In Israel, secular and religious social practices and lifestyles have continued to clash. Israel’s most recent election and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent failure to form a coalition highlighted some of these struggles that continue to divide Israel’s citizens.
Even the Israeli prime minister’s usual supporters — and much of the Israeli public — question Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to address Congress on March 3 without an invitation from President Obama. The address, at the request of House Speaker John Boehner, comes two weeks before Israeli elections. Is Bibi being savvy, or playing the pawn?
Former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon has died after spending nearly eight years in a coma that followed a stroke. Sharon was highly controversial — both loved and hated. And few individuals in recent memory have had as much of an influence on the recent history of the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu usually gets around by motorcade. But, last Saturday, I looked over the balcony of my fourth-floor apartment in Jerusalem and there he was, standing below wearing sneakers and a black shirt. He’d stopped to help an old man take out the trash.