Abbas must seek recognition from UN, not U.S.

Dancing the tango with a cactus is a bad idea. Not only are you dancing by yourself, you’re also going to be pricked by the thorns. But this is exactly what Mahmoud Abbas has been doing since last July, when he agreed that peace negotiations between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Israeli government…

Hadash affiliated Red-Pink Movement in a demonstration for LGTB rights (Photo: Red-Pink Movement)

LGTB anti-discrimination law

The Knesset “cleaned its table” Tuesday, the second-to-last day of its winter session, voting bills on various topics. One of the new laws passed makes it illegal for schools to discriminate against pupils because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. MK Dov Khenin (Hadash), who proposed the bill, pointed out that it is the…

Demonstration against racism in Shapira quarter in south Tel-Aviv, April 2012 (Photo: Activestills)

95% of public concerned about racism in Israel

An overwhelming majority of the Israeli public, some 95  percent, believes Israeli society is plagued by racism, a new poll has found.  The poll, released Sunday ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is observed on March 21, was held as part of the “Racism – Not in Our Schools”…

MK Mohammad Barakeh (Photo: Al Ittihad)

MK Barakeh: Israel is heading toward a declared apartheid

The evening of March 5, Housing Minister Uri Ariel’s spokesman sent a lengthy email message to political correspondents. The inviting subject line read: “Watch: Minister Ariel tells the Arab Knesset members, ‘We can do without you.’” The message included a link to a clip documenting the ugly confrontation that had taken place several hours earlier in…