Free Republic

The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a law last year declaring Israel “the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfills its natural, cultural, religious, and historical right to self-determination.” One might suppose that this “Basic Law” (akin to a constitutional amendment) would be as contentious as the Vatican proclaiming itself Catholic. To the contrary. Although the “nation-state law” changed no policies and affirmed a relationship between Jews and Israel that had been manifest since the country’s founding in 1948, the legislation was exceptionally controversial. One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main political opponents, opposition leader Tzipi Livni, charged...

A Harvard student has apologized for calling MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) a “smelly Jew” during a panel discussion last week. The incident occurred last Thursday when the Harvard Law School hosted a panel discussion with guest speakers Dennis Ross and Livni. During a question and answer session a president of a student organization mocked the Israeli leader, asking her, “How is it that you are so smelly?” When his question drew stunned silence, he clarified his "question" and said, “A question about the odor of Ms. Tzipi Livni, she’s very smelly, and I was just wondering.” The question was...

The name of the Harvard student who asked a visiting Israeli politician why she was “so smelly” has been revealed. The student is a leader in Harvard’s Arab community with a history of anti-Israeli activism. Not only that, but he’s also a man looking for a job, making his public stunt look like an incredibly bad idea. Last week, Husam El-Qoulaq rudely disrupted a panel featuring Israeli politician Tzipi Livni to ask her why she was “so smelly.” “I’m question (sic) about the odor of Tzipi Livni, very smelly, and I was just wondering,” El-Qoulaq said to a confused panel....

One thing is certain: if the roles had been reversed, and a Jewish student had asked a Muslim politician why she was so “smelly,” that student would no longer be at Harvard, and would be subjected to international opprobrium, while stories on “Islamophobia” would be blanketing the airwaves and filling mainstream media publications. “Meet The Brilliant Harvard Student Who Called A Jewish Politician ‘Smelly,’” by Blake Neff, Daily Caller, April 21, 2016 (thanks to Pamela Geller): The name of the Harvard student who asked a visiting Israeli politician why she was “so smelly” has been revealed. The student is a...

Good morning. Today is the last day Republicans control both houses of Congress amidst a failure to pass funding President Trump wants to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico. There is also a partial shutdown involving five federal government departments.... Writing in an opinion piece for the "Washington Post" incoming Republican senator from Utah and former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said this about President Trump among other things: "Trump's words and actions have cause despair throughout the world"...... President Trump tweeted Sunday evening that he looks forward to a meeting with North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un.......

WATCH: Livni taken by surprise as press conference * Gabbay: I took *hit from Livni * Zionist Union fared poorly in polls * Center-left playing field gets crowded ahead of April 9 * Latest election headlines Zionist Union breakup: Labor Party leader Avi Gabbay announced on Tuesday the break-up of the Zionist Union, with Tzipi Livni's Hatunah party. Zionist Union, which won 24 seats in the last election, has tanked in recent polls to as low as nine seats ahead of the April 9 election. In a press conference, Gabbay said he "still believes in partnerships and connections," but said...

..... She attacked the government's intention to enact the Overrule Clause, saying, "Those who seek to limit the Supreme Court are those who do not accept the value of democracy. It is time to fight for democracy, in Israel, in the United States and throughout the world. To fight against the delegitimization of political opponents, for the right to express positions, even if we disagree with them."

Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has accepted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s offer to join the coalition in return for the Defense and Immigration ministries, senior Yisrael Beytenu officials said on Wendesday. According to senior officials, the Prime Minister’s meeting Wednesday afternoon with Liberman has already laid the groundwork for Yisrael Beytenu’s entry into the government. Shortly after the meeting, Netanyahu reportedly called Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, informing him that Liberman had requested the Defense Ministry in exchange for his support of the Likud government. Senior officials have leaked details of the meeting, including Netanyahu’s offer to Liberman, which includes two...

Opposition leader and Zionist Union party chief Yitzhak Herzog has announced he is suspending unity government talks with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, after the premier issued an invitation to begin talks with Yisrael Beytenu party head Avigdor Liberman. n a markedly abrupt, pithy press conference, Herzog said Netanyahu faced a choice between "going to war and funerals, and the victory of (Avigdor) Liberman and (Naftali) Bennett, or the track of hope" - namely, inviting the Zionist Union party to join the coalition instead. "These are the choices - there are no other options," he added. "We won't continue negotiations at...

Israel’s largest opposition party is negotiating the terms for a possible unity government, a senior Zionist Camp official said on Tuesday. Speaking with Army Radio, Tzipi Livni (Zionist Camp) confirmed that her party was in talks with the Netanyahu government over a possible unity coalition. “I was shown things [brought up] in the talks, [but] were not finalized,” Livni said. A senior Likud official confirmed the negotiations to expand the governing coalition, telling party chiefs already in the government that they would have to make concessions if the Zionist Camp does join. “Every party will have to do its part...

t seems a concerted effort is under way to conceal the identity of the Harvard law student who hurled anti-Semitic epithets at Israel's former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during her recent address at the university. During the question and answer session at her speaking engagement, someone identified merely as "the president of a student organization," invoked an age-old anti-Semitic slur, asking Livni, "how is it that you are so smelly?” He then repeated the question: "A question about the odor of Ms. Tzipi Livni, she’s very smelly, and I was just wondering." CanaryMission.org notes that great lengths are being taken...

Just when you think once-prestigious Harvard could fall further from grace, Harvard students hurled anti-Semitic epithets at Israel's former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during her recent talk at the University. Last Thursday, Harvard Law School hosted a panel discussion with guest speakers Dennis Ross and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. During a question and answer session a president of a student organization mocked the Israeli leader, asking her, “How is it that you are so smelly?” When his question drew stunned silence, he clarified his "question." “A question about the odor of Ms. Tzipi Livni, she’s very smelly, and I...

Zionist Union’s No. 2 drops bombshell 12 hours before election; Netanyahu, Herzog accuse each other of ‘panicking’. The Zionist Union’s Tzipi Livni announced Monday evening that she would give up the rotation of the premiership with the slate’s leader, Isaac Herzog, an agreement the two made months ago when her Hatnua party merged with his Labor Party. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign up! In response, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the party was “panicking,” while Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid and Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett...

Netanyahu urges nationalists to vote Likud, stave-off leftist gov't of 'submission and capitulation'; 'they'll retreat along every front.' Ahead of tonight's major nationalist rally in Tel Aviv, and just two days before general elections, Prime Minister and Likud party leader Binyamin Netanyahu spoke exclusively in English to Arutz Sheva, and appealed to right-wing voters to cast their ballots for Likud - saying only his party could prevent the establishment of a leftist government which would be essentially controlled by outside powers. "The possibility is that if we don't close the gap between Labor and Likud, then Buji [Yitzhak Herzog] and...

How the woman set to be Israel’s new leader earned her spurs as an agent working for a covert cell in an elite spy unit It is an eye-catching episode on the CV of any would-be prime minister: a dangerous, youthful stint as a spy in one of the world’s most respected and feared secret services. True to her training, Tzipi Livni, the Israeli leader-in-waiting, has maintained a Sphinx-like silence about her Mossad career in Paris in the early 1980s. Consequently, reports on her service have pegged her as anything from a frontline agent hunting down Arab terrorists across Europe...

Sweden's state-owned alcohol retail monopoly, Systembolaget, has labeled Israeli Golan and Yarden wines as "made in Israel-occupied Syrian territories." According to the company's spokesman, Bjorn Rydberg, the decision was made after clients complained about the previous label, which stated the wine was made in Israel. The change was made after the company consulted with the Swedish Foreign Ministry. "It's the ministry's recommendation that we are following," Rydberg said. However, "because of the criticism, we will consider changing the label again," he said. Although Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson and his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni met recently to discuss the visa...

Tzipi Livni, head of Hatnua and possible prime minister of Israel if her "Zionist camp" union with Labor wins in elections, after which there would be a rotation between her and Labor head Yitzhak Herzog, made a campaign promise on Saturday of same-sex marriage. Livni was at a "Dreck" party at the Oman 17 club in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, where she was dancing with gay couples before taking the stage and the microphone. "Good evening Dreck. There's a chance that on March 20 (after elections - ed.) we'll come to celebrate the end of the period of darkness,...

Tzipi Livni, head of Hatnua and possible prime minister of Israel if her “Zionist camp” union with Labor wins in elections, after which there would be a rotation between her and Labor head Yitzhak Herzog, made a campaign promise on Saturday of same-sex marriage. Livni was at a “Dreck” party at the Oman 17 club in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, where she was dancing with gay couples before taking the stage and the microphone. “Good evening, Dreck. There’s a chance that on March 20 (after elections—ed.) we’ll come to celebrate the end of the period of darkness, racism and...

WASHINGTON — The White House has concluded that an agreement with the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a fast-track program to establish a Palestinian state is unlikely to happen. U.S. sources, including those close to the Obama administration, said such cooperation would be greater by an Israeli government led by the opposition Kadima Party, chaired by former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "It may be that the Obama administration has concluded that they cannot achieve the two-state solution with the Netanyahu government and perhaps want another Israeli prime minister," Aaron Miller, a former State Department official and regarded as...

JERUSALEM (AP) — When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dissolved his unwieldy coalition and called new elections last month, he appeared almost certain to be returned once more to office. But a new center-left alliance has surged past his Likud party in the polls, turning the March 17 contest into a toss-up. After joining forces with former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to create a joint grouping they call "The Zionist Camp," Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog is looking, to increasingly many Israelis, like a viable alternative to Netanyahu. He promises to reverse the country's slide toward international isolation and corrosive social...