Israel

EuropaMundoOriente Próximo,

Je n’ai jamais été vraiment attiré par le spectacle de l’Eurovision. Je le trouve plutôt ennuyeux et la qualité des chansons très souvent médiocre. Ce n’est que depuis deux ans que j’ai pris sur moi, et vaincu mes réticences, pour regarder cette soirée annuelle où alternent le kitsch et le mauvais goût. Plus précisément depuis le 7 Octobre 2023.

En effet, chaque année se présente un représentant (ou plutôt une représentante) d’Israël et le fait que s’additionnent le vote de «professionnels» et celui du public a un véritable intérêt puisque ce vote du public est une sorte de sondage géant sur la sympathie que manifestent les peuples européens envers Israël.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israel’s Eurovision entrant Yuval Raphael at the semi-final dress rehearsal in Basel on 14 May 2025. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

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As they get ready to watch this year’s final on Saturday, many Eurovision fans will be feeling conflicted. Some will not watch at all. The reason is the participation of Israel. Isn’t Eurovision supposed to be about “love, love, peace, peace” (as the 2016 contest’s Swedish hosts so memorably portrayed it)? If so, they may ask, what’s the besieger of Gaza doing there?

Some people argue that the people who run Eurovision, members of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), are simply spineless. Others point to the sponsorship of the event by Moroccanoil, which despite its name is Israeli. But a big international organisation is hardly dependent on a beauty products company.…  Seguir leyendo »

A pedestrian outside Israel’s Supreme Court, Jerusalem, October 24, 2023. Yahel Gazit/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images

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On August 7, 2024, a panel of three judges on Israel’s Supreme Court convened for the second time to discuss conditions at Sde Teiman, a military base in the south that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had converted into a prison camp. In the days following October 7, 2023, the IDF used it to detain roughly 120 militants who had taken part in the Hamas-led attack. The facility, assembled in haste, was intended to serve as a temporary site for registration and interrogation, before detainees were moved to more established prisons. (Sde Teiman had been used as a short-term detention facility in previous wars with Hamas, in 2009 and 2014.)…  Seguir leyendo »

Israel sigue una estrategia arriesgada en Siria

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Tras meses de violencia sectaria, secuestros y choques transfronterizos, lo último que necesita el naciente gobierno sirio es un vecino que avive las tensiones. Pero es lo que hace Israel, con la construcción de bases en la «zona de separación» desmilitarizada entre ambos países, sus ataques contra instalaciones militares y los asesinatos de miembros de fuerzas de seguridad, todo ello como parte de una trillada estrategia consistente en dar apoyo a grupos minoritarios contra las mayorías suníes en el mundo árabe. Pero en Siria, puede salirle el tiro por la culata.

Junto con el vecino Líbano, Siria tiene la población más diversa de Medio Oriente.…  Seguir leyendo »

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La verdad no es más verdad porque todos estén de acuerdo con ella; ni lo es menos cuando todo el mundo está en desacuerdo (Rabí Moisés ben Maimón, Maimónides, c.1135-1208)

La cancelación del contrato de compra de balas de la Guardia Civil a una empresa israelí, decidida unilateralmente por el presidente Pedro Sánchez, es sólo el último desplante del gobierno español hacia Israel.

Aunque la revocación del acuerdo supondrá una indemnización millonaria sufragada por el contribuyente, la Moncloa aprovechó el enésimo sainete diplomático y de seguridad para marcar territorio ideológico y salvar el pellejo de los ministros de Sumar.

Llueve sobre mojado.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Israeli military vehicle rides on the Golan Heights side of the ceasefire line with Syria on Dec.18. (Shir Torem/Reuters)

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Since suffering the worst attack in Israel’s history on Oct. 7, 2023, the Israel Defense Forces have won one battle after another against both Hamas and Hezbollah, greatly diminishing the threat posed by both terrorist groups. But is Israel’s military getting dangerously overextended in a “forever war” in the Gaza Strip?

That is my fear since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to resume military operations on March 18. This marked the end of a ceasefire with Hamas that began on Jan. 19 and resulted in the release of 30 Israelis hostages and nearly 1,800 Palestinian prisoners. Israel and Hamas were supposed to undertake negotiations for a permanent ceasefire but those talks never got off the ground, with both sides blaming the other for intransigence.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Disfrutando un capuchino perfecto y un crujiente cruasán en una apacible calle de Tel Aviv, cuesta imaginar que a 69 kilómetros de distancia, los gazatíes están siendo bombardeados y ametrallados (por no hablar de la violencia constante en Cisjordania, a menos de 65 kilómetros). Cuando en la superficie la vida parece tan civilizada, es fácil olvidar el sufrimiento ajeno.

No quiere decir esto que los israelíes no sean conscientes de la guerra. Pueden verla todo el tiempo en sus televisores, que presentan imágenes de ciudades devastadas en Gaza, así como debates acalorados sobre las últimas noticias. El malestar por la guerra y por los intentos de Binyamin Netanyahu de prolongarla (además de debilitar el poder judicial y otras instituciones de la democracia israelí) es palpable en todas partes, y sobre todo en Tel Aviv, una ciudad mayoritariamente laica y progresista.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Depuis la chute du régime Assad, Israël semble voir dans les tensions politiques et confessionnelles en Syrie une opportunité pour promouvoir ses intérêts géostratégiques dans le pays et créer une situation conduisant à la partition du pays. Les États-Unis ne semblent guère s’y opposer, probablement parce qu’ils considèrent Israël comme une extension de leur pouvoir au Moyen-Orient. Toutefois, si l’administration Trump favorise la stabilité régionale, les actions israéliennes, si elles sont couronnées de succès, pourraient conduire précisément à l’inverse.

La semaine dernière, après que des combats ont éclaté dans la banlieue de Damas, à Jaramana, peuplée principalement de druzes et de chrétiens, le Premier ministre israélien Benjamin Netanyahu a annoncé qu’Israël interviendrait pour protéger les druzes si les forces gouvernementales les attaquaient.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Es posible que en los últimos años haya escuchado la palabra 'sionismo' más de una vez, y probablemente no en el mejor de los contextos.

En universidades, en redes sociales, en ciertos medios de comunicación y, especialmente, en los sectores más radicales de la izquierda y del mundo islámico, se ha intentado construir una imagen del sionismo como una fuerza oscura, malvada, opresora.

Se ha utilizado el término como un insulto, como una acusación, como una justificación para excluir a quienes lo defienden del ámbito académico, social y político.

Pero, ¿qué significa realmente ser sionista?

El sionismo, en su definición más sencilla y esencial, es la creencia de que el pueblo judío tiene derecho a tener un Estado propio, al igual que cualquier otro pueblo en el mundo.…  Seguir leyendo »

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and military commanders watch as military equipment passes by during the annual military parade in Tehran, Iran, September 21, 2024. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

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In the first half of 2024, Iran saw its Axis of Resistance – the Assad regime in Syria, and a collection of militant groups, including Hizbollah in Lebanon, militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza – as still providing the Islamic Republic a measure of protection and region-wide influence.

What a difference a few months can make. In July, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran. In September, Israel detonated hundreds of Hizbollah’s pagers and other devices, taking out much of its mid-level command. Airstrikes and a ground offensive followed, killing Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and decimating its ranks and military assets, while razing many villages.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli military vehicles ride through Syria close to the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel, as seen from Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, on Dec. 15.

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The dormant volcano Mount Bental, a scenic tourist destination surrounded by farms and charming towns, sits in the Israeli Golan looking out over neighboring Syria. For most of the 2010s, you could walk right up to this lush peak, pull up a folding chair and watch the various sides of the Syrian civil war bombing each other’s buildings right in front of you. Though we in Israel wanted nothing to do with it, the war was so close, we could almost touch it. The Islamic State beheading videos that shocked the world hit much closer for us than for most Western countries.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Just before Thanksgiving, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an unusual set of arrest warrants: one for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, one for his former defense minister Yoav Gallant and one for the deceased Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif. Each man is accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The warrant for Mr. Netanyahu calls for any of the 124 countries that are signatories to the I.C.C. to arrest the Israeli leader should he arrive on their soil. And yet in Israel, the threat has made only the barest ripple on the domestic front.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Year of War Transformed Hezbollah

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Wars have a transformative impact on the parties that fight them. That was certainly the case the last time Israel and Hezbollah engaged in all-out conflict back in July 2006. Hezbollah emerged from that fight — which lasted just over a month — battered but defiant after standing up to the most powerful military in the Middle East. That experience, along with Iranian support, set Hezbollah up to make significant strides militarily and politically in the years that followed, transforming it into a transnational organization equipped with an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles while also being represented by lawmakers in Lebanon’s Parliament.…  Seguir leyendo »

A damaged building in the southern Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabal on November 25, 2024 (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Now that the dust has settled, following the ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, it is crucial to ask whether this deal will last. Let’s face it, we’ve been here before.

In 2006, Hezbollah and Israel fought viciously for more than a month for reasons not dissimilar to today’s context. By conducting a cross-border raid against Israeli troops, Hezbollah sought to alleviate some pressure on Hamas, which was battling with Israel in Gaza.

The operation backfired, triggering a devastating conflict that led to the killing of roughly 1,100 Lebanese and 160 Israelis, and to massive displacement and damage to infrastructure in southern Lebanon.…  Seguir leyendo »

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 27, 2020. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

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The Times of Israel recently reported that two-thirds of Israelis prefer former U.S. President Donald Trump over U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. They clearly believe that he will be tougher on Iran and more supportive of Israel’s war efforts than the Biden-Harris administration, which is odd given the fact that both Trump and Harris do not want a direct confrontation with Tehran.

Also strange is the widespread notion that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are in lockstep with each other.

If Jared Kushner’s memoir, which I reviewed, is to be believed, Netanyahu had a trust deficit with Trump just as he has had with a long list of U.S.…  Seguir leyendo »

Le Premier ministre Benjamin Netanyahu s’adresse à la presse à Tel-Aviv, le 13 juillet 2024, pendant la guerre à Gaza entre Israël et le Hamas. Photo Nir Elias/POOL/AFP

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«Celui qui sème la violence récolte la vengeance. » Cette maxime résume à elle seule l’ère Netanyahu. Non pas qu’il faille dédouaner le Hezbollah et le Hamas de leurs responsabilités dans la violence régionale, mais le Premier ministre israélien franchit un cap en frappant sur de multiples sols étrangers sans penser à l’avenir. Sous son mandat, Israël s’est imposé en rempart contre le « croissant chiite » qui s’étend de Téhéran à Beyrouth, en passant par Bagdad, Damas et Sanaa. Mais chaque frappe israélienne, chaque raid militaire alimente un cycle de haine qui éloigne Israël de la sécurité durable qu’il prétend rechercher.…  Seguir leyendo »