Foreign & Security policy

Stav Shafir, the youngest Member of Knesset, scored a major political achievement last week, coming in second at the Labor Party primary elections. While many newly elected MKs tend to fade into the back rows of the opposition, Shafir, elected at age 27, has shined. (History Central) The following Interview does not formally represent an official endorsement or view of The Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel.

On December 14th, the Israeli Government made an extraordinary announcement of a new plan for promoting gender equality in the country. The plan constitutes a truly revolutionary change in approaches to the elimination of gender inequities.The decision introduces gender mainstreaming tools that take into account gender perspectives and implications in policy-making with a view to increasing opportunities for women in all spheres. The need for bold new ways to deal with festering gender inequities has highlighted the essentially gendered structures of society in Israel, making the struggle for gender equality into a central social issue which requires all-embracing societal solutions (The Times of Israel).

On November 9th, the City Council of Tel Aviv-Jaffa adopted the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Woman, Peace and Security, which makes Tel Aviv the international pioneer in implementing this important resolution. On this historic occasion, a festive reception was held on the Tel Aviv-Jaffa City Hall rooftop. Kerstin Müller, the Director of the HBS Israel Office, was one of the speakers.

Security makes a comeback in peace. If the generals avoid mistakes of the past and put action behind words, they could have an impact.

Israel must have mechanisms to guarantee its security and to ensure that Gaza will not rearm itself for the next war.

For those on the left, simply beginning an operation without definite political objectives, and the terrible price paid for that decision with the lives of civilians and soldiers on both sides, was bad enough, particularly when accompanied by the loss of a window of opportunity for an Israeli peace initiative with the Palestinian Authority.

The most recent round of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has paused. Each side has experienced the period in a profoundly different way, and future policies that may even deepen the animosity. Read some of the main observations, questions, and speculations from our partners at +972 magazine.  

+972 Magazine (972mag.com) is a blog-based web magazine that is jointly owned and operated by a group of journalists, analysts and bloggers, based primarily in Israel and Palestine. Their goal is to provide fresh, original, on-the-ground reporting and analysis of events in the region. After 3 years of operation, +972 Magazine has emerged as one of the most important English-language platform for progressive writing from Israel/Palestine. The Heinrich Boell Foundation has partnered with +972 Magazine ever since its inception, in support of freedom of though and speech in Israel. Following is an article first published in +972mag.

On June 20, 2013, the Heinrich Böll Foundation Israel, the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue held the conference 20 Years since the Oslo Accords - Success and/or Failure?. In advance of a comprehensive publication of contributions, we are pleased to present this analysis by Dr. Ephraim Lavie on the early foundation of obstacles in the Oslo negotiation process.

Last week's meeting between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu showed a fundamental disagreement between the U.S. and Israel. Obama made it clear that he is committed to a two-state solution, yet Netanyahu vacillated. Israel and its most important ally may face a deep ideological and strategic rift.