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Hebrew-language media reported Thursday that Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has walked back a recent promise he had made not to alter the Law of Return, as part of a coalition agreement with the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties. The proposition to change the law has roiled Israeli politicians, including those within Netanyahu’s Likud party. Prominent Netanyahu ally Yuli Edelstein spoke out against any proposed changes, saying that adjusting the law was a slippery slope that could lead to the policy’s demise. On the other hand, former Religious Services Minister Matan Kahana of the National Unity party, who clashed...

A bill which would outlaw gay conversion therapy passed its preliminary hearing in the Knesset Wednesday afternoon. The bill, which was drafted by MK Nissan Horowitz (Meretz), would ban the controversial practice of treating homosexuals with the aim of reversing same-sex attraction. In its preliminary vote, the 120-member Knesset backed the bill by a margin of 42 to 36, after the coalition split, with Blue and White backing the proposed law, while haredi lawmakers and the Likud opposed it - with the exception of Likud minister Amir Ohana. After the vote, haredi lawmakers fumed at Blue and White chief and...

The minister is the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party Israel’s homophobic health minister Yaakov Litzman has tested positive for the novel coronavirus after flouting his own lockdown to attend group prayers despite the ban on the public congregations, as per the Times of Israel report. The minister who is now infected with the coronavirus had earlier claimed that the coronavirus was the divine punishment for homosexuality.

After months of attacking each other and not speaking, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nemesis, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman, will meet on Thursday morning at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Netanyahu repeatedly told Likud leaders that there is no point in speaking to Liberman, because the Yisrael Beytenu leader is determined to end the prime minister's political career. But after Blue and White leader Benny Gantz canceled a meeting with Netanyahu, he called Liberman on Wednesday evening. "There is no point in wasting the country's time," Netanyahu told Liberman. "We will meet and see if it is...

Center-left candidate Benny Gantz declares victory over Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli elections, and is rejecting the prime minister’s call for negotiations over leading the government. Gantz issued a statement Thursday saying, “I am interested in and intend to form a broad and liberal unity government under my leadership.” He also said, “the process of building a government has begun, and we will not be dictated to.” This comes after Netanyahu offered to build a broad coalition government with Gantz amid a tight election. Netanyahu proposed a rotating premiership among the two leaders. “The people chose unity, the people want...

Unless he convinces Israeli lawmakers from outside his party to join him in a national unity government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 10-and-a-half-year run in office may soon end following inconclusive results inhis country’s parliamentary elections this week that appeared to deprive him of a governing majority in the Knesset. President Donald Trump took a hands-off approach when asked about the elections in America’s foremost ally in the Middle East. “Our relations are with Israel, so we’ll see what happens,” he told reporters while touring California. In Israel, Netanyahu has leveraged his ideological affinity with Trump as a selling point...

According to Channel 13, 97.6% of the votes from Tuesday's elections have already been counted, Blue and White stands at 33 seats and Likud at 31 seats, with Blue and White leading by a narrow margin. It is important to note that these are still not the final results. Overnight, the committee was counting the near quarter of a million soldiers' votes cast by Israeli soldiers. The Central Election Committee (CEC) has been updating its website since the close of the polls at 10 p.m. on Tuesday. The last update was at 10:40 a.m. on Thursday: 4,354,991 votes had been...

Right-wing factions convened at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem Wednesday afternoon, deciding to establish a "right-wing bloc" headed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, that will work for the establishment of the next government. It was decided to form a joint coalition negotiations team for all factions in the bloc. In addition to Netanyahu, the meeting saw the participation of Minister Yariv Levin and faction heads: Yaakov Litzman, Moshe Gafni, Naftali Bennett, Ayelet Shaked, and Bezalel Smotrich. Minister Aryeh Deri met with Prime Minister Netanyahu earlier this morning, as he was unable to attend the meeting due to the memorial ceremony...

The agreement, which was struck just two hours before the final deadline for Netanyahu to cobble together a ruling government, paves the way for a narrow, 61-seat coalition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud faction on Wednesday reached an agreement with the religious Zionist Bayit Yehudi on the formation of a rightist coalition, Israel Radio reported. The agreement, which was struck just two hours before the final deadline for Netanyahu to cobble together a ruling government, paves the way for a narrow, 61-seat coalition. By law, if Netanyahu failed to form a government by midnight on Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin...

Despite winning the majority of incoming MKs' support to form the next government, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu continues to face suspicions he will abandon them for the Left. Likud, Jewish Home, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Kulanu, and Yisrael Beytenu all recommended Netanyahu for the task - giving him a total of 67 MKs in his possible coalition. Still, MK Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home) fears Netanyahu may take the President's mandate and instead of forming a narrow right-wing government, create a broad unity government. "We are opposed to a unity government. The nation made a definite choice," Shaked said during an...

Poll fever continues ahead of March 17 elections, and while results have shown Likud and Labor neck and neck, the latest survey by Channel 10 gives Labor a full four mandate gap over Likud. According to the poll, conducted by the Dialog Institute under the supervision of Prof. Camil Fuchs, Labor - which erased the word "Zionism" from its Arabic ad campaign - would get 24 mandates, while Likud would only receive 20. Coming in at third Jewish Home stays at 16 seats, followed by a joint Arab list that would receive 12 mandates. Such a joint list - formed...

May. 17, 2006 0:44 | Updated May. 17, 2006 5:48 Olmert promises UTJ 5-year extension of Tal Law By ANSHEL PFEFFER Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has promised United Torah Judaism that the coalition will support a five-year extension of the Tal Law. Although the law, which allows yeshiva students to defer their army service, was not canceled by the Supreme Court in its ruling last Thursday, the court stressed that the law ran against civil equality and may be considered unconstitutional in the future. While official coalition talks between UTJ and Kadima are to resume only in a couple of...