Politics

Comptroller withholds NIS 150,000 from Likud over party membership oversight failures

Comptroller Englman raised concerns that membership fees may have been paid by someone other than the party member, a practice that is illegal under Israeli law.

Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman at the annual Jerusalem Conference of the 'Besheva' group in Jerusalem, February 16, 2026.
EINAT WILF, leader of the new Oz party.

'Peace, Not Now:' Inside the shaping of Israeli policy - review

(L-R) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir

Substance vs spectacle: Why Israel can keep Smotrich, but Ben-Gvir must go - opinion

Ultra-Orthodox Jews carry a banner in Hebrew that reads, “to prison and not the army,” during a “million man” protest against military conscription, in Jerusalem October 30, 2025.

Haredi draft debate: Equality of burden, or selective obligation? - opinion


Former interior minister Moshe Arbel announces his resignation from Knesset

Arbel thanked Deri and the other members of Shas "for their trust and guidance over the years" and said it was "a great privilege that fell to me to learn from you up close."

Moshe Arbel.

Regardless of election results, voters must let the government govern - editorial

A May poll published by the Jewish People Policy Institute found that while 65% of Israelis indicate they will accept the election results, the ideological breakdown was striking.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds his head during a ceremony at Mount Herzl, May 14, 2026

Israel’s upcoming election season could become its ugliest yet - opinion

In the end, Israelis will survive this election. But the real question remains unanswered: What kind of society will be here once it is over?

A man wearing a mask depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds images of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at a protest in Tel Aviv, last month. When both sides view the election in such existential terms, restraint disappears, the writer warns.

Middle Israel: How Likud’s primaries poisoned Israeli politics - opinion

The 18-year fencing match between Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin came to a sudden end, thanks to an invention Israel had never seen: primary elections. 

A LIKUD supporter waves the party’s flag at a gathering, a show of grassroots loyalty which has long defined the movement, even as critics say its primaries have reshaped, and at times distorted, who rises within its ranks.

Netanyahu’s missteps: How Israeli leadership eroded US support - opinion

More than any single player, Bibi bears responsibility for the loss of American support among most Democrats, a growing number of Republicans, and increasingly within the Trump administration.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu is seen at a ceremony at Yad Vashem, last month. Netanyahu has done more damage to Israel’s support in America and its international stature than all its enemies, the writer says.

The resistible integration of Arabs into the Israeli democratic game - opinion

The glass ceiling is more political than societal, despite the persistence of racism and mistrust among some Israeli Jews.

Ra'am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 12, 2026.

Keir Starmer defies calls for resignation, vows to stay in role as Labour leader

Keir Starmer resists calls for resignation after Labour's disappointing local elections, insisting he will stay on as leader and focus on governing.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, February 11, 2026.

Most Americans say Trump faces greater assassination threat after recent series of attacks - poll

The poll also found that Americans remain divided over whether rhetoric from Trump’s political opponents bears responsibility for assassination attempts against him.

US President Donald Trump listens to reporters at the White House in Washington, DC, US, May 8, 2026.

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.

Israeli politics have shifted from institutional decline to perpetual negation - opinion

Beyond the Ben-Gvir controversy lies a structural crisis; information overload is reshaping politics, weakening institutions, and elevating figures who thrive in disorder.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir attends a National Security committee meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament on December 31, 2025.