Free Republic

The Knesset voted Wednesday night to dissolve itself after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition, sending Israel to a new election mere seven weeks after the last one. At the heart of the impasse was the issue of drafting ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students: Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman, without whom Netanyahu can't form a coalition, refused to back down on the bill's terms, while ultra-Orthodox parties claimed they have already yielded enough ground. MK Avigdor Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page that Likud holds responsibility for the repeat election because of its refusal to vote on bill to...

As usual, the world’s media have it wrong about Israel. The Jewish State remains a forward-thinking beacon of democracy, equality and justice. Witness Ayelet Shaked, Israel’s newly appointed justice minister who at the age of 39 is likely one of the few women anywhere in the world to hold such a senior government position. She’s a secular leader of a religious party, and lives in North Tel Aviv. The extremists are on the left, holding minimal influence or power, and thankfully, with Shaked’s Jewish Home party now holding senior roles in Netanyahu’s coalition, the radical fringe of the New Israel...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Jewish Home chairman Naftali Bennett met on Thursday evening as part of the coalition negotiations. A source involved in the meeting told Arutz Sheva, however, that there has been no progress in the negotiations between the parties and that, unlike Netanyahu's meetings with leaders of other parties, he did not speak with Bennett regarding the details of the make-up of the next government. The meeting comes amid ongoing tensions between the Likud and the Jewish Home over the coalition talks. On Wednesday, a source told Arutz Sheva that Netanyahu is planning to form a unity...