Tag: Netanyahu

Though the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instituted an unprecedented 10 month building freeze in Judea and Samaria due to pressure by the US beginning in November 2009, an Israeli business newspaper report shows that financial support for Jewish communities leaped a whopping 38% the following year.

To a remarkable extent—and this has nothing to do with his views or policies—Bibi Netanyahu is the only functioning politician in Israel today. No wonder he is prime minister, will finish his current term, and will almost certainly be reelected in 2013. Consider the alternatives.

In quick succession, Sharon's first replacement, Ehud Olmert, got into criminal trouble and resigned in disgrace; his second replacement, Tzipi Livni, managed to yank defeat from the jaws of victory after her party became the first in Israel's history to win the largest number of seats in the Knesset and end up in the opposition; and, finally, the third Kadima leader Shaul Mofaz maneuvered his party into a 70-day session in Netanyahu's government, where the latter taught him how winning is done: up close and brutally.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will leave on Wednesday for a week-long trip to the Olympics in London, Poland, and Israel.

The attack, which Israel’s government is blaming on Iran, comes on the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish center in...

For the second time in just two months, the Israeli political universe was upended when Shaul Mofaz’s Kadima Party voted to quit Israel’s governing coalition.

Following the collapse of negotiations over a new conscription law, Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz decided to quit Netanyahu's coalition, leaving the premier once again with only 66 MKs. Mofaz told a Kadima faction emergency session: "It is with great sorrow that I say that there is no escape from taking a decision on quitting the government." Mofaz explained: "I went in on a principle, and when that failed, we must quit."

Several days ago, our Prime Minister's indulgence toward terrorists resurfaced. Netanyahu, we learned, is primed to free another 123 prisoners incarcerated in Israel since before the Oslo Accords. Most of them are Fatah members who have been in imprisoned for 25 to 35 years after being convicted of involvement in terrorist attacks in which Israelis were killed. The goal is to woo Mahmoud Abbas back to the negotiating table.

As the deadline for the renewal of the Tal Law approaches and tens of thousands of people rallied to demand that all citizens of Israel perform national service, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a meeting of the Likud Knesset faction to discuss ways to include Hareidim in national and military service. With his party in agreement, the prime minister is on his way to drafting new legislation.

A government coalition effort to craft a revised version of the Tal Law, whereby a sizeable number of draft eligible haredi yeshiva students would be forced to choose between joining the Israel Defense Forces or partake in Sherut Leumi (alternative national service), could become a political quagmire for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Kadima Party leader Shaul Mofaz is threatening to bolt the unity government over a lack of progress toward finding a solution.

A few hours after a report by MK Plesner's committee on "equal share in burden" was made public Wednesday morning, coalition partner Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz convened members of his faction to say that he expects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the committee's recommendations within a few days days. "The decision before us is a crucial decision for Israel," he stressed.

The simple conclusion from the Right’s recent failure to pass the Regulation Law, intended to protect Jewish homes from being uprooted in Judea and Samaria, is that the fateful, strategic decisions are determined by one man: the prime minister.

The government on Sunday voted to put a ministerial committee headed by the Prime Minister in charge of Jewish development in Judea and Samaria , the first time in 16 years that the establishment and expansion of Jewish communities in the biblical heartland will not come under the purview of the full government.

Israel, which is approximately the size of the state of New Jersey, is also a very densely populated country – with an average of 982 people per square mile. "The idea...has spatial, economic and security logic for us," PM Netanyahu said. "It is also of value regarding environmental protection."

Obama put a 'gun' to Bibi’s head to prevent Israel from annexing Area C in response to the unilateral move by the PA for recognition at the UN. The 'gun' was Obama’s threat not to veto the UNSC resolution recognizing Palestine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran and Hezbollah of being involved in the slaughter of civilians in Syria. "We what is happening in...

Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, is calling Syrian President Bashar Assad’s war against opposition a “genocide”, and said Israeli support is behind efforts to overthrow him.

These signs hang by one of the passageways between H1 and H2 zones in Hebron. H2 zone comprises Jews and some 40 thousand Arabs. H1 zone,...

With Congressman Steve Rothman being accused of dual loyalties simply over a pro-Israel voting record in government, what could I, who has a daughter serving in Israel’s military, expect from these same opponents? What charges would they lodge against me? How ugly would the attacks be?

Though leaders in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria decried the failure of Wednesday’s Knesset vote to overturn the destruction of five apartment buildings in Beit El, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a major new construction plan to erect 300 new homes in the town, with 551 additional homes approved in four other locations.

Avraham Nocham, an artist, explained that he has decided to join the strike out of empathy and identification with the strikers’ objectives. "I am very sensitive to these issues. Many times the development of these incidents is frightening. I have come to join the struggle and strike in hope of a positive outcome."

Few things ought to be as urgent as keeping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Yet the West – led from the front by the United States – has fallen into the "peace process" trap that considers talk to be progress and, once a conversation has begun, that there is nothing worse than stopping it: Talk about what you've talked about. Talk about what you won't talk about. Talk about talking again. Talk again. Repeat.

Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's commitment not to seek the evacuation of five homes in Beit El's Ulpana Hill neighborhood, as required by a Supreme Court ruling, It appears that the premier has now come up with a creative solution, to evacuate and reconstruct the buildings on a nearby lot.

The repatriation of the bodies is being called a good-will gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Included among them was Ramez Aslim, the suicide bomber who attacked a Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem in 2003. Dual Israeli-American citizens Dr. David Applebaum, and his daughter Nava, who was to have been married the day after the bombing, were killed in that attack.

If you were PM Netanyahu and were deciding whether you could entrust the West in general, and this US administration in particular, with the physical survival of your country, what would you do?

For many, the “surprise” which greeted Israelis on May 8th was yet another political dance in which the citizen is a spectator left to watch, wonder, and wait for another year and half to be heard from again. This scenario begs the question: when it comes to the state of Israel’s representative governance, is the tail wagging the dog? Put simply, is Israeli citizenry merely an accessory to the political decision-making of the day?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday decried violence against African migrants following a night of violent protest and promised the problem of African...

Is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s politically “brilliant move” just the opening shot? Will his next move be an attempt to inject the Kadima Knesset members into the Likud? Or is the prime minister planning another Sharon-style bombshell, such as enticing Likud MKs to join him, Kadima and Ehud Barak’s party in forming a new balloon party?

As an American I’m envious of Israelis, who have a leader who was a combat soldier and is also an intellectual, who actually knows something about history, war, economics and yes, even politics. We, on the other hand…

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday urged Israeli leaders to surrender large swaths of Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority if they want peace. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat disagree.