Is Your Phone Kosher?
The new government that was formed in Israel a couple of months ago, is special in many ways (both good and bad probably), but one change is especially refreshing and is instrumental in attempts to right many wrongs of the past years. The simple fact that this government has left out the Ultra-Orthodox parties enables […]
Corona and Vaccination: No More Time to Loose
If anyone believes that the Corona crisis was waning, in particular in Israel, he had better think again. True, at the moment, the number of newly diagnosed patients is low, and the R-number (the indication of the pandemic spreading or not) hovers around one. A lot of credit must go to the Health ministry and […]
The Existential Threat from Within
Israel is a country that has always had to deal with existential threats and its leadership and the population have faced such threats head-on, and been able to overcome them. Wars (and the threat of war) have been almost part of daily life and from both sides of the political spectrum there has been unity […]
Israel and the Climate Change Crisis
This week the United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held in Glasgow and Israel is represented by a large number of politicians with Prime Minister Bennet leading the delegation. Bennet also gave a speech outlining Israel’s plans to deal with this significant crisis. While until recently, such influential leaders as Donald Trump denied that […]
A sixty-five-year-old Massacre that Shames Politicians up to this Day
This week it is sixty-five years ago that the Israeli Army massacred forty-eight Arab civilians in the town of Kfar Qasim. The massacre occurred after Israeli officers specifically ordered their soldiers to “shoot on sight” and “no prisoners are to be taken”. On October 29th,1956, Israel started a war against Egypt, together with France and […]
Morality and Politics in Israel: Mutually Exclusive?
This week saw a heated debate erupt around the bill that was introduced by Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar, which would prevent criminals from becoming prime minister in Israel. The bill has been contemplated several times over the past years but never reached the stage where it was submitted but now will most likely be voted […]
From Kashrut to Conversion: On our Way to Religious Coercion?
With the formation of the new Israeli government, all kinds of promises and statements were made regarding reforms in the way the State will deal with religious issues, in particular, Kashrut certification and conversion. And now, just over a hundred days after its establishment, Religious Affairs Minister, Matan Kahana is formulating concrete proposals. Not to […]
Do Arab Lives Matter?
The answer to that question would depend on who you ask it seems, but the whole issue of the violence in the Israeli Arab community is much more complicated than that. And, with the number of murders this year passing 95 people (and some claim a hundred), the question definitely needs to be asked and […]
Digging Tunnels and Sleeping Guards: The Gilboa Prison Escape
After two weeks, the prisoner escape that kept Israel in its ban came to an end with the capture in Jenin, on the Occupied West Bank of the last two escapees. Four others were caught within days of their escape and returned to their cell. The story of their escape fired the imagination of many. […]
When will the Israeli Government deal with the Palestinian Issue?
In the past couple of months, Israel has gone through the most significant changes almost since the establishment of the State. Slowly but surely, democratic principles and procedures are being restored and the State and its government are step-by-step, returning to how a State and a government should work in a democratic environment. After years […]
