Democracy

Are new Knesset proposals pushing Israel toward Hungary-style governance? - opinion

Concerns mount that Israel’s new legislation could reshape democracy in a Hungary-like direction.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu speaks alongside former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in Budapest last year. Orban transformed Hungary into a quasi-autocracy, while Netanyahu has not achieved the same in Israel, the writer says.
A Satellite image shows a likely oil spill covering dozens of square kilometers near Iran’s Kharg Island, earlier this month.

In double trouble: Iran’s oil crisis – opinion

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivers a speech earlier this year.

What is Zionism, and who is a Zionist? - opinion

EUROPEAN UNION High Rep. for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas speaks to the media, in March 2026.

If Europe wants to help with Iran, it can target its proxies - opinion


Israel is not a democracy, US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack suggests at Doha Forum

"In this region, what's worked the best, whether you like it or you do not like it, is a benevolent monarchy," Barrack said.

Amb. Tom Barrack, US Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria, US Department of State, speaks during the 2025 Concordia Annual Summit on September 24, 2025 in New York City.

Netanyahu's pardon request a 'direct attempt to bypass courts,' scholars warn

Legal experts argue that using presidential clemency before a verdict would overturn long-standing norms that reserve pardons for those who have accepted responsibility.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to the courtroom at the Distrcit court in Tel Aviv, before the start of his testimony in the trial against him, October 28, 2025.

Israel needs moral giants, not more politicians - opinion

It is time for moral Zionists, not just political tacticians, to rise. We must call upon - men and women of deep faith, courage, and integrity to join Israel’s political life once again.

Natan Sharansky attends a meeting of the Knesset plenum in 2000. Imagine if Sharansky was not just a name in textbooks but again a living presence in our parliament, says the writer.

Challenges of a parliamentary system: How Knesset emasculated Israel - opinion

Seventy percent of Israelis want a new prime minister - yet voters have no mechanism to make it happen.

CHAIRMAN OF the Knesset Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee Simcha Rothman leans over to speak to Justice Minister Yariv Levin. The writer asks: How do we convince the Knesset to change the rules when that would result in many of them no longer serving?

Israel must restore equality under the law or risk collapse of its liberal democracy - opinion

A danger that Israel's liberal democracy might collapse does exist, unless a change takes place in the foreseeable future in the way the state is being run.

Israeli security forces clash with Jewish settlers during the evacuation of Illegal structures in Tzur Misgavi, an outpost in Gush Etzion, in the West Bank, November 17, 2025

Demonizing Netanyahu won’t save democracy, only listening to the voters will - opinion

The public continues to support him because they believe he is strong, experienced, and capable of navigating the country.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu walks outside his office in the Knesset.

Brazil's Bolsonaro detained over flight risk, damaged ankle monitor

Bolsonaro has been under house arrest for violating measures in a separate case involving allegations of courting US interference to aid in his criminal case.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leaves the hospital where he went to undergo a skin surgery procedure, authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes,  in Brasilia, Brazil, September 14, 2025.

Israel must pivot from US partisanship dependent on Republican loyalty - opinion

The more Israel is perceived as a purely partisan Republican project, the harder it will be to restore cross-party trust, risking the long-term erosion of legitimacy.

PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu and US Vice President JD Vance meet at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem last month. US politics has transformed Israel into a volatile symbol of domestic partisan identity, the writer asserts.

Is this next election cycle our last chance to save Israel’s future?

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Professor Dan Ben-David, a leading economist, warns that Israel’s future depends on urgent education reforms, with the next election potentially its last chance.

Israel has ‘the worst education system in the developed world,’ according to Prof. Ben-David. Here, President Isaac Herzog greets students at the opening of the school year in September at Rambam Religious School in Kiryat Shmona.

The New York battle of Hattin: Does Mamdani’s election portend the fall of the West? - opinion

Mamdani’s victory is comparable to Salah ad-Din’s Battle of Hattin. In 1187, the Muslim commander defeated the Crusader army, marking a turning point on the road to the Muslim conquest of Israel.

A reenactment of the Battle of Hattin in Israel.