Israel general discussion

[Hnv1]

She will never f**k off, will she?

Bibi should have just let her be the UN USG and be done with her. Shameless opportunist that she is

[America Needs R'hllor]

Widespread protests and a massive rally by the LGBTQ community yesterday. In Jerusalem, police arrested two peaceful protestors, one of whom I personally know. The picture of him, draped by a pride flag with his hands and even legs (wtf?) cuffed is something our foreign ministry will probably not want all the gay tourists from Europe and the US to see

He’s a local contender for Meretz, I wasn’t that impressed by him on the news.

Anyway it’s good to have liberal protests, though I personally am against this human trade.

Yeah, Eyal. He's a law student in the Hebrew University (which does beg the question of how he managed to be so involved in all this with the exams coming at us in full force, lol). He helped us out in draping the Har Hatzofim campus with pride flags etc, a really nice guy. He's clearly going for politics, what with all the Meretz MKs he's hanging around with, so I hope he has a successful career.

Anyway- Labour leader Avi Gabay nominated Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni as leader of the opposition, replacing Herzog (who will head the Jewish Agency). This is a move that will likely keep the ZU unified for the time being.

I was once a student at that law faculty. Let’s be honest the course in property law hadn’t changed since the 80’s.

Not gonna argue- considering my first ex is a law student, I have a grudge on that faculty anyway I study Economics and International Relations (yeah, I know) in that uni.

[Hnv1]

On a personal note, after I stoppped being active in the party’s convention last year, I’m now also not a member of Meretz for the first time since Beilin. My participation in Israeli politics is now merely as an observer, which is for me quite sad.

Maybe a liberal secular party would form in the future. Who knows

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm certain he's glad of an excuse to take more land from Jaba'. I'm not surprised that he's not considering withdrawing from areas with poor security.

I understand the politics involved. To be honest, in his shoes, I might make the same decision, but it's things like this that make me doubt that the final result a century or two from now won't be anything other than Israel being remembered as yet another failed European crusader state.

[Silent Hunter]

The thing is, Israel is going nowhere while the US supports it.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The thing is, Israel is going nowhere while the US supports it.

And a couple centuries ago they'd have said the Ottoman Empire is going nowhere while the UK supports it against the Czar.

[Hnv1]

MK Baalol resigns over the new basic law. With Herzog soon out we’ll have 2 new MKs in Tiviev (who doesn’t even like Labour anymore) and Moshe Mizrachi who was once an MK and generally a decent fella

[BudgieForce]

The thing is, Israel is going nowhere while the US supports it.

And a couple centuries ago they'd have said the Ottoman Empire is going nowhere while the UK supports it against the Czar.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm certain he's glad of an excuse to take more land from Jaba'. I'm not surprised that he's not considering withdrawing from areas with poor security.

I understand the politics involved. To be honest, in his shoes, I might make the same decision, but it's things like this that make me doubt that the final result a century or two from now won't be anything other than Israel being remembered as yet another failed European crusader state.

I'm not sure either of your comparisons are very apt towards the current situation @True Federalist.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

The thing is, Israel is going nowhere while the US supports it.

And a couple centuries ago they'd have said the Ottoman Empire is going nowhere while the UK supports it against the Czar.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm certain he's glad of an excuse to take more land from Jaba'. I'm not surprised that he's not considering withdrawing from areas with poor security.

I understand the politics involved. To be honest, in his shoes, I might make the same decision, but it's things like this that make me doubt that the final result a century or two from now won't be anything other than Israel being remembered as yet another failed European crusader state.

I'm not sure either of your comparisons are very apt towards the current situation @True Federalist.

As I made clear, my pessimism for the continuation of Israel is long term, not short.

[Hnv1]

MK Baalol resigns over the new basic law. With Herzog soon out we’ll have 2 new MKs in Tiviev (who doesn’t even like Labour anymore) and Moshe Mizrachi who was once an MK and generally a decent fella

MK Broshi has sexual misconduct allegations piling up and Gabay and other MKs demand he resigns. We might get Eldad Yaniv as an MK even though he quit the Labour Party last year the maggot

[America Needs R'hllor]

MK Baalol resigns over the new basic law. With Herzog soon out we’ll have 2 new MKs in Tiviev (who doesn’t even like Labour anymore) and Moshe Mizrachi who was once an MK and generally a decent fella

MK Broshi has sexual misconduct allegations piling up and Gabay and other MKs demand he resigns. We might get Eldad Yaniv as an MK even though he quit the Labour Party last year the maggot

Eldad Yaniv? Wow this is a trainwreck lol.
Also, Broshi now refuses to quit and threatens to sue Gabbay if he doesn't apologize. I'm fully behind Gabbay on this one- Broshi has always been slimey and corrupt, and now he proved himself a sexual predator, and dares threaten his party leader? What a POS.

[Hnv1]

MK Baalol resigns over the new basic law. With Herzog soon out we’ll have 2 new MKs in Tiviev (who doesn’t even like Labour anymore) and Moshe Mizrachi who was once an MK and generally a decent fella

MK Broshi has sexual misconduct allegations piling up and Gabay and other MKs demand he resigns. We might get Eldad Yaniv as an MK even though he quit the Labour Party last year the maggot

Eldad Yaniv? Wow this is a trainwreck lol.
Also, Broshi now refuses to quit and threatens to sue Gabbay if he doesn't apologize. I'm fully behind Gabbay on this one- Broshi has always been slimey and corrupt, and now he proved himself a sexual predator, and dares threaten his party leader? What a POS.

Well he should have resigned after grabbing Nahmias-Warbin bum. However, I don't think he needs to resign over allegations 15 years ago.
This is regardless of him being a knob and a politico for the farmers lobby and I'll be glad to see him shipped back to his cattle.

[America Needs R'hllor]

MK Baalol resigns over the new basic law. With Herzog soon out we’ll have 2 new MKs in Tiviev (who doesn’t even like Labour anymore) and Moshe Mizrachi who was once an MK and generally a decent fella

MK Broshi has sexual misconduct allegations piling up and Gabay and other MKs demand he resigns. We might get Eldad Yaniv as an MK even though he quit the Labour Party last year the maggot

Eldad Yaniv? Wow this is a trainwreck lol.
Also, Broshi now refuses to quit and threatens to sue Gabbay if he doesn't apologize. I'm fully behind Gabbay on this one- Broshi has always been slimey and corrupt, and now he proved himself a sexual predator, and dares threaten his party leader? What a POS.

Well he should have resigned after grabbing Nahmias-Warbin bum. However, I don't think he needs to resign other allegations 15 years ago.
This is regardless of him being a knob and a politico for the farmers lobby and I'll be glad to see shipped back to his cattle.

Yeah, combined with his recent actions it's quite clear that he's still a creep. And I agree with your other assessment of him.

[Hnv1]

Livni is being quite active as leader of the opposition. She agreed to be termed as left wing, met all sorts of NGOs, and went on sponsored campaign online.

I wonder if she see Gabbay's weakness as an opportunity to run as head of the ZU by herself. I think that at this point some of Labour's MKs might even embrace the notion.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Livni is being quite active as leader of the opposition. She agreed to be termed as left wing, met all sorts of NGOs, and went on sponsored campaign online.

I wonder if she see Gabbay's weakness as an opportunity to run as head of the ZU by herself. I think that at this point some of Labour's MKs might even embrace the notion.

If I'll be completely honest, I wouldn't oppose it either. She's not perfect, but at this point she's probably better than Gabbay.

[Hnv1]

Livni is being quite active as leader of the opposition. She agreed to be termed as left wing, met all sorts of NGOs, and went on sponsored campaign online.

I wonder if she see Gabbay's weakness as an opportunity to run as head of the ZU by herself. I think that at this point some of Labour's MKs might even embrace the notion.

If I'll be completely honest, I wouldn't oppose it either. She's not perfect, but at this point she's probably better than Gabbay.

True. Shame Labour voters rejected Margalit. Labour literally has no leadership material left in it (sorry Shaffir and Shmoli)

[Silent Hunter]

What's Livni's views on the Palestinian issue?

[DavidB.]

What's Livni's views on the Palestinian issue?

She's very focused on making a peace agreement for a 2SS. In terms of views she's probably not that different from most center-left/liberal Israelis and Israeli politicians, but she does stand out in terms of the priority she gives to this issue.

[Hnv1]

Mayoral elections are coming up and each of the three big cities present a bland mix that is a microcosms of their political nature

Tel Aviv - a host of candidates from the left or centre left:
Incumbent Ron Holdai - mainstream Labour though his personal opinions are more to the left. I think he got this
Assaf Zamir - his mellow deputy, son of a former mayor, could be characterized as the left wing of Yesh Lapid
Meital Lehavi Meretz - futile run, probably in order to get more council seats (currently the largest faction).
Assah Harel - a leftist TV anchorman and comedian

Jerusalem - a host of candidates from the right and centre-right
MK Zeev Elkin - Likud Minister
Moshe Leon - connected to Lieberman, Shas, and parts of the Likud
Yisso Deitsch - Haredi, but does not gain the support of all of them
Avi Salman - some local Likud activist
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulano) - former councilor, a 'pluralistic' candidate
Offer Berkovitch - current deputy mayor, pluralistic, could be seen as of Yesh Attid

Haifa - a host of bland centrists
Incumbent Yona Yahav - Former MK for Labour, then member of Kadima, now supported by Kulano and YA
Einat Kalish Rotem - supported by Labour, more to the left
Israel Savion - also supported by Labour, centrist
David Atzioni - Young centrist
2-3 other uninteresting centrists.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Mayoral elections are coming up and each of the three big cities present a bland mix that is a microcosms of their political nature

Tel Aviv - a host of candidates from the left or centre left:
Incumbent Ron Holdai - mainstream Labour though his personal opinions are more to the left. I think he got this
Assaf Zamir - his mellow deputy, son of a former mayor, could be characterized as the left wing of Yesh Lapid
Meital Lehavi Meretz - futile run, probably in order to get more council seats (currently the largest faction).
Assah Harel - a leftist TV anchorman and comedian

Jerusalem - a host of candidates from the right and centre-right
MK Zeev Elkin - Likud Minister
Moshe Leon - connected to Lieberman, Shas, and parts of the Likud
Yisso Deitsch - Haredi, but does not gain the support of all of them
Avi Salman - some local Likud activist
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulano) - former councilor, a 'pluralistic' candidate
Offer Berkovitch - current deputy mayor, pluralistic, could be seen as of Yesh Attid

Jerusalem also has Attorney and social justice activist Yossi Havilio, who's the most left-wing candidate. He aligned himself with the LGBTQ community during the latest round of protests and seems like a favourite of leftist activists, including from Meretz, the community and I guess also Labour.

And isn't Stav Shaffir likely to run for Mayor in TLV?

[Hnv1]

Mayoral elections are coming up and each of the three big cities present a bland mix that is a microcosms of their political nature

Tel Aviv - a host of candidates from the left or centre left:
Incumbent Ron Holdai - mainstream Labour though his personal opinions are more to the left. I think he got this
Assaf Zamir - his mellow deputy, son of a former mayor, could be characterized as the left wing of Yesh Lapid
Meital Lehavi Meretz - futile run, probably in order to get more council seats (currently the largest faction).
Assah Harel - a leftist TV anchorman and comedian

Jerusalem - a host of candidates from the right and centre-right
MK Zeev Elkin - Likud Minister
Moshe Leon - connected to Lieberman, Shas, and parts of the Likud
Yisso Deitsch - Haredi, but does not gain the support of all of them
Avi Salman - some local Likud activist
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulano) - former councilor, a 'pluralistic' candidate
Offer Berkovitch - current deputy mayor, pluralistic, could be seen as of Yesh Attid

Jerusalem also has Attorney and social justice activist Yossi Havilio, who's the most left-wing candidate. He aligned himself with the LGBTQ community during the latest round of protests and seems like a favourite of leftist activists, including from Meretz, the community and I guess also Labour.

And isn't Stav Shaffir likely to run for Mayor in TLV?

Havilio gets less than 5% of the vote. Not really an interesting candidate

Shaffir hadn't announced anything yet, she won't get funding from Labour as Holdai is their man, and I can't see her getting anything of it. I think she'll back down
 
Also, I think MK Nachman Shai is running in Jerusalem, but he's been very quiet since announcing.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Mayoral elections are coming up and each of the three big cities present a bland mix that is a microcosms of their political nature

Tel Aviv - a host of candidates from the left or centre left:
Incumbent Ron Holdai - mainstream Labour though his personal opinions are more to the left. I think he got this
Assaf Zamir - his mellow deputy, son of a former mayor, could be characterized as the left wing of Yesh Lapid
Meital Lehavi Meretz - futile run, probably in order to get more council seats (currently the largest faction).
Assah Harel - a leftist TV anchorman and comedian

Jerusalem - a host of candidates from the right and centre-right
MK Zeev Elkin - Likud Minister
Moshe Leon - connected to Lieberman, Shas, and parts of the Likud
Yisso Deitsch - Haredi, but does not gain the support of all of them
Avi Salman - some local Likud activist
MK Rachel Azaria (Kulano) - former councilor, a 'pluralistic' candidate
Offer Berkovitch - current deputy mayor, pluralistic, could be seen as of Yesh Attid

Jerusalem also has Attorney and social justice activist Yossi Havilio, who's the most left-wing candidate. He aligned himself with the LGBTQ community during the latest round of protests and seems like a favourite of leftist activists, including from Meretz, the community and I guess also Labour.

And isn't Stav Shaffir likely to run for Mayor in TLV?

Havilio gets less than 5% of the vote. Not really an interesting candidate

Shaffir hadn't announced anything yet, she won't get funding from Labour as Holdai is their man, and I can't see her getting anything of it. I think she'll back down
 
Also, I think MK Nachman Shai is running in Jerusalem, but he's been very quiet since announcing.

Well, I've seen quite a lot Havilio signs- probably as much as Elkin, Azaria (whose bus signs are more often than not torn by hateful Haredi fanatics) and Leon. He probably will get less than 5%, but there clearly is enthusiasm for him in a very small left-wing circle.
Btw, Salman is the loudest in his bigotry and seems like he's positioning himself to get support from socially conservative right-wingers. He made a baseless accusation that LGBTQ activists burned a door in his campaign HQ and repeatedly attacked the community. I remember when he was asked about the Pride Parade, he said he's against it and made an outrageous lie that he spoke to leaders of the Jerusalem LGBTQ organizations who told them they agree because it doesn't fit the city or whatever. His efforts, I guess, will be ultimately futile because Elkin will most likely gain most of the bigot support. If I had to make a prediction, Elkin will probably win- Leon is probably meh for most people at this point, and the center-right-center-left vote is split between Berkovitch, Azaria and Havilio.

As for Shaffir- I agree running doesn't make much sense. If I had to guess, she might be making these noises to position herself for a (likely successful, if it's in 4 years) campaign when Holdai retires.

[DavidB.]

Who will you vote for, Parrotguy? And when exactly will these elections take place?

[America Needs R'hllor]

Who will you vote for, Parrotguy? And when exactly will these elections take place?

October 30th. And I'm not voting- my official residency is in Ma'alot (which does help because I got a scholarship for all the money I spend on public transportation ), I just study in Jerusalem. I'm obviously not going to make the trip to Ma'alot to vote in the election there.
If I was eligible in Jerusalem, I'd probably vote for Havilio (or potentially Berkovitch if he had any chance of winning, which I doubt).

[BudgieForce]

I wish Israel were better at Public Relations. Even the diaspora are finding it difficult to defend things like the settlements and Gaza. God forbid in 20 years, the democratic party becomes anti-Israel and comes into power. I dont want to see Israel all alone again.