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Jun 3, 2020, 11:09 AM

Be mindful about the impact of annexation debate on our community

A Palestinian boy looks behind a wall separating Jewish (Jewish News AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Baroness Altmann’s “should not offer succour to its enemies” defence of the Board of Deputies’ decision to not issue a statement on Israel’s proposed annexation, of at least parts, of the West Bank from next month opens up a whole set of questions and concerns...

Sep 12, 2019, 2:03 PM

Protecting Israel’s values keeps us connected to it

Blue and White part supporters cheer at the party's campaign headquarters after polls for Israel's general elections closed, in Tel Aviv, Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner via Jewish News)

For the first time in Israel’s history, its citizens are returning to the polls for the second time in a year. It might be tempting – especially considering Britain’s own febrile politics – to dismiss the elections as simply a re-run, but next week’s deserves...

May 31, 2019, 11:39 AM

Why you should not see Israel’s new elections as a repeat episode

A man walks past an election campaign poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, April 1, 2019. (Debbie Hill/UPI)

Did that really just happen? We had the sight on Wednesday evening of the Israeli Knesset voting to dissolve itself only 50 days after the election. As Israelis prepare to return to the ballot box in September, we must avoid seeing the forthcoming elections as...

Jul 19, 2018, 5:35 PM

Nation State Law challenges Israel’s status as both Jewish and democratic

Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset. November 13, 2016. (Photo by Ohad Zwigenberg/POOL via JINIPIX)

Late last night the Knesset passed the ‘Nation-State Law’, a new ‘Basic Law’ which forms Israel’s de facto constitution. This latest Law is dangerous and dismantles Israel’s founding status as a homeland for the Jews and a democratic state for all its citizens. It replaces...

Apr 9, 2018, 5:44 PM

Netanyahu criticised us, but we stand for democracy

Before Pesach, I wrote to our supporters explaining how our work is inspired by the message Atah b’nai chorin (once you were slaves and now you are free). I explained how we hoped to celebrate our freedom by helping others. Everyone deserves to raise their...

Apr 6, 2016, 1:18 PM

Israel’s election exposes questions it’s facing on democracy

Issues of democracy are front and centre of the current election campaign. As former Deputy Knesset Speaker Professor Naomi Chazan has written: “The ballot is shaping up into a referendum on the future of democracy in Israel.” Sitting in London and watching the robust and passionate...

Mar 31, 2016, 1:18 PM

An assault on all who value Israeli democracy

Recent weeks have seen a significant escalation in the campaign to crush the Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence, which allows Israeli soldiers to speak out about their army experience in the Occupied Territories. The orchestrated campaign against it exposes wider questions about trends in Israeli...

May 9, 2014, 1:18 PM

Why did you celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut?

Do you know why we celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut this week? Perhaps it is a strange question to ask, but it is a crucial one for British Jews. It helps us to explore our relationship with Israel, and, through a public expression of support and celebration,...

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About Me

Adam Ognall is Chief Executive of the New Israel Fund.