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"He (Lindsey Graham) said that the Biden Administration had dispatched him to the region in order to test Saudi Arabia's seriousness about a normalization deal and gauge how much the country has been able to implement reforms promised by the crown prince, known as MBS." Times Of Israel Story 4/18/2023 Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham visiting Saudi Arabia in recent days meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Then he stopped in Israel to meet top Israeli leaders like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz (touted as the next "Centrist" Prime Minister to replace Netanyahu) and Opposition Leader...

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to gather in Jerusalem Monday for a mass demonstration against the government’s judicial reform plan. The protest coincides with a vote by the Knesset on a linchpin bill of the judicial reform plan. The proposed legislation, which is expected to pass its first reading Monday, would increase the influence of the Knesset and government over the appointment of judges. Currently, just four of the nine members of the judicial selection committee are from the government and Knesset, with the remaining five members being judges and members of the Israel Bar Association. In addition,...

Opposition leader Yair Lapid warned Sunday morning that Israel is "losing the US" as a result of the government's actions. "The Americans talk to me all the time and they are horrified by what is happening," Lapid said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet. He dismissed claims that the US is interfering in Israel's internal affairs, saying: "We ask the US to interfere [in our affairs] every day, from aid to funding the Iron Dome. The Americans say clearly that our alliance is based on our shared democratic values, and if you don't maintain them, then the alliance will...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuses opposition heads of "purposely pushing the country to anarchy" in a short video statement published after a turbulent day that has seen some 90,000 people protest in Jerusalem, as well as scuffles and shouting matches in the Knesset. "The opposition is going wild in the Knesset and its lawmakers are jumping on chairs, (Tel Aviv Mayor) Ron Huldai is expressly inciting violence, and in the left-wing protest they are calling the prime minister a traitor," he says. "Get a grip. Show responsibility and leadership," he tells opposition leaders adding: "Most citizens of Israel don't want...

It was predictable given the fervor of the left-wing demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu that talk of assassination would arise sooner or later. Despite their own calls that right-wing Israelis accept the results of the previous election that propelled Yair Lapid and his center-left allies to power, left-wing Israelis have largely refused to pay the same courtesy to Netanyahu and his new coalition, which won a firm majority in the most recent vote. It’s not just that they oppose his proposed policies. They insist Bibi is an unrepentant criminal and a danger to democracy who must be removed from power. Since...

The Pegasus Affair: This is how the right-wing government was overthrown They had a problem. The majority of the people in Israel vote right. The national camp has been in power for too long and they had no democratic way to replace it, so they found a solution Yehuda Vald, 10.02.22 The revelation this week [https://www.srugim.co.il/?p=645212] in the Calcalist newspaper about the activation of spy software against senior officials in the economy, including those close to Prime Minister Netanyahu, is the tip of the iceberg that has been revealed about the anti-democratic revolution led by influential people in the police...

Israel's new national security minister earlier visited the Jerusalem holy site, drawing condemnation The United Nations Security Council will hold an emergency session to discuss the recent visit by Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, which sparked international backlash, a report said Tuesday. An unnamed senior diplomat told The Times of Israel that a date has not yet been set, but the meeting could take place as early as Thursday. Earlier on Tuesday, the United Arab Emirates and China asked the UN Security Council to meet shortly after Ben-Gvir's controversial visit, according to diplomats. The Temple...

Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has signed a deal to give an Israeli government post to an openly homophobic ultra-nationalist party leader. It is the latest development set to give far-right parties unprecedented power within Israel's ruling coalition. Avi Maoz will be a deputy minister and run a "Jewish identity" authority. He heads Noam, a religious-nationalist, anti-Arab and anti-LGBTQ party that argues for a strict interpretation of Jewish religious laws in Israel. The agreement has added to a growing sense of alarm over the composition of Mr Netanyahu's likely government. Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid has described it as "full-on crazy",...

The Azerbaijani parliament on Friday announced its historic decision to open an embassy in Israel. The embassy will be located in Tel Aviv, and will be the first embassy in Israel of a country with a Shi’ite majority and a Shi’ite government. Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said: "I welcome the decision by the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to open an embassy in Israel. Azerbaijan is an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world. The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relationship between our countries."...

Outgoing PM at swearing-in of the 25th Knesset: "IDF soldiers will not be investigated by FBI or any foreign body or country' Prime Minister Yair Lapid slammed the US Administration's decision to launch an FBI investigation into the death of AL Jazeera Shireen Abu Aqleh during the swearing-in ceremony for the 25th Knesset Tuesday. "The IDF is a moral and ethical army. IDF soldiers and their commanders defend the State of Israel. The IDF thoroughly investigates any irregular event and is committed to the values and laws of democracy," Lapid said. "Our soldiers will not be investigated by the FBI...

The Biden administration will not say when the president plans on calling newly elected Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his victory, drawing accusations the U.S. administration is trying to isolate the conservative Jewish leader before he even takes office.Asked on Thursday afternoon if President Joe Biden has any plans to phone Netanyahu following his victory this week in the Israeli elections, a White House spokesman told the Washington Free Beacon, "We don’t have any call to preview at this point."The Israeli media reported on Thursday that Biden is expected to call Netanyahu some time over the...

An average of 800 terrorist incidents per month - this is the grim figure of the last year which has not yet ended. Along with this, our forces captured about 2,300 terrorists and thwarted hundreds of attacks, including kidnapping and suicide.

The State of Israel will be going to vote on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. This will be the fifth election in less than four years. The near parity is between the competing political blocs: the Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-of-center on one hand, and the anti-Netanyahu left-of-center bloc led by Yair Lapid. Netanyahu’s Likud bloc has nevertheless a noticeable advantage; it has a reliable bloc of 60 mandates in the polls, and it may have an even higher number in the real poll – on Election Day. Netanyahu has only to find a single defector to form a narrow coalition government of...

Politics in the state of Israel has never been more complex. One coalition is held together by the slimmest of reeds: opposition to one man — Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s a collection of liberal, conservative, and Arab parties that was formed primarily to defeat Netanyahu last year with Yair Lapid as its leader. Some oppose the two-time former prime minister for his alleged corruption. Others blanch at his policies in the Palestinian territories. But because the only real unifying factor for the opposition is hatred of Netanyahu, the governing coalition lasted only a few months. Netanyahu’s Likud coalition is a mish-mash...

Israel is growingly concerned by the “dangerous closeness” between Russia and Iran over the supply of drones manufactured in the Islamic Republic to attack Ukraine and is, as a result, holding daily assessments to review its position on the conflict, Prime Minister Yair Lapid told The Jerusalem Post. “Part of the work we’re doing has to do with the very dangerous closeness that is being created between Russia and Iran,” he told the Post in an interview on Sunday. “It’s not something we are going to ignore or do nothing about… so what we need to do is reassess on...

PM expresses "deep support" over emerging Russia-Iran ties; tells Russian opposition TV that weapons trade between Moscow and Tehran 'puts the whole world in danger' Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday amid anger Kyiv over Israel's refusal to supply arms to Ukraine in their war against Russia. After the discussion, Lapid tweeted that Kuleba updated him on the war, while the prime minister said he "shared with him (Kuleba) our deep concern about the military ties between Iran and Russia," affirming that "Israel stands with the Ukrainian people." However Lapid made no mention...

Prime Minister Yair Lapid spoke a short while ago today (Tuesday, 11 October 2022), with the President of the United States, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President Biden began by congratulating Prime Minister Lapid on the historic agreement with Lebanon on a maritime boundary, after a decade of attempts. President Biden told Prime Minister Lapid: “You are making history.” .....

A renewed nuclear deal between Iran and world powers is “off the table” for the foreseeable future, President Joe Biden told Israel’s Prime Minister Yair Lapid, according to a report in Hebrew media. Biden and other administration officials conveyed the message in a series of recent conversations with the Israeli premier, Zman Yisrael said. If the nuclear deal is not signed, it would be viewed as the crowning achievement of Lapid’s short term as prime minister, as Israel gears up for its fifth round of elections in just over three years this November. According to the report, the latest draft,...

Russia's Ministry of Justice has requested the liquidation of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency, a non-profit organisation that promotes immigration to Israel, according to a Moscow court. The website of the Basmanny district court said the ministry filed the request on July 15 and it would be discussed on July 28. No reason for launching the case was given. The move against the Jerusalem-based agency, the largest Jewish non-profit organisation in the world, follows criticism by Israel of Russia's war in Ukraine, where Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid accused it in April of carrying out war crimes.

During a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday morning in Jerusalem, President Biden said he was “given a list” of reporters to take questions from. The president made the gaffe after taking one question from an Israeli reporter. Afterwards, he was prompted to call on more reporters, when he said, “Um, sure. Uh, I was given a list here,” before reading off the name of Reuters reporter Steve Holland. As the conference went on, Biden repeatedly looked down at his list to call on reporters. “The next person to ask us a question, I guess,...