Likud

Don't hold your breath expecting big things, either bad or good, from this big new government. Expect, instead, business as usual.

Political survival, not Iran, was uppermost on PM Netanyahu's mind when he called for early elections in Israel just a few days ago, as well as when he pulled a brilliant trick out of his sleeve and co-opted the Kadima Party in his coalition.

To overcome Israel's debilitating political party structure, there is an urgent need to support the creation of a single party consisting of the left and left-of-center parties.

What the Paul phenomenon can teach Israelis about themselves -- in particular Benjamin Netanyahu's Republican-allied Likud -- is what Republicans themselves have discovered to their horror in recent weeks and months.

Although the two-state solution was far from perfect, at least it gave answers to these basic questions of governance and civic rights. But Israel's citizens and its government have decided. It will not be.

Hasn't Netanyahu always claimed that the US is not the liberal elites of the East and West Coast, and that the US commitment to Israel is of a religious nature? And aren't Congress and the declaration of friendship of Republican presidential candidates proving him right?

There are many reasons why the recent spate of domestic legislation in Israel -- regarding non-governmental organizations, the media, Israel as a Jewish State, the Supreme Court -- is disturbing.

The hysteria on display in Washington over UNESCO's vote to include Palestine as a member of the world body, though largely a manufactured effort, was, nevertheless, irritating and a sad commentary on the dysfunctional nature of U.S. politics.

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in New York to ask the UN Security Council to turn his territory into a real nation. Consideri...

This revolution is ostensibly about affordable housing. However, it is about much, much more than that. It's about whether people can actually live in a place like this.

Netanyahu, who has all but signed in as a political advisor for the 2012 Republican election campaign, is operating under the assumption that if Barack Obama is ousted from the White House next year he would be replaced by a clone of George W. Bush.

Conservative republicans may feel more sympathetic towards Netanyahu's leadership style, but it would be foolish to lose liberal Americans by playing up partisan differences by publicly undercutting Obama's call for direct negotiations with Abbas.

Undermined by nearly a decade of right-wing dominance, the Israeli left has found itself farther from power than ever before in the 62-year history of the country.

Of late, figures of significance on the right of both the Israeli and American Jewish communities have begun to rethink the future of the settlers' core redoubt: the West Bank.

Netanyahu is pushing the United States to take eventual military action against Iran -- a confrontation that would have predictably disastrous consequences for U.S. interests and regional stability.

Yossi Klein Halevi didn't buy the "tough love" argument. He sees Obama's actions more as a combination of bullying and naive incompetence.

The facts are under investigation, and time will tell which side was "legally" within its rights under international law. But legality rarely trumps public perception, and perception, not legal treatise, influences public opinion.

JERUSALEM — Israel defied U.S. pressure to halt construction in its West Bank settlements Sunday, with key leaders speaking out in support of th...

It's been two months since Obama delivered his address to the Muslim world in Cairo, promising a new era of respect and engagement. How's his opening to the Muslim world going so far?