Seventy years ago it was the Zionist militias who dug underground tunnels and hid weapon caches among the civilian population. So why is it so difficult for Israelis to understand when Hamas does the same today? Whether we like to admit it or not, the Israeli press intentionally ignores the realities of Gaza. One would be hard-pressed to find articles about the fall-out from last summer's Gaza war, including home reconstruction, destroyed infrastructure, high unemployment rates and the trauma that will likely stay with many of the victims for the rest of their lives. Even during the war itself, Israel's…

Following the results of the elections for the 20th Knesset, Social TV takes a street survey and asks residents of Tel Aviv to explain the unexpected results, and why they think the left-wing parties failed yet again.

One Ashkenazi leftist’s view of the post-election rumblings of class warfare between the "State of Tel Aviv" and the mainly Mizrahi periphery. Last Tuesday’s election saw Likud’s traditional popular base — Mizrahim in the poor, development towns and cities of the Negev and Galilee, and poor neighborhoods and suburbs of the central region — vote for Likud and Netanyahu in very big numbers. This caused a backlash among many Ashkenazi liberals who voted Zionist Union and Meretz. They’re saying they are through caring about the Mizrahi poor; let them go to Bibi from now on. This, in turn, has caused a counter-backlash…

Speaking at the 2015 J Street Conference in Washington D.C. on Sunday, +972 co-founder and writer Noam Sheizaf participated in a plenary panel called "Does Liberal Zionism Have a Future?" Sheizaf called out both the conference and liberal American Jewry for the lack of discussion about the latest Gaza war. (Watch the full panel here.) Later in the discussion, Sheizaf explained the dichotomy between liberalism and Zionism as it manifests itself in Israel, concluding that talk of diplomatic solutions must be preceded by a real civil rights movement.

While commentators will be talking about Netanyahu's anti-Arab race-baiting for a long time, his opponent's anti-Arab campaign tactics never stirred up too much controversy.  There were many reasons why Benjamin Netanyahu galloped to victory in last week's election. His opponent, Isaac Herzog, was viewed by many as disconnected, elitist and lacking an alternative vision for the future of the country. However, it was Netanyahu's campaign blitz, which came after polls revealed he was trailing his opponent by four seats, that truly won him the election. [tmwinpost] Netanyahu pulled out all the stops, from driving a stake through the two-state solution…

If the Left wants to win elections, it cannot continue to hide its true principles. It must speak clearly and openly about the most pressing issue facing Israel: the occupation. By Amir Segal Isaac Herzog will not be Israel's next prime minister, and Benjamin Netanyahu overwhelmingly won this election. Now is the time when leftists most often express remorse, admit their mistakes and look for someone to blame for their defeat. The analysis on the loss ranges from long-winded explanations regarding Netanyahu's success to listing every single failure of Herzog Zionist Camp. It has become socially acceptable to blame the…

West Bank settlers attacked a six-year-old Palestinian girl with rocks in the South Hebron Hills on Saturday, wounding her in the head, according to Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem. The girl was wounded after a group of masked settlers threw rocks at her near the entrance to the illegal outpost of Havat Maon, said B'Tselem. She was also lightly injured in her leg as she attempted to flee. B'Tselem reported that Israeli police took the girl and her father to a local station to file a complaint, and that she was treated at a local clinic for her wounds. The…

Some people have said American Sniper is racist, a piece of propaganda, a movie full of hatred. But if you squint and tilt your head, you will see that it is actually a movie full of love and ignorance. By Paula Schmitt While most critics of “American Sniper” are on the right side of issues, it is worth remembering that love and hatred, much like "right side," are all subjective concepts. It takes intellectual courage to understand that Chris Kyle essentially represents the best – if most misguided – American values. If political analysts continue to ignore that it may…