The recent controversy over remarks made by President Peres regarding negotiations with Palestinians exposes how the 'center-left' pays lip service to the two-state solution, while still preferring a one-state solution with Jewish supremacy. During the current election campaign, two of the most popular party leaders identified with the center-left have done almost everything in their power to avoid saying anything left-sounding on the Palestinian topic. Yair Lapid, leader (and personification) of Yesh Atid, and Shelly Yechimovitch, head of the Labor party, have often tried to position themselves to the right of this issue (Yachimovitch saying nice things about settlements, Lapid opposing…

Israel's National Security Council calls U.S. President Barak Obama "naïve," Israel's pro-Netanyahu daily reports Israel Hayom, the pro-Netanyahu free tabloid published by Jewish-American gambling billionaire Sheldon Adelson, published a story today on recent criticism dealt by Israel's National Security Council of US President Barak Obama's policy towards Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. U.S. President Barack Obama is "naive" and needs to face up to the threat presented by the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood across the Middle East, Israel's National Security Council concluded during a strategic discussion several days ago. The council, responsible for providing the prime minister and cabinet ministers with…

The controversy surrounding business ties of shipping companies owned by Israeli tycoons to Iran took a surprising turn in the Knesset today, leading to a torrent of security-oriented rumors and hints of covert operations this post was updated. It's been several days that the Israeli media is revealing information regarding alleged violations of the economical boycott on Iran by Israel's richest business tycoons, Sammi and Yuli Ofer. The affair, which was first covered by the business sections of the papers, has come to dominate the news cycle in the last 24 hours, following a bizarre chain of events. The Ofer…

The gambling billionaire, who publishes the pro-Netanyahu "Israel Hayom" tabloid, said he objects to an agreement with any of the current Palestinian leaders Unlike the confrontation between the White House and Jerusalem over the settlements during the administration's first year, I think that the current rift has more to do with tones and personal mistrust than actual policy differences. More than anything, it seems that President Obama's Middle East speech was meant to help Israel avoid isolation at the UN, but Netanyahu overreacted, and later decided to play tough, mainly for political reasons. As I wrote yesterday, it worked out…