Ze'ev Portner

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Mar 10, 2015, 1:34 PM

It is time for Change! It is time for Hope! It is time for a Herzog led government.

On 17th March, electors in Israel have a choice. They have a choice, between voting for change in the form of a government led by Labour leader Isaac Herzog, and the Zionist Union, or voting again for a do nothing...

Dec 7, 2014, 6:19 PM

Disraeli or Two Lives: Book Review

Benjamin Disraeli was one of the most extraordinary and indeed one of the most unlikely individuals to have ever become leader of the Conservative Party and British Prime Minister. Disraeli was a school dropout, a bankrupt, manic depressant in...

Nov 16, 2014, 3:14 PM

Black Jews in Africa and the Americas: Book Review

An African-American Jew working in the telecommunications industry in Jerusalem was asked by a very orthodox co-worker "whether in fact she was Jewish, as she didn't look Jewish." She responded by saying that she doesn't "recall anything written in...

Jul 24, 2014, 8:25 PM

Blair, Labour, and Palestine: Conflicting Views on Middle East Peace after 9/11, Toby Greene, Bloomsbury Academic 312 pages £ 23.77 Reviewed by Ze’ev Portner

"Tony Blair is so passionate about Israel that he cares more about the state than the Jews do themselves" was an observation made by a couple of BBC journalists who witnessed Blair's address at the Labour Friends of Israel...

May 25, 2014, 8:20 PM

Israel needs a Labour led government to prevent the Likud and its right wing allies from turning it into a binational state

The peace process with the Palestinians collapses and the right rejoices. The phrase: 'Be careful for what you wish for comes to mind.' For what is the alternative to the peace negotiations and the two state solution. It is...

Nov 13, 2013, 10:53 AM

Is Cory Booker, the new Senator for New Jersey, a future President of the USA?

By Ze'ev Portner and Amit Oz The last day of October saw Cory Booker sworn in as the new Senator for New Jersey. This was a historic event as he became the first African-American to represent New Jersey, but it...

Aug 4, 2013, 12:40 PM

The trials and tribulations of western aliyah

Prime Minister Netanyahu, at the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah games, exclaimed to the athletes who had gathered from all over the world that: "I would be very happy if many of you make aliya and become part of...

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About Me

Ze'ev Portner from London is a former political adviser to British Labour Member of Parliament, Louise Ellman. He has written briefings for both Tony Blair and Jack Straw when they were prime minister and foreign secretary of the United Kingdom. In 2012, Portner qualified as an Israeli attorney, undertaking his legal training in the law offices of Gilead Sher and Co. He is currently working as a copyright law specialist at the National library of Israel. He also guest lectures at Greenwich, Liverpool (UK) and Tel Aviv Universities.