Tag: party

Israel's political party conventions make the Knesset seem polite and tame. At the Likud Central Committee convention the other day, the vote for PM Netanyahu's proposal for the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu to run together in the upcoming election was conducted by a "show of hands" popular vote. Not the best way to hold a vote.

This morning, it appears that Bibi's worst nightmare is about to be realized, and this one could be a sea-change that would make the Likud Beitenu move seem like a parlor trick. According to Makor Rishon, retiring minister Moshe Kahlon has made a decision to return to political life after a two-week exile, and that he is about to announce very soon, maybe even today, Thursday, the creation of a new party.

The head of the European Jewish Association has called on the Ukrainian government to ensure the safety of the country's Jews in the wake...

YIshai is joined by soldier, artist, father, and activist Marc Prowisor.  Prowisor, who is also the director of security projects the One Israel Fund, talks with Yishai about a party held by Arabs, to celebrate deceased leader Yasser Arafat held near the Mount of Olives studio.  They also discuss what is going on among Arabs inside of Israel.

Over at the Likud, many appear unimpressed by their party leader's bold move, which is expected to be voted on at the Likud conference on Monday. Several Likud ministers are weighing a vote against the union. Minister of Improvement of Government Services Michael Eitan has so far been the most vociferous against the move, saying he fears that Likud would suffer from this rightward turn.

The short announcement by the two men last night—there were no questions from the reporters in the room—described a logical union of Likud, with its 27 seats in the outgoing Knesset, and Yisrael Beitenu, with its 15 seats, to create a powerful new party with the potential to attract more seats than its sum total of 42.

In a move that took everyone by surprise, including their own party members, Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party and the Likud have joined forces ahead of the upcoming elections and will be running as a joint list.

A new survey commissioned by Israel Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Liberman shows a near-tie between the Likud under Benjamin Netanyahu and a party led by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, bolstered by Tzipi Livni.

Dear Rabbi: With elections approaching in Israel, I am searching for a religious political party for which to vote. When I think about voting for Shas, I remember their support for Oslo, the surrender of parts of Eretz Yisrael, giving rifles to our enemies, and the terrible sea of Jewish blood that was spilled after the Oslo Accords were signed. That is not the Torah I am searching to find.

Now, suddenly, there’s been a reconciliation at the helm of the National Religious Party.

Should the Yacimovich proposal be accepted in a procedural vote at the party conference by the end of the month, it will guarantee both sectors only one Knesset seat, in place of the two seats which traditionally have gone to them. According to the kibbutz movement leadership, such a move may result in their abandoning the party with which they have been strongly identified over the years.

JERUSALEM – With the 18th Israeli Knesset dispersed and new national elections set for January 22, 2013, Israel’s various political factions began preparing for what is expected to be a brutal campaign to elect a new 120-seat parliament. Following the elections President Shimon Peres will ask a newly elected MK, presumably from the largest faction, to form the next government.

Reports are indicating that Aryeh Deri will return as the head of the Shas party, while Eli Yishai will receive the senior government position,...

Ben Ari attacked his current party, noting that "they know that the brand 'Ben Ari' is worth more than the two or three votes that each one of them would bring."

The poll predicted that in its present condition, with Shaul Mofaz at the helm, the Kadima party would net only a measly 3 Knesset seats.

Kikar Shabbat is reporting that Aryeh Deri, the former head of the Shas party will be returning to Shas. A contract is being drawn up...

Have you ever been to an upsherin, a hair-cutting ceremony? I had never been to one until I was invited by my gentleman friend, Sy, to attend one in honor of his great-grandson, Gabriel, given by his grandparents, Steve and Robin Kerzer. Even Sy, an Orthodox Jew, had not heard of it. Both of us knew it was the custom not to cut a boy’s hair until he was three years old, but we had no idea what was involved.

Seventy percent of Americans view Israel favorably, according to a survey conducted by the Foreign Policy Initiative.

The media are still doing their best to pretend that a gaffe is a mistake, when they are actually using it to mean the telling of inconvenient truths. Obama's reign of error is a constellation of inconvenient truths, economic, security and legal, that cannot be discussed in public. The telling of these inconvenient truths has been met with cries of racism, no matter how little they have to do with race. Now they are being met with cries of "Gaffe, Gaffe," when Romney brings them up.

The Russian government has evicted the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), according to the US State Department, accusing the organization of using its money to influence elections.

Yair Shamir, son of former prime minister Yitzhak Shamir, will be entering the political arena under the banner of the Yisrael Beytenu party.

It’s election season, so Republicans can’t be blamed for expressing outrage when the political platform at last week’s Democratic National Convention removed support for Jerusalem being the capital of Israel.

The chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party resigned after saying that pro-Israel Christians want to see Jews "slaughtered and converted."

The chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party resigned after saying that pro-Israel Christians want to see Jews "slaughtered and converted." Mark Alan Siegel...

American Olim Jeremy Gimpel and Ari Abramowitz passed the 3000 mark today in their membership drive to gain realistic seats in the Bayit Yehudi party list for Knesset.

At President Obama's behest, and to boos from some delegates, Democrats on Wednesday night inserted a few lines into their party platform affirming Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The interesting question is “why did they change it?” A platform is not a binding document; it is intended as a general statement of a party or candidate’s positions. Its planks are generally written to appeal the broadest possible constituencies. Most voters never read platforms or care about them. Is the change is intended to send a message to the leadership of the Muslim nations that Obama has been courting since his 2009 speech in Cairo that he is taking concrete steps to weaken the bond between the U.S. and Israel?

The information released about the Democratic convention seems to show it is designed to prove how radical the party is, to play to the most limited possible sector of the population.

A Jewish student at Michigan State University said he was attacked at an off-campus party in what he is calling a hate crime.

In less than three months time the Jewish Home Party, formerly known as the National Religious Party (NRP), will be holding its first ever internal primaries.