Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Antoine Shalhat
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Israel’s benefits from the Russian war
Although Israel appears, in its position on the Russian war on Ukraine, as if it is a free player in choosing a certain neutral policy, as well as in changing and altering it sometimes, a closer look shows that this policy is mainly based on the benefit of the...
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Israeli politics is full of military connections
There is an unprecedented increase in the number of political parties in Israel in the run up to the next General Election in March. This will be the fourth election in less than two years. Perhaps the most prominent of these parties is Kahol Laffan founded by the Mayor of...
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If Europe really wants influence in Israel-Palestine, it needs a new approach
As US President-elect Joe Biden waits to take office on 20 January, Israel is looking at turning over a new page in what it calls the transatlantic relations network. The US, meanwhile, is expected to coordinate its positions with the EU on a series of issues that will shape...
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Towards another Israeli election among the right-wing
Israel is heading towards a fourth general election in less than two years, coinciding with another confirmed fact that the competition in this election will be between the components of the Israeli right-wing. The elections will be held against a single backdrop: the opposition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s...
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Racism in Israel isn’t going away, it’s getting worse
The racism that appears to be inherent within the state of Israel isn’t going away, it’s getting worse. Although Palestinian Arabs are its main targets, others are also affected. This was implied recently by the former MK of Russian origin, Ksenia Svetlova. In an interview with Haaretz when her book...
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The annexation in the controversy of the Israeli right
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed during the Likud meeting in the Knesset on 25 May that he does not intend to change the date set for annexing the Jordan Valley and settlements in the occupied West Bank in Israel. The date was set for early July. He mentioned...
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Arab representation in the Knesset and its limitations
There is a lot of talk about the efforts to form a new government in Israel and the bitter confrontation between the rival Likud and Blue and White blocs over the need for it to be based on a Jewish majority. The parties are conscious of the growing strength...
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Netanyahu’s message to the world
The statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the visit of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to Israel this week, as well as the statements he made shortly after President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, represent the most explicit expression of his...
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Not only a racist rabbi, but a racist state
I have regularly written about the implications of the followers of murdered Rabbi Meir Kahane forming an official Israeli party called the Jewish Power party. This is a party that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently sought to include in the Jewish Home right-wing coalition consisting of Zionist...
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Do Israeli centrist parties actually stand for anything?
The latest opinion poll in Israel has predicted that the new centrist party, led by former army chief of staff General Benny Gantz, would win about 15 seats in the next general election on 9 April. The poll is a good place to start with an analysis of centrist...
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Israel has a new right-wing party
When two Israeli ministers from the Jewish Home Party announced that they were forming a new right-wing party, many analysts sought a definition that would encompass the description in every way. Years ago, “New Right” was used for a number of purposes, one of which was to differentiate between...
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Shattering the myth of Rabin as the ‘man of peace’
Every year, to coincide with the Israeli Labour Party’s commemoration of the anniversary of the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (November 4, 1995), we hear voices claiming that this assassination killed the “peace” he was aspiring to achieve. Within these voices one can find one or a couple...
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The reduction of Israel’s reliance on Bin Salman
There have been remarks in Israel recently expressing disappointment at Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman’s performance regarding the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This does not stem from his bloody repression of his opponents, but from the fact that this policy has reduced Israel’s ability to rely on...
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The two-state solution: Decline or death?
In a radio interview this week, one of the ministers of the right-wing Likud party said, “the two-state solution is dead”. This is the latest of a slew of Israeli statements related surrounding the revival of the so-called Confederacy solution with Jordan. This statement also refers somehow to the development...
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What is Israel counting on?
By following most of the analyses that appeared in the Israeli media outlets regarding what has become known as the “deal of the century”, we can conclude that Israel is counting on, more than anything else, the series of global and regional developments that, upon reading, can be pushed...
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Why does Israel support the establishment of a Kurdish state?
The Palestinian cause occupies a major focus point in the context of the debate occurring in the Israeli occupation state regarding the independence of the Kurdish region in Iraq. Those following this debate will easily see that the reasons why many of those opposed to Israel taking a public...
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Settlements, first and always
Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s comments on the current government’s contribution to the settlement project in the territories occupied since 1967 are still echoing. Lieberman announced that the settlement construction figures during the first half of 2017 are the highest since 1992. He also added that during the past...
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Just a reminder: Israel's increasingly racist public opinion
While preparing this article, I couldn’t resist the temptation of presenting the results of a new public opinion poll conducted in Israel on the occasion of a Qatari educational conference being held soon. This poll showed that the overwhelming majority of those in Israel are “not prepared” for their...
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Commitment to the two-state solution is a formality
News of Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to “back down” from his public position support on the two-state solution at the request of the (far-right) Jewish Home Party’s ministers in order to send a clear message during the meeting with US President Donald Trump that the establishment of the Palestinian state...
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What about the Golan Heights?
We have finally encountered the 35th anniversary of the Israeli Knesset’s annexation of the Golan Heights, which took place on 14 December 1981. There is also been the issue following the inclinations of Zionist leaders, who believe that with the current situation in Syria, the international community might finally...
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The meaning of Israel’s ‘return’ to Africa
We can still hear the echoes of the statements made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to a number of African countries in July. More specifically, we hear the reiteration of the statement in which he talked about the “goal” of changing what he called the...
