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The most consequential development of the weekend for Israel happened about 1,000 kilometres away, in the Hejaz. Saudi Arabia shut its East-West pipeline on Friday after a drone attack on the line and its pumping stations, and by Sunday the closure had worked its way into crude prices. Everything else on the Israeli agenda, the election, Gaza, Lebanon, sat underneath … [Read more...] about Israel Digest, September 12-14: Saudi Pipeline Shutdown Lifts Brent Past $107, Likud Moves to Bar Arab Parties

The Altalena has been found. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu announced on Monday that the wreck of the Irgun arms ship was located at 12:30 a.m. at a depth of 503 meters off the Israeli coast, during what their joint statement described as a complex naval search operation. The ministers said the vessel is still intact, and … [Read more...] about Altalena Wreck Located at 503 Meters Off Israel’s Coast, 78 Years After Ben-Gurion Ordered It Sunk

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar will ask the cabinet to do what every Israeli government since 1948 has refused to do: state, in the name of the State of Israel, that what the Ottoman Empire did to the Armenians between 1915 and 1923 was genocide. The resolution frames recognition as a moral and historical duty and condemns any attempt to deny, minimize, or distort the record. … [Read more...] about Israel’s Recognition of the Armenian Genocide Is Long Overdue

Donald Trump signed his Iran memorandum of understanding in mid-June and told the ships of the world to start their engines. A genuine peace dividend would have announced itself first in two places: the shekel and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Neither is behaving like it believes him. What the memorandum actually promises The MoU — signed at Versailles by Trump, Iranian … [Read more...] about The Shekel and the TASE Refuse to Believe Trump’s Iran Memorandum and Bibi

The shekel is trading just above NIS 2.80 to the dollar, its strongest in years. On the eve of the October 2023 war the rate hovered near NIS 3.8. The currency has gained more than a quarter against the dollar since, and the move shows no sign of reversing. Exporters call it a threat. The Bank of Israel treats it as an inflation problem. One label rarely reaches the Israeli … [Read more...] about The Dutch Disease Israel Doesn’t Call by Name

Yoni Ben Menachem, senior Middle East analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, has issued a pointed warning: Tehran is not negotiating in good faith. It is stalling. According to Ben Menachem, Iranian leadership has read the American posture correctly — the Trump administration's urgency for a quick agreement signals weakness, and Iran is exploiting … [Read more...] about Iran Senses Trump’s Weakness, Jerusalem Analyst Warns

Nearly three years into continuous conflict, Israel's economy is not limping — it is leading. The numbers arriving from multiple international forecasters in 2026 tell a story that defies conventional assumptions about war economies: a small nation under siege is on track to outgrow every member of the G7. CNBC: Despite nearly 3 years of continuous conflict, Israel is on … [Read more...] about At War and Winning: Israel’s Economy Is Outpacing Every G7 Nation

There’s something quietly radical about stripping food back to its essence, and that’s exactly the spirit Eyal Shani brings with the opening of Naked Tomato at Moxy South Beach on May 14. The space hums with that familiar, slightly chaotic Tel Aviv energy—part open kitchen, part gathering place, part late-night hangout—where the line between dining and social ritual kind of … [Read more...] about Naked Tomato by Chef Eyal Shani Brings Israel to Miami Beach

The announcement was theatrically precise: matching podiums, coordinated messaging, a joint press conference in Herzliya on April 26. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid declared the merger of their parties — Bennett 2026 and Yesh Atid — into a single electoral list named "Together, Led by Bennett." The stated mission: unseat Benjamin … [Read more...] about Bennett and Lapid Are Running Together. The Math Still Doesn’t Add Up.

The Wall Street Journal has published what amounts to a devastating indictment of the International Criminal Court — not of Israel, but of the institution itself. According to the investigation, Qatar offered to "look after" Prosecutor Karim Khan personally if he moved against Benjamin Netanyahu. He did. His own staff were blindsided by the abrupt reversal of his investigatory … [Read more...] about The ICC Is a Purchased Weapon

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has announced that on Tuesday his government will formally propose to the European Union that it terminate its Association Agreement with Israel, in place since June 2000. Sánchez frames the move in unambiguous terms: Israel "violates international law" and therefore "cannot be a partner of the European Union." The proposal is an escalation … [Read more...] about Sánchez Pushes to End EU-Israel Partnership. Here Is What That Actually Means

Wednesday's Senate votes on arms sales to Israel were framed by supporters as symbolic — the resolutions had no chance of passing with a unified Republican opposition. But symbolism has a way of hardening into policy, and the vote tallies tell a story that pro-Israel observers can no longer dismiss as fringe activism. Forty out of 47 Senate Democrats voted to block the sale … [Read more...] about Senate Democrats’ Israel Drift Is Now Undeniable

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský drew a stark moral line this week, publicly describing Israel as a civilized nation operating against uncivilized adversaries — language rare in European diplomatic circles and certain to generate friction with colleagues in Brussels and Berlin. The statement reflects a posture Prague has held with unusual consistency since October 7, … [Read more...] about Prague Draws the Line: Israel’s Enemies Are Uncivilized, Czech Foreign Minister Says

The Strait of Hormuz was open before the war. It stayed open during the war. It is open now. For Israeli citizens, this is not an achievement—it’s irrelevant. People here didn’t spend forty days and nights running to shelters so global shipping lanes could be declared “stable” again. That narrative might work in Washington or in energy markets. It doesn’t land in Tel Aviv, … [Read more...] about No Victory, No Change: An Israeli Citizen’s View After 40 Days in Shelters

Opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the ceasefire agreement in the war with Iran. According to Lapid, "There has been no political disaster like this in our entire history. Israel was not even at the table when decisions were made regarding the core of our national security." He added: "The military carried out everything … [Read more...] about Lapid on the Iran Ceasefire: Netanyahu Failed Politically and Strategically