Government and Politics Archives | Page 3 of 18

Eighteen Retired Israeli Supreme Court Judges state opposition to proposed Judicial Changes

In midst of the massive public protest against the Netanyahu government’s suggested four changes to overhaul the Israeli judicial system, In response, Israel’s Attorney General outlined her opposition to the changes and the manner in which they were taking place. Then the Israeli Supreme Court Justices petitioned the government to halt the changes and establish a public committee to review Israel’s Basic Laws, including the Seventh Basic Law (1984) on Israel’s Judiciary.

Documents and Sources|February 11, 2023

The Attorney General’s position on the draft bill Basic Law: The Judiciary

After Israel’s Attorney General, Gali Baharav-Miara met with Israel’s newly elected Justice Minister Yariv Levin about the Netanyahu government’s proposal to overhaul the judicial system, the Attorney General crisply and cogently offers her opposition to that proposal. (Hebrew version included)

Documents and Sources|February 2, 2023

President Isaac Herzog 2022 Op-Ed — Bahrain’s Warm Peace With Israel: What’s Next?

In December President Herzog visited Manama, Bahrain, his fourth visit to a Middle Eastern country in 2022, (Abu Dhabi in January, Istanbul in March, Amman in June, and Sharm El-Sheikh in November), all aimed at bolstering Israel’s economic, cultural and bi-lateral relations with Arab states. Talks on this trip focused on expanding trade and sharing among others, Israel’s solar and desalinazation technologies.

Documents and Sources|December 4, 2022

Are Ultra-Orthodox Parties Risking Losing the Allegiance of their Voters?

For many years the ultra-Orthodox were perceived as “captive voters” who would always comply with their rabbis’ instructions to cast their ballot for ultra-Orthodox parties. In today’s new reality such directives are no longer enough

Issues and Analyses|April 2, 2019

Fritz Bauer, 1903-1968

Bauer was a German Jewish judge and prosecutor before and after World War II. He was arrested by the Nazis in 1933, lived in Denmark from 1936 to 1943, then escaped to neutral Sweden. He…

Biographies|October 17, 2022

Mansour Abbas, 1974-

Abbas is a dentist who lives in the Galilee town of Maghar. Since 2019, he has served in the Knesset as the head of the Islamist party Ra’am. After Ra’am broke from the Joint List…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Ehud Barak, 1942-

As Israel’s 10th prime minister and last from the Labor Party from 1999 to 2001, Barak ended the occupation of southern Lebanon, participated in the 2000 Camp David talks, was rebuffed by Yasser Arafat in…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Naftali Bennett, 1972-

Israel’s 13th prime minister, Bennett was born in Haifa to U.S. immigrants. He was an IDF Sayeret Matkal commando and a software entrepreneur. He became the leader of the settler-supported Jewish Home party in 2012…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Esther Hayut, 1953-

Hayut is the Israeli Supreme Court’s president, a post she is due to hold until October 2023. The Jerusalem Post says she could be Israel’s most influential chief justice since Aharon Barak by reasserting the…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Isaac Herzog, 1960-

Herzog has served as the 11th president of Israel since July 2021. His father, Chaim Herzog, also served as president, and grandfather Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog was the chief rabbi of Ireland. A Tel Aviv native,…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Dalia Itzik, 1952-

The first female speaker of the Knesset from 2006 to 2009, Itzik was a teacher who began her political career as the chair of the Jerusalem Teachers Union for five years. She was elected to…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Yair Lapid, 1963-

Born in Tel Aviv, Lapid followed the path of his father, Tommy, in gaining fame as a journalist, then moving into politics with a vision for a secular government. Lapid worked for Channel 1 and…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Avigdor Liberman, 1958-

A two-time foreign minister, Liberman was the finance minister in the coalition formed in June 2021. Born in Moldova, Liberman arrived in Israel in 1978. He worked closely with Benjamin Netanyahu before splitting with him…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Benjamin Netanyahu, 1949-

Netanyahu has served as the Likud leader for all but six years since 1993. He is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, holding the office from 1996 to 1999, 2009 to June 2021, and December 2022 to…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Reuven Rivlin, 1939-

The 10th president of Israel from 2014 to 2021, Rivlin was a Likud politician who served as the speaker of the Knesset from 2003 to 2006 and 2009 to 2013. As president, he pushed for…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Natan Sharansky, 1948-

Sharansky, a physicist and writer, was a Soviet refusenik imprisoned in a Siberian labor camp from 1977 to 1986. Upon his release, he joined his wife, Avital, in Israel. He became an activist for immigrant…

Biographies|September 23, 2022

Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Speech to U.N. General Assembly, 2022

The focus of Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s first speech at the UN was a political weather report of Israel’s relations with Arab neighbors. He lauded Arab states for embracing Israel, hoped that Israel could move toward a two-state solution with the Palestinians, and blistered the hate spewing from Hamas and Iran; Israel he said, would not tolerate Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Documents and Sources|September 22, 2022