Ops & Blogs | The Times of Israel » Naomi Chazan

When a sex crime is really in the news

Naomi Chazan — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:44:44 +0000

Israel has been rocked for some weeks by an intense debate on sexual harassment in the media. The Emmanuel Rosen affair is not just another high profile tale of sexual misconduct by a public figure (in the mode of former President Moshe Katzav, former Minister of Defense Yitzhak Mordechai or ex-Minister Haim Ramon). It is [...]

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Stop saying no to the best deal ever

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 05 May 2013 10:13:47 +0000

Since March, 2002, the Arab Peace Initiative has provided the most strategic and hopeful framework for a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israel conflict. It has passed the test of time, surviving the vagaries of the Arab spring and the current instability throughout the region. Reaffirmed once again in the meeting of the Arab League in [...]

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An activist Knesset rolls up its sleeves

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 04:26:54 +0000

After a nine month hiatus (which included a seven-week break-in period for newly elected members), the Knesset is finally getting back to work today. This Knesset, the 19th in Israel’s history, promises to be very different from its immediate predecessor not only in its demeanor, but also in its substantive focus. Besides being far more [...]

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Reforming the government…for the worse

Naomi Chazan — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:11:57 +0000

Reforming the government…for the worse Naomi Chazan With all the attention devoted to economic and security issues since the installation of the present government, there is a very real danger that some of its most important moves will proceed below the public radar. Such is the case with the details of the much-touted governmental [...]

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An Israeli Spring

Naomi Chazan — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:02:09 +0000

Passover is the holiday of spring. The connection between the changing of the seasons and the story of Jewish bondage and emancipation has been an integral part of western civilization since time immemorial. President Barack Obama, who arrived with the vernal equinox, underlined this linkage in his memorable speech in Jerusalem on the eve of [...]

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The racism in our midst

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 08:05:21 +0000

Five vicious cases of hate crimes were recorded during the past two weeks alone. Hana Amtir, a pregnant Palestinian-Jerusalemite, was attacked by young girls while waiting for her husband at the light-rail station in town just because she wore a hijab. Not far away, two teachers – Suha Abu-Zmiru and Revital Wolkov – were assaulted [...]

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Wake-up call in the West Bank

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 08:00:11 +0000

The disturbances throughout the West Bank in recent days, culminating in widespread demonstrations and the hunger strike of thousands of Palestinian prisoners during the past twenty-four hours, should surprise nobody. There has been a gradual yet systematic buildup of Palestinian discontent over the past few months – largely overlooked by Israelis and their government during [...]

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Service, equality and politics

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 08:04:53 +0000

The 2013 elections may have been determined by one single slogan: “equality of burden” (or, in its less accurate English rendition, “sharing the burden”). Both Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett spearheaded this rallying cry (subsequently echoed with vigor by the Likud, Labor, Kadima and the Movement), which calls for the full realization of the principle [...]

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Good luck, haver

Naomi Chazan — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:30:10 +0000

Today Americans are celebrating the inauguration of Barack Obama’s second administration. In Israel, too, a large number of citizens – despite the flurry of activity on the eve of the general elections – join in wishing the President of the United States all the best during the next four years. They are profoundly aware of [...]

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A guide for the perplexed voter

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 09:31:56 +0000

The 2013 elections may very well be the most important elections to be held in Israel since 1967. They will, in effect, determine not only the borders of the state of Israel and its human composition, but also its normative character. During the tenure of the 19th Knesset, either progress will be made towards the [...]

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Gendering elections: women’s power at the ballot box

Naomi Chazan — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 13:27:33 +0000

For anyone following the latest polls, the forthcoming elections in Israel are a done deal. The right-religious bloc is consistently outscoring the center-left bloc by anywhere between 16 and 20 seats in the 120-member Knesset. But is the outcome indeed already predetermined? The backbone of the support for another coalition led by Binyamin Netanyahu are, [...]

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The E1 conundrum

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 09:26:40 +0000

Israel’s decision to take harsh punitive measures in response to the UN vote granting non-member state status to the Palestinians has evoked predictably vehement (and eminently avoidable) reactions, extending to the last of Israel’s remaining allies, from Washington and Berlin to London and Ottawa. For Benjamin Netanyahu, however, the announcement of the withholding of monetary [...]

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As the cloud lifts it’s time for a clear new vision

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 21:10:26 +0000

The ceasefire which brought an end to Operation Pillar of Defense either signals yet another temporary hiatus in the ever-escalating spiral of violence between Israelis and Palestinians or heralds a critical turning point in the quest for genuine security. Much depends on whether the post-campaign analysis centers not on identifying the winners and the losers [...]

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The elephant in the polling booth

Naomi Chazan — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 03:48:30 +0000

Democratic elections, as the American ballot so clearly demonstrated, magnify critical issues and seek to decide key policy directions. In Israel, the intensification of activity around the forthcoming elections seems to be doing exactly the opposite. With the parties selecting their lists and gearing up for the campaign, most have succeeded so far in averting [...]

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Likud-Beytenu — big bang or big bust?

Naomi Chazan — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:30:21 +0000

The dramatic announcement of the merger of the Likud and Yisrael Beytenu is but the latest demonstration of why the 2013 elections are far from a foregone conclusion. This electoral season, despite preliminary indications to the contrary, is fascinating precisely because it contains so many unknowns — each of which can have a significant effect [...]

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