*** CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY *** HMA Mark Regev, Israeli Ambassador, speech to Labour Friends of Israel Annual Lunch 2017 Chief Rabbi, Lords and Ladies, Members of Parliament, Distinguished guests, It is a real pleasure to be back here at Central Hall for LFI’s Annual Lunch. I would like to begin by Read more…
Labour should stand by its friends on the Israeli left, Labor MK Stav Shaffir told a packed LFI reception on Tuesday night. Ms Shaffir, a rising star in the Israeli Labor party, was in Brighton for the Labour party’s annual conference. “When sister-parties turn their backs at the progressive camp, they Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu’s long domination of Israeli politics may finally be drawing to a close as a series of corruption scandals threaten to consume his premiership. The peril facing the prime minister mounted last week as police revealed that he is a suspect in two bribery and breach of trust investigations. Netanyahu has Read more…
Avi Gabbay, a political outsider, was elected leader of the Israeli Labor party on Monday. His upset victory – in the second round of the primary election, Gabbay convincingly defeated Amir Peretz, a one-time party leader and cabinet minister – brought immediate comparisons with the rise of Emmanuel Macron in France. Once Read more…
The Israeli Labor party will have a new leader after Isaac Herzog lost his bid for re-election earlier this week. With no candidate clearing the 40 percent threshold needed to win outright in the first round, the top two-placed candidates – Amir Peretz (pictured) and Avi Gabbay – will fight Read more…
Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of the Israeli Labor party, Isaac Herzog, secretly flew to Cairo last April to engage in clandestine talks with Arab leaders aimed at restarting the Middle East peace process. The meeting between Netanyahu, Herzog and Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi was revealed on Monday in the Israeli media. The Labor Read more…
There are few better examples of the yawning gap between Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric and governing reality than his approach towards Israel. After eight years of Barack Obama’s alleged cool indifference, the Israeli right were led to believe they would have a “true friend” in the White House once again: one who would Read more…
After weeks of negotiations, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week a new framework on settlement construction in the West Bank. Citing the wishes of the new American administration to see settlement building curtailed, Netanyahu announced that any new construction will be limited to within existing settlement boundaries. Where Read more…
The Israeli Labor party’s leadership primary election will be held on 3 July, it was announced this week. Isaac Herzog, the current party chairman who is standing for re-election, is expected to be joined by up to seven candidates in the contest. The Labor party – the senior partner Read more…
An unconventional joint press conference was held by American President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week. The new American administration, the president said, would be “working toward a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States will encourage a peace and, really, a great Read more…
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week approved the construction and planning of 2551 housing units in the West Bank. The decision followed an earlier announcement approving 566 homes beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem. The announcement was met with noticeable silence from the Trump administration when the White House Read more…
Donald Trump’s ascendancy to the American Presidency has worried advocates of a two-state solution across the globe. A number of early proposals and statements have aligned the incoming Republican President with both sceptics and opponents of a two-state deal. Heavy criticism followed Trump’s appointment of bankruptcy lawyer David Freidman as Read more…