Opinion Israel's ultra-Orthodox Are Playing With Fire
The Haredim's weight on the state treasury will intensify until taxpayers revolt and rise up against their oppressors
Aluf Benn
Aluf Benn is the editor-in-chief of Haaretz Newspaper. He has followed the country's leadership, foreign policy, and national security, covering six prime ministers from Yitzhak Rabin through Benjamin Netanyahu's second term, and reporting on Israeli-Arab wars and peace efforts since the Oslo Accords in 1993.
His work has appeared in The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, and Newsweek, and he is a regular contributor to The Guardian.
Benn holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a degree from Tel Aviv University.
Analysis After Gaza-Israel Flare-up, I Would Ask Hamas' Military Chief This One Question
Gaza's suffering will not and cannot be alleviated by any long-range rocket or armed drone. Why not try something different and recognize Israel?
Analysis If There's One Conclusion From the Israeli Election Results, This Is It
For Israel to achieve political stability, the electoral threshold must be raised. This can have two possible models: The tribal or the radical
Analysis Netanyahu's Next Coalition: Annexation for Immunity From Indictment
The new Netanyahu government will have two main goals: Get rid of the indictments looming in his future, and annex the settlements to Israel, in coordination with the Trump administration
Analysis With Gantz as Election Rival, Netanyahu Competes Against an Old Version of Himself
The fact that the right rose to power 42 years ago and that Netanyahu has ruled for a decade doesn't stop them from arguing the real power remains in the hands of their political opponents
Analysis Unprecedented: Trump Gave Israel the Golan as a Gift and Asked for Nothing in Return
In the past, American support always entailed Israel providing something in exchange. Not this time
Analysis The Path to Trump's Golan Declaration Starts With a Texan Entrepreneur
America's energy independence has enabled Trump to shatter foreign policy taboos without concern for angry reactions from the Persian Gulf states. But will other countries follow suit?
Analysis Decision to Indict Netanyahu Exposes Israel's Double Rule
On stage, we see players like the government and media outlets, but the real authority is behind the scenes. This is Netanyahu's true legacy
Analysis Could Gantz Be Israel's Trump?
Similar to Trump, Gantz's secret was accurately reading the current sentiment among his potential supporters' camp. But the road to the Prime Minister's Office remains perilous
Analysis Like Netanyahu, Gantz Plays on the Anxieties of His Would-be Voters
Benny Gantz's speech was an appeal to Ashkenazim that it's not too late to reverse Netanyahu's anti-elitism revolution
Analysis Wiping Out Top Competitors, Gantz Demonstrates He Could Succeed Netanyahu
For the first time in a decade, the opposition has someone with authority and military experience, and Gantz's speech showed he can lead the anti-Netanyahu camp
Farewell to Moshe Arens, the Liberal One-state Ideologue
Moshe Arens’ voice was unique, insistent and unsuited to the talking points of Likud and Netanyahu
Analysis What's the Rush? Six Reasons for Netanyahu's Snap Election Campaign
For Netanyahu, this move will help postpone the AG's decision on the corruption probes against him and make it easier to tell Trump to lay off the 'deal of the century'
Analysis Netanyahu Launches His Election Campaign, Lurching Toward the Center
Netanyahu's message last week in Paris was that Israel needs steady hands at the wheel. But now he no longer has a defense minister to blame, and its hard to rely on the military for political support
Analysis Farewell to Avigdor Lieberman, a Cartoon Defense Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu was and remains the sole custodian of Israel’s security. The authority and responsibility always stayed in his hands, with Lieberman or without him
Opinion The Wild Card: Netanyahu's Most Valuable Electoral Asset
If Benny Gantz wins enough Knesset seats in the upcoming elections, the former army chief of staff could guarantee Netanyahu's reelection
Opinion Yes, Netanyahu Really Is Like Churchill
Just as the British maintained a democracy in Westminster and a military dictatorship in India, Israel maintains a democracy in the Knesset and military rule in the West Bank
Analysis Netanyahu Backs Future Palestinian State, Reigniting the Leftist’s Dilemma
If the prime minister continues on the path he signaled after meeting Trump, his opponents will have to decide what matters more: Ending the occupation or his corruption investigations
A Yom Kippur Reckoning at the Netanyahu Residence
An imaginary holiday interview
Uri Avnery, Shaper of the Israeli Consciousness
He offered to enshrine the Declaration of Independence in law back in the 1960s, was one of the first Israelis to extend a hand to the Arab minority and helped make Arafat a partner in peace. Saying goodbye to Uri Avnery
We Surveyed All of Israel's War Fronts - Here's What We Found
Subterranean digging, a new generation of armored personnel carriers, aerial defense by remote control – we got a close look at the IDF's responses to mounting tension on its borders
No Longer a Secret: How Israel Destroyed Syria's Nuclear Reactor
It was one of the Israeli army's most successful operations, but was censored for over a decade. Now, a Haaretz investigation goes behind the scenes of the 2007 strike on 'The Cube,' shortly before it became an active nuclear reactor: From the intelligence failures and American foot-dragging, to the arguments at the top levels and the threats of a total war with Syria
Syria Strike Revealed The Intelligence Failure: It Took Years for Israel to Discover Syria's Reactor
'The scary thing is that Assad and the North Koreans were building a plutogenic reactor right under our noses for five or six years'
Analysis The Real Fallout From Israel's 2007 Attack on the Syrian Reactor
The bombing of the nuclear reactor near the Euphrates River reshaped Israel’s defense policy – and led to the downfall of the Olmert government
Shimon Peres, as Captured in a Confidant's Diary: Suicidal Thoughts, Manipulations and Locker Room Talk
For nearly three decades, Avi Gil was a senior aide to Shimon Peres. Now, the discreet adviser has published a memoir in which he reveals what he saw close-up: Peres in his greatness and pettiness
Analysis The Tragedy of Suspect Benjamin Netanyahu
The week of Netanyahu’s greatest achievement is also the week in which he’ll face the most serious questioning yet ■ His popularity rests on his significant achievements, and as long as that’s the case, many will keep supporting him – even if they believe he’s guilty
Analysis The Final Days of Benjamin Netanyahu's Rule
The police commissioner isn't afraid of the prime minister and now his man at the Ministry of Communications has crossed the line to turn against him
Analysis The Countdown to Netanyahu’s Departure Begins
He seems willing to lie, coerce others to lie and undermine the foundations of democracy, but the suspicions will break him
Analysis Trump Handed Netanyahu a Victory in the Battle to Crush Palestinian Nationalism
U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem was a gift for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his real fight - the one against Palestinian nationalism