Norman A. Bailey

The new government’s actions and proposals are not ideal, but not the apocalypse either, and reasoned discourse should produce acceptable solutions. A new government has taken office in Israel. It was elected by a tiny majority of the popular vote, and a larger majority in the Knesset, due to its leader’s superior knowledge of and…

The war in Ukraine and growing unrest in Iran pose challenges for Israel, but the biggest problem will be if Netanyahu is unable to restrain his right-wing coalition partners. Looking back over 2022 and forward to 2023, three of the events of the past year are sure to feature also in the coming year. 1.…

Both elections will seriously affect the future trajectory of Israel and the U.S., as well as their relations with each other. On November 1st, Israelis went to the polls, and one week later, Americans did the same in the midterm elections. Both elections proved to be very significant, and both will seriously affect the future…

Restoring stability to Israel’s political system requires a couple of fundamental reforms. Ho-hum, another election coming up. Will the cycle never end? Will a stable government finally be formed? And finally, does it matter? After all, the economic, military and international situations are all pretty good to excellent, and as an Israeli friend once told…

Israel’s maritime border agreement with Lebanon has met with extravagant praise and vituperative condemnation, but neither side is right. After many years of off-and-on negotiations, Israel and Lebanon have finally reached a deal concerning their offshore waters and the gas fields under them. The deal, brokered by the U.S., has set off a firestorm of…

The regional outlook is better than for some time, and internationally Israel is well positioned. The dangers lie in social divisions and political dysfunction. The outlook for Israel in the new year is unusually clear, but very complex. Domestically social divisions and political dysfunctionality will continue. The November election is unlikely to resolve anything. Even…

Simultaneously, what has been referred to as the “cold peace” with Egypt has warmed up a great deal since the beginning of the Abraham Accord process. In the past two-plus years Israel has signed agreements normalizing relations with four Arab/Muslim countries. The agreement with Sudan has remained in suspense until that country sorts out its…

Only one country has serious thoughts of triggering Armageddon, and it isn’t Russia or China. Recently, commentators have been competing with each other to warn about the possibility of nuclear war, for the first time since 1962. Their concerns involve either Russia using nuclear weapons against Ukraine or China invading Taiwan, leading to a war…

A string of recent incidents shows how ill-adapted Israel Police is to its task. It must change before things get out of hand. In my last column, I wrote about the necessity of a reform in the Israeli political system and government structure. This column is about a governmental agency that requires reform equally urgently:…

Israel’s sovereign wealth fund, finally activated, should be used to narrow the country’s shockingly wide economic gaps. The Israeli government has finally activated the sovereign wealth fund that was authorized years ago to accumulate the levies collected under the Natural Resources Profits Law, chiefly from the companies and partnerships exploiting Israel’s offshore gas reservoirs. Read…