An accident in the field
May 19, 2022 by Ron Weiser
In the battle between Russia and Ukraine, the Western world and most democracies, see the situation in black and white terms. Read more
The weakest link
April 14, 2022 by Ron Weiser
It turns out that the weakest link in Prime Minister Naphtali Bennett’s eight party coalition government is Naphtali Bennett. Read more
‘Believe more in the threats of our enemies than in the promises of our allies’
March 16, 2022 by Ron Weiser
Some years ago, I heard the head of an Israeli think tank say, that Jewish life is a constant tension between two, often clashing, narratives. Read more
Amnesty apartheid
February 17, 2022 by Ron Weiser
It is amazing just how disconnected from reality the latest Amnesty International report is.
Israel: a check on the political temperature
January 20, 2022 by Ron Weiser
Suddenly, there are two issues that have arisen which have the potential to shorten the life of the Israeli coalition government. Read more
Political challenges
December 22, 2021 by Ron Weiser
As we close out 2021 there are two key areas that continue to be at the centre of Israel’s diplomatic and internal political challenges, as well as a third emerging issue of quite a different colour. Read more
Political life after the budget
November 11, 2021 by Ron Weiser
For the first time in three years, the State of Israel has a budget. Read more
Politics Israeli-style
October 28, 2021 by Ron Weiser
All opinion polls show that Likud voters, by very large margins, prefer to keep Netanyahu as leader and stay in opposition, rather than go back into government, but with someone else in the top position. Read more
Israel’s government functioning
September 17, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Prime Minister Bennett has now been in office for three months and the sky has not fallen. Read more
So far, so good
August 19, 2021 by Ron Weiser
The Israeli government coalition of eight parties, where not only can any one party bring the government down, but even a disaffected individual MK is able to do so, has survived its first two months. Read more
Almost a month in – Israel’s latest government
July 8, 2021 by Ron Weiser
And they said it couldn’t last……… Read more
The closing of an era?
June 10, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Barring last-minute surprises, this Sunday will see the closing of an era. Read more
The Kashrut of Israeli politics
May 6, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Fifty years ago this year, I first joined the Zionist Council of NSW as a youth movement representative and in all of these years, I have never written an article or opinion piece about kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) or more particularly, kosher certification. Until now. Read more
73rd birthday and 73% of Israel’s population is Jewish
April 22, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Israel at 73 years, an amazing feat. Read more
Israeli election: First thoughts
March 24, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Whilst this is being written immediately post-election with incomplete results, there are a few things we can say. Read more
Will Netanyahu be caught in a downpour?
February 17, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Predicting the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure as Prime Minister of Israel is like predicting the coming of rain during a drought. You know it has to come sometime, but the question is when? Read more
Netanyahu: the politician, the man
January 11, 2021 by Ron Weiser
Prime Minister Netanyahu has suddenly shifted the goalposts and his political future may depend on how his imaginative and daring initiative shapes up. Read more
Political parties, political games
December 16, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Although it is Chanukah, it very much seems as if we are witnessing a Purim spiel in two arenas. Read more
The upcoming administration
November 19, 2020 by Ron Weiser
President Rivlin and Prime Minister Netanyahu have both spoken with President-elect Joe Biden and for the first time have referred to him with that descriptor. Read more
Understanding contemporary Mid-East politics
October 23, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Direct Etihad passenger flights to Israel; the formation of Kosher Arabia which will apparently make it easier to get kosher food in Abu Dhabi and Dubai than in Sydney or Melbourne; a public sukkah in front of the world-famous Burj Khalifa Tower; and normalisation with Sudan around the corner. Read more
The two faces of Israel
September 15, 2020 by Ron Weiser
It’s quite amazing how the State of Israel at this moment in time, has become a mirror image of the two sides of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s operating styles. Read more
Zionism is in good shape
August 9, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Almost everywhere one turns today, there are debates about the condition Zionism is in. Read more
Two worlds in Israel
July 26, 2020 by Ron Weiser
In Israel we currently see two worlds clashing. Read more
Two leaders, two styles
June 22, 2020 by Ron Weiser
It would be hard to find two more contrasting leadership styles than those of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister/Prime Minister in waiting, Benny Gantz. Read more
Annexation: who will play the lead roles?
May 24, 2020 by Ron Weiser
We stand just weeks after celebrating that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 moved from a statement of British intent to the legal process of affirmation of the Jewish Homeland at the San Remo Conference in April 1920 – and its then formal ratification by the League of Nations. Read more
A look at the upcoming Knesset
May 11, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Well, if nothing changes between now and Wednesday, we will finally see an actual Israeli government being sworn in. Read more
Unprecedented
April 5, 2020 by Ron Weiser
When people discussed the need for Israel to finally form some sort of unity government after three election attempts in order to deal with real matters of government, almost no-one imagined that as Bill Gates had predicted already in 2015 – the next danger facing mankind would not be something as big as a nuclear bomb, but rather something as small as the coronavirus. Read more
Election number three – What was different?
March 7, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Exit polls, having twice underestimated Prime Minister Netanyahu and his block’s number of Knesset seats in April 2019 and September 2019, now overestimated them. Read more
The ‘Deal of the Century’ – the Weiser view
February 10, 2020 by Ron Weiser
There has been a consistent pattern to the “peace process” for 100 years from when the Palestine Arab Executive Committee met in 1921 and declared – “Either us or the Zionists. There is no room for both” Read more
Image and perception – beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
January 22, 2020 by Ron Weiser
Devastating drought and bushfires in Australia and extreme flooding in Israel. Read more
