Jerusalem Report

Israel's next election is a battle for the country's soul - opinion

What is on the minds of Israeli voters as they prepare to head to the ballot box?

|ByTAMAR HERMANN, LIOR YOHANANI
Israeli current opposition leader Yair Lapid (L) and former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett stand together in Tel Aviv on May 12, as they hold their inaugural conference of their ‘Together – Under Bennett’s Leadership’ party for the upcoming national election. Premium
‘We were taught to love each other, not to hate. Christians are a peaceful community,’ says Naji Mansour, owner of Mansour Money Change in the Old City. PremiumPremium

'I refuse to hide my cross': Jerusalem's Christians describe a climate of fear

Clergy, residents, and business owners say assaults against Christians in Jerusalem are becoming more frequent – and more tolerated

|ByDANA BEN-SHIMON
The Islamic Republic has built alternative financial systems, and while ordinary Iranians have absorbed severe economic pain.PremiumPremium

How the IRGC's shadow economy keeps Iran's nuclear program alive - analysis

How Iran is financed, and why US attempts to pressure Iran in the Strait of Hormuz have failed

|ByDANNY AYALON, MORAN ALALUF
Opposition leader Yair Lapid and former prime minister Naftali Bennett recently held an inaugural conference of their Together – Under Bennett’s Leadership party for the upcoming national election. PremiumPremium

Why polarization, not Iran or Hamas, will decide Israel's next election - analysis

As Israel heads toward another election, the country’s deepest divides may no longer be external enemies – but itself

|ByGAYIL TALSHI

Red card diplomacy: Palestine’s handshake foul rattles FIFA ahead of 2026 World Cup

Palestinian Football Association turns the World Cup tournament into a game of political football

MAY 21, 2026ByGIL ZOHAR
FIFA President Gianni Infantino (C) interacts with the President of the Palestine Football Association Jibril Rajoub as the Vice-President of Israel Football Association Basim Sheikh Suliman (L) looks on during a heated moment in the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada on April 30.
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IDF chief Eyal Zamir's battle against indiscipline is essential to Israel’s war effort - opinion

Why IDF chief Eyal Zamir’s crackdown on unauthorized symbols is about protecting the IDF’s professionalism and chain of command in wartime

MAY 21, 2026ByANDREW FOX
The IDF’s ethical framework is clear. The ‘Spirit of the IDF’ lists statehood, responsibility, personal example, human dignity, purity of arms, and discipline as its core values.
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The Arab Spring is dead, and a new social contract has replaced it - analysis

Across the Arab world in 2026, ideology is giving way to pragmatism, as publics prioritize stability, security, and economic delivery over reform

MAY 21, 2026BySAGIV STEINBERG
A demonstrator holds empty tear gas canisters during a protest over the deteriorating economic situation, in Riad al-Solh Square in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2023.
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Two books, two realities: How October 7 transformed Lihi Lapid's American book tour - opinion

Publishing two books abroad revealed how October 7 reshaped Jewish identity in the Diaspora – and why shared culture may be the bridge linking Jews together

MAY 12, 2026ByLIHI LAPID
Israeli author Lihi Lapid struggled to get recognition for her first novel due to the Gaza war; but with her second book, published by a Jewish publishing house, she found greater support.

'Too Jewish?' Why Jewish stories still make some audiences uncomfortable

Why Jewish stories still provoke discomfort – and why that discomfort matters

MAY 12, 2026ByRYAN CRAIG
The Rosenbergs, a middle-class Jewish family from Edgware, played by Nicholas Woodeson as the father, David Rosenberg, and Tracy-Ann Oberman as mother, Lesley Rosenberg, in Ryan Craig’s play, staged recently in a London theater.

Naomi Shloush's 'Academic bimbo' confronts Mizrahi identity in modern Israel

Naomi Shloush’s book confronts identity, stigma, and the fragile space between belonging and exclusion

MAY 12, 2026ByJEHUDIT WEINBERGER BASHA
In her novel ‘Frecha Academait,’ Naomi Shloush confronts the stigmas around the derogatory term ‘frecha’ used for women of Mizrahi heritage.

The literary world's 'Jewish question': How publishing is failing Jewish authors

As antisemitism rises in the publishing realm, Jewish writers face a choice: stay and fight or rebuild elsewhere

MAY 12, 2026ByLIOR ZOE PERETS
Jewish writers are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate a publishing world shadowed by antisemitism.

When food becomes memory: Alon Shaya's culinary tribute to Holocaust survivors

How one Israeli-American chef is transforming Holocaust stories into dishes that preserve identity, resilience, and remembrance

MAY 12, 2026ByRACHEL FINK
Chef Alon Shaya uses food and memory to preserve Holocaust stories for a new generation.

'Upside-Down Love': An Israeli-Palestinian memoir of marriage across borders

Israeli-American lawyer Sari Bashi recounts in her memoir a relationship shaped by restriction and distance, where love unfolds within the limits of the law

MAY 12, 2026ByPATRICIA GOLAN
Sari Bashi is an Israeli-American human rights lawyer, author, and activist specializing in international humanitarian law and Israeli policy.

'Digital Warrior': How a lone soldier shaped Israel's global narrative after October 7

A personal account of Israel’s information war and how truth is shaped and shared in real time

MAY 12, 2026ByCHANI KAPLAN
After October 7, the battlefield expanded online, where narratives spread as fast as the war itself.