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Oct 20, 2026, 12:47 PM

First vote in Israel: My divided chosen home

Whenever I introduce myself to people here, I always joke that I’m kind of lost in the Middle East. Even after almost 13 years, I still can’t quite believe how a Dutch girl who packed a backpack for a...

Martin Herskovitz

Oct 20, 2026, 2:12 AM

L’Etat C’est Moi? Not!

Let's start of with a couple of facts: Israel is in an existential struggle with the rejectionist bloc (Iran/Hamas/Hezbollah/Qatar et al) in a zero-sum game. This bloc's stated intent is to put an end to the Jewish state. Any...

Oct 17, 2026, 9:58 AM

Listening Comes with a Price Tag – Self-Defense Strategies

An unwritten rule dictates abstention from sociopolitical discussions with family and friends holding radically different ideas from yours. Reducing rather than enhancing relationships, it enables our assumptions about others' thoughts to replace knowing what they really think. Or it...

Oct 16, 2026, 6:01 PM

Israel and the Power of Political Myth

How repeated allegations distort public debate, shape diplomatic judgments and obscure the complexities of war. Political myths acquire their greatest influence when repetition begins to substitute for evidence. In the international debate over Israel, allegations are too often absorbed into...

Oct 15, 2026, 11:56 PM

What makes countries successful

Opposition Leader and Beyachad party member Yair Lapid speaks at the 'Law and Lies' conference, on October 12, 2026, in Israel. (Avshalom Sassoni/ FLASH90)

Until four years ago, Israel met every criterion of a successful country. That's no longer the case. But since the damage came from the top, the repair can come from the top, too. And it will

Richard H. Schwartz

Oct 15, 2026, 12:24 PM

A Win for Bibi – a Disaster for Israel

Rabbi Shammai Engelmayer contributed to this article. Another political victory for Benjamin Netanyahu would be a strategic defeat for Israel. By preserving his coalition with secular and religious parties on the far-right, Netanyahu risks further weakening Israeli democracy, undermining national...

Vladimir Beliak

Oct 14, 2026, 8:09 PM

Olim want the Israel they were promised

The author at work in the Knesset.

In the Israeli discourse, the word “Aliyah” (immigration) always comes alongside the word “Klita” (absorption). The Sal Klita - the benefits new immigrants get. The Ministry of Aliyah and you guessed it, Klita - absorption. This reflects a common Israeli...

Oct 13, 2026, 10:47 AM

Nearly half of Israel’s parties have no platform

Likud has not published a platform for the October 27 election. There's no platform on the current party website, on the older Likud movement site, or on Benjamin Netanyahu's political site. The last full Likud platform I could find...

Oct 12, 2026, 11:31 PM

The Amit Segal controversy: What is the role of the news channels?

News anchors in Israel and around the world do not sit in studios wearing suits for nothing, as though they were attending an important occasion. Presenting the news is, in fact, an event of great significance. One might even...

Eliezer Simcha Weiss

Oct 11, 2026, 4:36 PM

The Torah Must Not Be Exploited for Political Gain

The Torah Must Not Be Exploited for Political Gain The use of the Torah as a tool of political propaganda must be condemned. The names of yeshivot, a person’s religious upbringing and the Jewish character of a family must not...

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