Why you should be concerned about Israel’s soon-to-be defense minister

What We’re Reading

From the FMEP Blog

A new defense minister for Israel? Cause for concern,

“Yesterday, it was reported that Avigdor Lieberman, the head of Israel’s right wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, has agreed to join the government of Benjamin Netanyahu in the post of Defense Minister. This is a concerning development for a number of reasons,” writes Mitchell Plitnick.

FMEP in the News

Labor MK Stav Shaffir Calls on Labor Leader Herzog to Resign,

Mitchell Plitnick translates a statement by Stav Shaffir: “Who will believe that we represent a worldview diametrically opposed to that of Netanyahu when the chairman of our party was willing to abandon our path just to get a job in his extremist government?”

Israeli politics

Avigdor Liberman's new job: Control over four million Palestinians,

“Netanyahu may have found an opportunity to take revenge on the old IDF elites, but in doing so has put one of Israel’s most hawkish politicians in charge of the occupation,” writes Noam Sheizaf.

Scorned Ya’alon says Israel has lost its ‘moral compass’,

In first public remarks since his position was offered to Liberman, defense minister blames vocal minority for upheaval

Blair, Kerry, Sissi said behind shattered effort to bring Herzog into coalition,

Seeking to revive peace efforts, former British PM reportedly led months-long bid to forge more centrist Netanyahu government.

Herzog blasts 'violent' Yacimovich for 'making Liberman defense minister',

The embattled Labor chief called a news conference in Tel Aviv amidst calls in his faction for his resignation over the botched negotiations with Netanyahu.

US-Israel relations

US, Egypt discuss reviving Mideast peace talks while Netanyahu appoints hard-line minister,

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi to discuss how to revive Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, along with other shared concerns.

In Israel, It’s Not Your Parents’ Evangelicals,

Hayley Ruth says volunteering in the West Bank city of Bethlehem is her personal religious mission, no matter how controversial it might be back in her hometown in Tennessee, where “this place called Palestine was never really talked about.”

Palestinian refugees

Nakba survivors share their stories of loss and hope,

Three Palestinian refugees share their stories of displacement, loss and hope to return to their villages.