Civil Society

OREN ZIV/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Allegations of prisoner abuse expose deep rifts in Israeli military

Israel’s military has long been called the army of the people, but its unity is being increasingly destabilized as the political rift expands.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron (L) after a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

Israeli minister's support for Le Pen causing tensions in France-Israel ties

Reports that French President Emmanuel Macron confronted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about statements championing the far-right's Marine Le Pen signal the dangers of the Israeli government siding with European populists.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli anti-government protesters prepare to release yellow balloons during a demonstration demanding action to release the hostages taken captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip in the Oct. 7 attacks, central Tel Aviv, July 6, 2024.

Analysis

Why is Israel's anti-government protest movement struggling to gain steam?

Hundreds of thousands of people come out to support the families of the hostages in their call for a deal to release them, but fewer join rallies calling for the Netanyahu government to resign over the failures of Oct. 7.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A visitor looks at portraits of late Franco-Lebanese film director Maroun Baghdadi and pictures from his movies at the venue of an exhibition dedicated to his memory in Beirut on December 12, 2023, as Lebanon commemorates the 30th annivesary of his death in an accident at the age of 43. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Lebanon's resistance through culture: Return of Beirut’s Metropolis Cinema

As Beirut continues to navigate its path toward recovery, Metropolis Cinema stands as a symbol of the enduring power of art and culture to resist, unite and inspire.

Latest News

Israel ramps up attacks on northern Gaza as 60,000 flee Rafah

AFP via Getty Images

US, EU slap sanctions on Israeli Jewish supremacist, extremist settler groups

ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Shin Bet warns violent Jerusalem protests could lead to 'dangerous' escalation

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Analysis

Row in Israel over ultra-Orthodox draft threatens Netanyahu’s government

Ultra Orthodox Jewish youths block a road in Bnei Brak as they protest against their conscription into the Israeli armed forces, on April 1, 2024.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Israel’s far right is courting European populist, nationalist parties

Getty

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Chemi Peres: Israeli tech back to business, cyber security among most resilient

Despite the war and the divides within the Israeli society, tech entrepreneur Chemi Peres embraces the optimism of his father, late President Shimon Peres, for the future of the country’s innovation ecosystem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the site where dozens were killed in crush at a religious festival, Mount Meron, April 30, 2021.

Analysis

Inquiry finds Netanyahu responsible for 2021 festival stampede

The commission said the 45 deaths in Mount Meron could have been avoided.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 24: Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves 10, Downing Street after meeting Britain's Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, on March 24, 2023 in London, England. Benjamin Netanyahu visits London against a backdrop of unrest at home. Protest are being held weekly across Israel against legislation neing pushed through the Knesset by his government to restain the judiciary. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Analysis

Can't count him out: Netanyahu, allies score big in Israel's municipal elections

Despite the Likud's plunge in the polls, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party preserved most of its power in this week's municipal elections.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

An Israeli soldier stops a driver at a checkpoint at the entrance of the Palestinian village of Orif, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, on June 22, 2023, following an incursion by Israeli forces into the village. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

In West Bank, Israeli army ramps ups WhatsApp surveillance of Palestinians

No sense of privacy remains in Israel's checkpoints in the West Bank, where civilians face increasing intrusions into their digital lives and social media apps.

First Lady Michal Herzog at a consolation visit by the Idan family, Oct. 25 Kibbutz Mishmar Haemek.

Israel’s first lady speaks out about 'unbearable' plight of women hostages in Gaza

Michal Herzog, Israel's first lady, spoke to Al-Monitor about her mission to make the world recognize the sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women on and since Oct. 7.

Lucy Aharish

Israeli ministry faces backlash for denying Jewish event funds over Arab anchor

Many in Israel were appalled by the Education Ministry revoking funding for a Jewish event that featured beloved Arab Israeli journalist Lucy Aharish.

Fallen Druze

After battling Hamas, Druze leaders ask Israel for more than special status law

In mourning for community victims killed by the militant group in Gaza, Druze patience is wearing thin toward a law discriminating against them.

TOPSHOT - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the budget session at the parliament in Jerusalem on May 23, 2023. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Poll: Only 4% of Israeli Jews find Netanyahu reliable source on Gaza war

According to a recent survey, only 4% of Israeli Jews see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a reliable source of information for the Israel-Hamas war.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A demonstrator cuts a lock of her hair during a gathering, by Israelis of Iranian origin, in support of Iran protests in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv on Oct. 29, 2022.

Analysis

Iranian-Israelis renew support for protests on Mahsa Amini anniversary

While Israelis support the protest movement, opinions in Israel vary on whether it could weaken the Iranian government.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Israel's Supreme Court mitigate threats and avert constitutional crisis?

Israel’s Supreme Court opened hearings Tuesday on the amendment to limit its powers in what could soon become a constitutional crisis.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images

Analysis

Israelis of Ethiopian origin suffer discrimination, racism, over-policing

Decades after arriving to the country, Israelis of Ethiopian origin still face distrust, discrimination and police brutality.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Israel Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel meets with Iranian journalists and activists in exile, London, UK, Sept. 6 2023 Credit: curtsy of office of Intelligence Minister

Israeli intelligence minister meets Iranian diaspora in London

Israel's Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel met in London with Iranian exiled activists and journalists, preparing for "the day after" when the Iranian regime weakens.