This year was marked by a number of a political setbacks, but it also produced inspiring victories. As it comes to an end, we thought we’d take a look back on 2021. In addition to looking at Washington’s support for Israel’s violence, we wanted to take stock of what Palestine activists accomplished through their tireless […]
Archive for the ‘Benjamin Netanyahu’ Category
2021 in review: Business as usual in DC, but Palestine activists scored huge wins


“I don’t think Bibi ever wanted to make a deal.”


First things first: you probably already know, but Mondoweiss is able to do the depth and quality of journalism we do in large part because we are funded by a huge community of individual donors who care about honesty and integrity in reporting – people like you. If you haven’t already, can you take a moment […]
For Democratic leaders, and Tom Cotton too, Lapid is a rock star who says nothing about Palestine


The big news on our issue in Washington is that Benjamin Netanyahu is gone, and Joe Biden and the Israel lobby are celebrating. Yair Lapid, the foreign minister and alt-PM in the new Naftali Bennett government, came to Washington this week and was treated like a rock star by the lobby. Here at last is […]
Israeli officials are ‘alarmed’ by U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan


Israeli officials have reacted with “alarm” to the images of the United States leaving Afghanistan, arguing that the U.S. has empowered Israel’s enemies, according to an expert observer. Some say the withdrawal shows why Israel can never leave the occupied Palestinian territories. Bottom line– The American “Forever war” is still getting raves in Israel. Israeli […]
Did Israel just fail to be singularly racist?


One of Israel’s most singularly racist laws just expired last midnight: the ‘temporary’ ban on Palestinian family reunification, which had previously been extended every year since 2003. But let it be made crystal clear – the law did not expire because Israel stopped being an Apartheid state, and the political reason for the failure to […]
Israel is torn between ‘temporary’ and permanent Apartheid


One of the first challenges to the new Israeli government is the passage of yet another extension to the “temporary order” from 2003, which bans Palestinian family unification. Human Rights Watch, in their April report on Israeli Apartheid, explains family reunification policy cogently: The 1952 Citizenship Law also authorizes granting citizenship based on naturalization. However, […]
Biden should use US aid as leverage on Israel


Last December Professor Emeritus of International Relations at Oxford University Avi Shlaim wrote in Foreign Policy that at some point in President Biden’s administration he would have to address the ongoing problem of Israel/Palestine. That time has come, of course not at Biden’s choosing and likely sooner than Shlaim expected. His oped recalled a story […]
How Gaza dethroned the king of Israel


How did Benjamin Netanyahu manage to serve as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister? With a total of 15 years in office, Netanyahu surpassed the 12-year mandate of Israel’s founding father, David Ben Gurion. The answer to this question will become particularly critical for future Israeli leaders who hope to emulate Netanyahu’s legacy, now that his historic […]
America’s ironclad commitment to Israel is more ideological than logical


Two central pillars of U.S. foreign policy discourse have long been to be staunchly pro-Israel, while maintaining the language of Iran as a menacing threat. This dual discourse is so ingrained in U.S. policy thinking that its rhetoric bleeds into American popular culture. But what is the merit of this unquestionable policy position in terms […]
The beginning of the end of Netanyahu?


A nerve-wrecking 35 minutes before the end of his 28-day mandate to form a government, Yair Lapid of the Yesh Atid party informed President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday night that he had managed to form a coalition. It is an ungainly beast: And it’s not yet clear it will actually be voted in. The next prime minister […]
Israelis need Netanyahu more than they care to admit


The news is that Israeli centrist lawmaker Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party (“There is a Future”), declared to the President Reuven Rivlin, that he had managed to put together a majority supported coalition to govern the country. He managed to proclaim this just before his mandate to form the coalition ran out, […]
Bennett government would make Israel easier to sell in ‘progressive circles,’ leading Israel advocate says


Israel’s advocates in U.S. politics are excited by the possible replacement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Naftali Bennett, in a “change” coalition. Even though Bennett is to the right of Netanyahu, his coalition would include a few leftleaning Israelis, and that will make Israel easier to sell. “You can’t deny that America is better […]
Bennett will oust Netanyahu as Israeli PM under reported deal


Right-winger Naftali Bennett is to replace Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister under a power-sharing deal announced by centrist Yair Lapid just ahead of a midnight deadline tonight in Israel. Netanyahu has served as prime minister since 2009, the longest term of any Israeli p.m. He has so far survived a series of four elections […]
Egyptian Mediators Try to Build on Israel-Hamas Ceasefire


Palestinians shake hands after returning to their destroyed houses following Israel-Hamas truce, in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, May 21, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Egyptian mediators sought to reinforce a day-old ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants on Saturday, and aid officials appealed for a period of calm to start tackling a humanitarian […]
Biden’s opposition to an Israeli ceasefire is nothing new


The headlines read various versions of “Biden supports a ceasefire!” Israeli bombs and missiles have killed 232 Palestinians, 65 of them children, and left more than 1,900 wounded and 75,000 homeless in Gaza. Twelve have died in Israel. Shouldn’t support for an immediate end to the slaughter be automatic? What does it mean when the […]
IDF launches waves of strikes against Gaza amid rare pause in rocket attacks


Israeli aircraft carried out a series of strikes against targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday even as Palestinian terrorists in Gaza appeared to temporarily pause the rocket fire toward Israel. Rockets were fired toward Israel just before midnight Monday, with no further attacks until dawn Tuesday, when alarms sounded in communities near Gaza and […]
Joe Biden Supports Israeli Ceasefire After Pressure from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Left


President Joe Biden expressed his desire for an Israeli ceasefire of operations against Hamas, after a growing force of leftist Democrats criticized his support of Israel. Biden spoke with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu Monday afternoon, walking back his support for Israel’s aggressive response in Palestine to Hamas rocket attacks. The Israeli military response against Hamas […]
Ilhan Omar: ‘Appalling’ Biden Would Allow Weapons to Be Sent to Israel


Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), in a statement Monday, said the “United States should not stand idly by” allowing casualties to rise in Gaza while President Joe Biden lets “precision-guided weaponry” be given to Israel “without any strings attached.” “The violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip is spiraling out of control,” Omar said in the […]
Biden Tells Netanyahu US Supports Gaza Ceasefire, Israel’s Right to Self-Defense


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and US President Joe Biden, then vice president, speak in front of media in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2016. Photo: AP/Michel Euler 2016 © i24 News – US President Joe Biden spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday night, stating American support both for Israel’s “right to […]
Netanyahu, Gantz said to weigh fresh partnership; all sides strongly deny notion


A television report Monday said that representatives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader and Defense Minister Benny Gantz have again discussed a potential coalition partnership after the conflict with Gaza is over, due to the apparent collapse of the possibility of a coalition led by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. The […]
Biden speaks with Netanyahu, expresses ‘support for a ceasefire’


US President Joe Biden spoke Monday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the bloodshed in Israel and Gaza, and “expressed his support for a ceasefire.” It was the third call the two leaders have had since the violence in Gaza erupted and came hours after Netanyahu said he had directed the IDF to continue striking […]
German, Dutch Leaders Express Strong Support for Israel’s Right to Defend Itself


German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures during a media briefing at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 6, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Siphiwe Sibeko. i24 News – In separate calls Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leaders of Germany and the Netherlands expressed their strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself […]
Netanyahu needs a strong Hamas in Gaza


News and Partnerships Life and Culture Columnists and Opinion Haaretz Heb and TheMarker Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved Source
Netanyahu says attack on Gaza media tower was ‘perfectly legitimate’


News and Partnerships Life and Culture Columnists and Opinion Haaretz Heb and TheMarker Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved Source
Lapid suggests political considerations are behind Israel’s Gaza operation


News and Partnerships Life and Culture Columnists and Opinion Haaretz Heb and TheMarker Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved Source
Netanyahu: Israel Will Keep Retaliating to Attacks, Protect Citizens from Hamas


Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a Memorial ceremony for Ethiopians who died on their journey to Israel, at Mount Herzl, on May 10, 2021. Photo: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL i24 News – Israel will continue to respond to attacks and will protect its citizens from Hamas terrorists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late on Saturday. In […]
Biden speaks to both Netanyahu and Abbas in attempt to deescalate Gaza tensions


News and Partnerships Life and Culture Columnists and Opinion Haaretz Heb and TheMarker Haaretz.com, the online English edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, gives you breaking news, analyses and opinions about Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World. © Haaretz Daily Newspaper Ltd. All Rights Reserved Source