Amichai Cohen, at The Blogs

May 17, 2024, 6:16 PM

Do as we say, not as we do: Israel’s government on partisan politics

Demonstrators clash with police during a protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip and against the current Israeli government near Hakirya Base in Tel Aviv, May 11, 2024. (Itai Ron/ Flash90)

The coalition blames the protesters for dividing the country, when it's putting forward legislation that it knows will polarize the public

May 2, 2024, 1:05 PM

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Make no mistake: ICC arrest warrants would harm Israel

The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/ Peter Dejong/ File)

It will take concerted diplomatic efforts to stop legal proceedings if international indictments of Israelis become real

Oct 12, 2023, 1:49 PM

The case for a lean, unified wartime cabinet

From left, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, National Unity head Benny Gantz at a press conference on October 11, 2023, announcing Israel's national emergency government. (screen capture: PMO)

On October 11, 2023, an emergency government was established in which the National Unity party, which until now has sat in the opposition, has joined the existing coalition. The main — and perhaps only — demand of National Unity...

Feb 12, 2023, 1:39 PM

Not just personalities

Back in November, when the election was over, the center-left camp seemed to have reached a dead end, and not just because it came up short at the polls. All the elections since 2019 were in fact fought over...

Jan 23, 2023, 4:43 PM

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Palestinians are playing the long game on world stage – Israel could lose

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, addresses the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York, December 30, 2022. (Screenshot/UN)

The coalition's aim to apply sovereignty in the territories and soften the Supreme Court may harm Israel's global standing

Aug 24, 2021, 6:08 PM

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The return of the international arena

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett departs for Washington on August 24, 2021 (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

In recent years, Israel behaved as if it could disregard world opinion and rely on blanket US support. With Biden now at the helm, that era is over.

Sep 9, 2020, 11:07 AM

On democracy and the war against the High Court

“The Court has officially seized control of the Knesset,” announced Minister Yariv Levin in March 2020, when the High Court of Justice instructed the Speaker of the Knesset to convene the plenum in order to choose a new speaker....

Jun 24, 2020, 3:44 PM

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Everything you want to know about annexation, but were afraid to ask

An explainer about the application of sovereignty and how it differs from annexation, including who objects to the plan and why

Jun 14, 2020, 3:08 PM

When the Supreme Court’s struck down the Regularization Law

The main novelty in the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the Regularization Law is the fact that the justices placed the inherent inequality of the balance of power between the settlers and Palestinians in the “territories” at the center...

Jun 16, 2019, 2:02 PM

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In the do-over elections, and forever, we’ll all be smarter

An Israeli citizen at a voting station in Jerusalem, during the Knesset Elections, on April 9, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Voters got to see how parties behaved after elections, and parties now know the real risk of a hardline negotiation stance

About Me

Prof. Amichai Cohen is a Senior Fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, where he serves as the Director of the Amnon Lipkin-Shahak Program on National Security and Democracy, and is a lecturer in the faculty of law at Ono Academic College.