Just a few years ago, the dovish Israel lobby J Street was anathema to most mainstream politicians in Israel. But at the group’s fourth national conference, perhaps the most notable feature was the range of public officials it drew from across Israel’s Jewish political spectrum. “Why should there be any problem?” asked Tzachi Hanegbi, a…
With the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations operating under a tightly sealed cone of silence imposed by Secretary of State John Kerry, Middle East policy junkies have developed an elaborate guessing game that takes the form of a will-he-or-won’t-he dissection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intentions. The idea is to examine what’s known about Netanyahu’s past, his…
Boasting an impressive growth in numbers and a newly achieved acceptance into the mainstream Jewish organizational world, J Street launched its annual conference with a new campaign aimed at bringing Jewish Americans to endorse a two-state solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. “Five years ago we had half the people in a basement of a hotel,”…
Tzipi Livni, the top Israeli peace negotiator, made an impassioned case for peace with the Palestinians and for supporting Israel’s army in remarks to J Street’s national policy conference. The opening Saturday night of the conference, which runs through Tuesday, saw speeches from Livni, who is also the justice minister, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and…
Our old friend Ofer Shelah, former Maariv military and sports reporter, former Forward Israel correspondent and currently Yesh Atid Knesset caucus whip, has come out against the phenomenon of “nationality laws” that seek to define the relationship between Israel’s Jewish and democratic qualities or assign preferential standing in law to one over the other (usually…
U.S.-brokered peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will result in dramatic Israeli decisions, the chief Israeli negotiator predicted on Tuesday. Tzipi Livni coupled her forecast with acknowledgement that at least one partner in Israel’s right-wing coalition opposed the goal set by the United States, which is brokering the talks, to create a Palestinian state…
Israel’s top peace negotiator said on Friday newly resumed talks with the Palestinians also held a wider opportunity for Israel to seek alliances with Arab world moderates against militants in the Middle East. The U.S.-brokered talks were renewed last month after a three-year stand off, the latest session on Wednesday coming amid a row over…
Israel’s latest announcement of permits for 1,200 new housing units in the West Bank and East Jerusalem has stirred a hornets’ nest of angry responses. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said it could undermine the negotiating process before it’s even started. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said America does “not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement…
100% of profits support our journalism
