably between the Zionist nationalist camp and the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) non-Zionists. Recently Rabbi David Stav, Shoham’s sensible municipal rabbi, from the former camp has taken an early lead in attaining political support from the Jewish [...]

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Sins of emission in the 2013 Budget

Alon Tal — Sun, 12 May 2013 08:54:25 +0000

In an almost annual ritual, Israel’s Finance Ministry lays on the Knesset docket an “Arrangements Bill” – the rider that accompanies Israel’s proposed budgetary law. And invariably it contains dire environmental implications. Among the hundreds of seemingly banal provisions, the bill typically slips in pernicious development projects or expunges ecologically important safeguards. This year is [...]

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Tzipi Livni’s gambit and the ‘prisoner’s dilemma’

Alon Tal — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 11:05:16 +0000

A week ago on national TV, Tzipi Livni called on Labor Party head, Shelly Yachimovich and Yesh Atid Chair Yair Lapid to meet to discuss creating a common bloc for the remainder of the elections and beyond. It was a bold move that ran counter to the conventional wisdom in the jungle of “take-no-prisoners” Israeli [...]

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Israel’s environmental crisis 2013 – political antecedents and solutions

Alon Tal — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 03:29:37 +0000

Welcome to Israel 2013: According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, in Israel 2013, 800 people die each year due to air pollution. In Israel 2013, half a million Israelis, largely Arab citizens, live without basic sewage infrastructure. Israel circa 2013 is the heaviest pesticide user in the OECD. Some 100 chemicals can be found [...]

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Jewish Home party is no home for the non-Orthodox

Alon Tal — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:21:21 +0000

The sharp rise in the polls of Naftali Bennett’s Jewish Home party is one of the surprising developments in the present election campaign. How is it that this religious party has doubled its numbers relative to present Knesset representation? The answer: It appears that almost half the new possible voters are non-religious, secular Israelis who [...]

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I’ll tell you who Tzipi Livni is: a compelling alternative to Bibi Netanyahu

Alon Tal — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 17:57:22 +0000

A recent blog post rhetorically asks: “Tzipi Livni – who are you?” The writer then proceeds to systematically misrepresent Livni’s two decades of public service and positions on any number of issues. But the question is certainly worthy of an answer that is actually informative and accurate. As a member of Tzipi Livni’s list for [...]

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Four steps for rescuing Judaism and justice in Israel

Alon Tal — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 09:18:52 +0000

Now – before the ballots are counted – is the time to talk about some basic commitments to which all of the non-sectoral, Zionist parties should agree to make Israel a much better place for all to live. With right-wing Naftali Benet’s out of hand refusal to obey future orders to move Jews out of [...]

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Natural bedfellows: Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua and the Green Movement

Alon Tal — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 13:38:21 +0000

There were those who raised an eyebrow on Thursday night when the Green Movement party joined Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua party with green candidates integrated into her Knesset list. The Green Movement today has some 1300 members and dozens of city council members who represent green lists at the local level. Even so, the party did [...]

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Casualty of war: a genuine debate on who we want to be

Alon Tal — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:41:09 +0000

When the IDF took out Ahmed Jabari – it also may have slain any meaningful discourse in the upcoming Knesset elections. As expected, Israel became all-absorbed in yet another military clash with the Hamas-led Gaza Strip entity. The Middle East is a tough neighborhood and the rules of the game here require that the relentless [...]

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