Laura Wharton, at The Blogs

Jan 25, 2024, 7:29 AM

After the barbaric massacre of October 7th, more than 100 hostages still in the hands of sadistic terrorists, the largest call-up of reservists in Israel's history, hundreds of fallen soldiers and thousands injured, hundreds of thousands of evacuees from...

Oct 31, 2023, 12:20 AM

How Not to Free Palestine

When I was a student at Harvard in the 1980s, a friend of mine found an amazing flier in the archives of the Phillips Brooks Social Services Association. It read, "Support the Khmer Rouge!". We were astounded: how could...

Jul 29, 2023, 11:44 PM

From Demonstrations to Democracy

The Pro-Democracy demonstrations that have now been going on in Israel for more than half a year have been remarkably successful by any measure. Not only did the Prime Minister reverse his firing of the Minister of Defense, not...

Apr 24, 2023, 7:16 PM

Coup by the Non-Military

Many countries have been taken over by military juntas, but Israel seems to be a rare if not unique case of a country overtaken by draft-dodgers. Without understanding this rather bizarre situation, especially so given Israel's renowned military prowess,...

Oct 27, 2022, 2:35 PM

Religion not as opiate, but as Viagra

Marx's statement that religion is "religion is the opiate of the masses" is certainly one of his most famous. He suggested that religion was used to alleviate pain but not to heal; to quiet opposition and to encourage passivity....

Sep 6, 2022, 5:35 PM

125 Years On, What Does the Left Have to Offer?

At this time Jews all over the world are celebrating 125 years since Theodor Herzl convened the first international Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. In almost all ways, this revolutionary movement succeeded far beyond anyone's wildest dreams: a thriving...

Jun 3, 2022, 6:05 PM

Let’s Stop Talking About the Occupation

Let's stop talking about the occupation: it's too easy to fall into a trap bickering about international law, Jordanian rights, the legitimacy of the Six-Day War, and more. Let's make it clear: approximately 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli...

Apr 21, 2022, 7:26 AM

Featured Post

The Temple Mount and the mounting violence

Thousands of Muslim worshipers attend the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque Compound on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, on April 8, 2022. (Sliman Khader/Flash90)

Palestinians are losing hope, Israelis are turning a blind eye to their distress – the future depends on Israel facing, not ignoring, the problem

Apr 8, 2022, 11:45 PM

The Ultimate NIMBY Problem

The latest terror attacks, including the horrible murder Thursday night of two lovely and hopeful young men at a bar in Tel Aviv last night, must not drive us to despondency. The murderer, a terrorist who has since been...

Feb 19, 2022, 7:38 PM

The Evictions from East Jerusalem Must Stop

Sheikh Jarrach has been in and out of the news in recent months and confusion as well as disinformation has spread. Some focus on the house that recently burned down (it's not yet clear how or why); others, on...

About Me

Dr Laura Wharton is a member of Jerusalem's City Council as a representative of Meretz and an adjunct lecturer in the political science department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Born in the U.S., she immigrated to Israel after receiving a B.A. in the government department of Harvard University and then served a full term in the Israel Defense Forces. She subsequently completed an M.A. and a Ph.D. at Hebrew University. For research that later served as the basis for her book "Is the Party Over? How Israel Lost Its Social Agenda" (Yad Levi Eshkol, 2019) she was awarded the Prime Minister's Prize in Memory of Levi Eshkol. She is a mother of two and has been living in Jerusalem for more than two decades.

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