Herb Keinon

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Netanyahu’s campaign against selling F-35s to Ankara reflects a growing conviction in Jerusalem that Turkey is shaping up to be Israel’s principal long-term challenge.

The central question raised by Zini’s remarks is not whether the Shin Bet chief should obey the elected government; it is how he diagnoses what has gone wrong in Israeli governance.

Netanyahu’s controversial legislative push risks voter backlash, but could strengthen his ties with the parties he may need to form his next government.

Whether either side actually intends to force a constitutional showdown, or whether both ultimately expect this dispute to be resolved before the country reaches that point, remains an open question.

Both men are defining Israeli politics not through the traditional categories of Left and Right, but through questions of national responsibility, military service, governance, and consensus.

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: PM Netanyahu’s emerging campaign is built around a simple proposition: The political boycott against him is losing its rationale, and a broader coalition is again possible.

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: A startup’s relationship with Google and North Korea’s path to the nuclear bomb offers unexpected insights into this week’s 12-hour war with Iran.

Those who see Torah study as essential should acknowledge the unique burden borne by those who leave their lives behind to defend the country, and that yeshiva study is not a comparable sacrifice.

Had Netanyahu bowed to Trump's request on Sunday and refrained from responding after Iran fired 11 ballistic missiles, Israel would have signalled weakness and constraint.

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: Trump’s latest expletive-laced outburst at Netanyahu generated predictable predictions of rupture. The record suggests otherwise.