Democracy

German intelligence flags rise in AfD's right-wing extremist potential

The AfD rejects the accusations that its views are extremist and has said the intelligence service's assessments are politically motivated.

 Maximilian Krah, Alternative for Germany (AfD) party member and member of the European Parliament of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group, speaks during the European election assembly 2023 of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Magdeburg, Germany, July 29, 2023.
 A voting box in the last Israeli election in 2015

Let voters have a say in who they vote in to Knesset - opinion

Rep. Mike Lawler participates in the annual Israel Day Parade on 5th Avenue, May 31, 2026.

Pro-Israel Democrat Cait Conley to take on vulnerable Republican Rep. Mike Lawler

Democratic Congressional candidate Claire Valdez speaks during an election eve rally at Silo on June 22, 2026 in the East Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Newsrooms are not courtrooms: New Yorkers must reject media presumption of Israel's guilt - opinion


Turkey lurches into political crisis with crackdown on opposition - analysis

Clashes erupted at CHP headquarters in Ankara after a court removed opposition leader Ozgur Ozel, raising fears of a deeper political crisis as Erdogan tightens his grip.

Supporters of ousted Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel react as riot police enter the party’s headquarters to evict its leadership after authorities ordered enforcement of a court ruling removing them from the building, in Ankara, Turkey, May 24, 2026.

The civilian army: Anat Vidor and the quiet power of WIZO

“Give power to civil society. Because otherwise we will teeter on the edge of totalitarianism. Not instead of the government. Alongside it.”

World WIZO President Anat Vidor. A biography that reads like the story of Zionism.

Are new Knesset proposals pushing Israel toward Hungary-style governance? - opinion

Concerns mount that Israel’s new legislation could reshape democracy in a Hungary-like direction.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks alongside former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest last year. Orban transformed Hungary into a quasi-autocracy, while Netanyahu has not achieved the same in Israel, the writer says.

In double trouble: Iran’s oil crisis – opinion

Given that the Islamic Republic’s lifeblood – oil – is being squeezed, it should learn from history that collapse always begins with a warning sign such as this one

A Satellite image shows a likely oil spill covering dozens of square kilometers near Iran’s Kharg Island, earlier this month.

What is Zionism, and who is a Zionist? - opinion

Coining Left-leaning Israelis as racists or enemies of the Zionist state when they express concern over Israel’s democratic future sets a dangerous tone

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivers a speech earlier this year.

If Europe wants to help with Iran, it can target its proxies - opinion

Europe has a golden opportunity to assist in curbing the Islamic Republic’s network of terror

EUROPEAN UNION High Rep. for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to the media, in March 2026.

Chanting 'busha' and 'hańba': What can Israelis learn from the Polish judicial overhaul? - opinion

The last 10 years show us that Poland and Israel can be allies not only in growing authoritarianization, but, more urgently, in learning how to stop it.

People gather in front of the Presidential Palace during a protest against judicial reforms in Warsaw, Poland, November 24, 2017.

A kippah, and Israel’s heart and soul - opinion

A police force that detains a citizen and destroys his personal property because of a symbol on his kippah is precisely the kind of abuse that strong democratic safeguards exist to prevent.

A KIPPAH with both an Israeli and Palestinian flag on it.

The tear that exposes Israel’s democratic crisis - opinion

Israeli man arrested and kippah torn by the police, illustrates the colonization of minds and reflects the decline of the idea of coexistence in Israel-Palestine.

DR. ALEX Sinclair's kippah, after police cut off the Palestinian flag.

Herzog deserves our support in trying to achieve plea bargain, end Netanyahu trial saga - editorial

Herzog deserves the country’s full support in finding a negotiated end to the Netanyahu trial after six years. Finding such an end is not a betrayal of justice.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the courtroom at the Distrcit court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, October 28, 2025.