Larry Derfner

The West Bank separation wall. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

Rattling the Gilded Cage: An Interview with Larry Derfner

The author of 'No Country for Jewish Liberals' discusses how a Liberal Zionist can support BDS, why some Israeli peaceniks might be better off voting for Bibi, and why the Left in Israel is living in a gilded cage.

By Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man July 19, 2017

Israelis march during a protest calling for social justice, Hatikva neighborhood, south Tel Aviv, June 14, 2012. (photo: Activestills.org)

Stop blaming Mizrahim for everything wrong in Israel

Despite what many commentators would have you think, Israeli elections were not decided by racism among Israel’s Mizrahi population. By Leeor Ohayon Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election is largely credited to votes from the Mizrahi periphery, but to credit the Mizrahi periphery alone would be naïve. The Likud party, after all, is an Ashkenazi one at heart,…

By +972 Magazine March 26, 2015

Palestinian youth throw stones near Ofer Military Prison [illustrative], May 15, 2012 (Oren Ziv/Activestills.org)

Settlers accuse ‘Haaretz’ of calling for violence against them

Fallout from Amira Hass’s article on Palestinian stone-throwing shows that as far as Israelis are concerned, any and every form of resistance against the occupation is illegitimate. The Yesha Council – the regional council for West Bank settlements, which operates also as the settlers’ political and lobbying arm – filed a complaint with the Jerusalem Police…

By Noam Sheizaf April 3, 2013

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In Jewish tradition, Dershowitz hunting down ‘heretical’ Jews

Harvard Professor Alan Dershowtiz has made a name for himself by hunting down those Jews he believes are beyond the pale of what is admissible in discourse about Israel and trying to ‘excommunicate’ them. His latest target: MJ Rosenberg of Media Matters. By Jeremiah Haber Theater J, which operates out of the DC Jewish Community Center,…

By +972 Magazine March 9, 2012

Jerusalem Post fires Larry Derfner over blog post

The Jerusalem Post fired its last prominent progressive columnist over a controversial blog post, without even offering him the possibility to apologise; meanwhile, its ultra-right writers enjoy complete unaccountability. This is a watershed moment for the once-respectable publication. News came in earlier today that the Jerusalem Post fired Larry Derfner, its last remaining prominent progressive…

By Dimi Reider August 29, 2011

Jerusalem Post's Larry Derfner attacked by a mob at Ben Gurion airport (photo: Joseph Dana)

Mobocracy at Ben-Gurion Airport

Journalist Larry Derfner came to Tel Aviv airport to cover the arrival of international activists. Once in the reception hall, a small Israeli mob turned on him. In a matter of seconds, he found himself in a police van by Larry Derfner Anybody who believes the platitude that the people want peace, it’s just the…

By +972 Magazine July 8, 2011

Marking the field: Non-Zionism

(Cross-posted with Israel Reconsidered) I begin my series of debates with Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfner. Larry defines himself as a member of the Zionist Left; I do not. In this post I attempt to explain why I would also not describe myself as anti-Zionist – and how anti-Zionism alone cannot be expected to overcome…

By Dimi Reider June 25, 2011

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Joining Larry Derfner on “Israel Reconsidered”

As of this week, I’ll be joining Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfner on the debating blog “Israel Reconsidered“. Larry has opened the blog as a discussion platform between himself and Richard Silverstein, but Richard has recently left the project; he explains his reasons here. When Larry contacted me last week and asked if I knew…

By Dimi Reider June 22, 2011