The formation of an Israeli coalition government led by Netanyahu and Gantz, the leaders of Likud and Kahol Lavan respectively, will finally put an end to Israel’s nearly 18 month-long political paralysis and, for now, personal rivalry following three elections. Both agreed on a host of important socio-economic and security matters. The most ominous issue…

It is said where are two Jews, there are three opinions. And in the state of Israel, there is yet another version: where there are five Jews, there are nine political parties. There are certainly advantages to having different views on every topic, especially when the issues under discussion are seriously consequential and relate to…

Four ethical theories—Kantian, utilitarian, virtue-based, and religious—demonstrate the lack of moral foundation in the continuing Israeli occupation of the West Bank and especially in Trump’s “deal of the century”. In my previous article I discussed Kantian and utilitarian moral theories, and in the following I cover the virtue-based and religious theories as they apply to…

A version of this article was originally published on December 10, 2015. The changes from the original article to this piece below encompass the inclusion of Trump’s so-called “deal of the century”, which will only perpetuate the occupation. Sadly, the situation has not changed in the past four years, and given how the situation currently…

After three years in office, one can hardly be surprised at what Trump is capable of saying, doing, or scheming. In the middle of his impeachment trial, Trump finally released his “deal of the century”—a deal that completely ignored several United Nations resolutions, accords that were sponsored by the European community and the United States,…

Since the Second Intifada in 2000, the Israelis have been steadily moving to the right-of-center. Successive Israeli governments have made national security central to Israel’s very survival, and linking it to the presumed existential threat posed by the Palestinians has become the national mantra. Thus, controlling the Palestinians’ lives and their territory became synonymous with…

The long-anticipated indictment of Prime Minister Netanyahu has finally come to pass. For three years, Netanyahu spared no effort to scuttle three criminal cases against him, but failed. These charges and their implications have now become rather clear. They have occupied Netanyahu’s thinking as to how to save himself and maintain his position as Prime…

Mr. Netanyahu, It is time for you to reflect on where you stand and how best to serve the country you care about in a time of much uncertainty and turmoil. You have served as Prime Minister longer than any of your predecessors, and accomplished much for the state of Israel while ensuring its wellbeing…

Israel is a democracy and like most parliamentary democracies, the party that wins a plurality of the vote typically ends up forming the government, asking a few of the smaller parties to join a coalition government if they have not received an outright majority. Relative to most parliamentary (particularly West European) democracies, Israel has a…