119
votes
What did Kerry mean with "Israel can either be Jewish or democratic – it cannot be both"?
That's not what he said. John Kerry said:
But here is a fundamental reality: if the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or democratic – it cannot be both –and it won’t ever really ...
- 89.3k
105
votes
What are the benefits for the US in declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital?
Rallying his base and making good on a campaign promise. Evangelical Christians in the US voice strong political support for Israel and this group overwhelmingly voted for Trump and was pivotal for ...
- 10.5k
98
votes
Accepted
Is there a country (apart from Israel) where all of its land neighboring countries consider it an enemy?
South Korea.
Its only neighbor (by land) is North Korea.
- 1,631
84
votes
Accepted
Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning?
Israel has a complicated relationship with Russia, which it doesn't want to hurt.
Russia is a major supporter of Assad's regime in Syria, which is aligned with Iran and Hezbollah, Israel's bitter ...
- 2,661
83
votes
What are the benefits for the US in declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital?
The reason why people want the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is to counter the stream of international organizations that have been recognizing Palestine as a country. ...
- 89.3k
82
votes
Accepted
Why did Israel vote against lifting the American embargo on Cuba?
Many countries consider themselves allies of the US, but few take foreign policy stances just because the US says so. (The US also does not always vote the same way as its allies.) The vast majority ...
- 15.2k
78
votes
Why has Israel not expelled Russian diplomats in response to the Skripal poisoning?
In January 2010, a team of Israeli government agents travelled to Dubai, UAE and, in a highly-sophisticated operation, assassinated a senior official of the terrorist organization Hamas.
Dubai police ...
- 10.4k
73
votes
Accepted
Why does the US block a UN statement calling for violence to stop in the Palestine-Israel conflict?
Why does the US block a UN statement calling for violence to stop in the Palestine-Israel conflict?
— because the statement was not only for calling the violence to stop, but about condemning Israel'...
- 17.2k
70
votes
How does Israel decide what DNA is Jewish?
They don't decide what DNA is Jewish.
The article you link says (their bolding):
A DNA result that “proves” your Jewish origins does not grant the right to make aliyah according to the Law of Return.
...
- 36k
68
votes
Accepted
How does Israel change its leaders without an election?
The situation in early 2021
The change in leadership, in this case, is coming about after an election. Legislative elections were held in March 2021, but no party reached the 61-seat threshold needed ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
62
votes
Why has the Israel-Palestine conflict reignited in May 2021?
Since you emphasize the word now in your question, I'll try to answer with an emphasis on the current escalation. For the more general question asking why there is a conflict at all, I'll simply refer ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
62
votes
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How do Palestinian schools teach about the Holocaust?
From what I can tell, it is not part of the education in government-run schools in Gaza or the West Bank (which is not surprising, considering that the Hamas is an antisemitic, terrorist organization) ...
- 36k
61
votes
What is Hamas' strategy in attacking Israel?
According to Hamas spokespersons and military leaders, the recent escalation is meant to be a message to Arab countries, either to make them reconsider normalizing relations with Israel or to unite ...
- 10.2k
58
votes
Why did Israel vote against lifting the American embargo on Cuba?
I'm not even sure in what year that vote you mention was taken, because it's a UN tradition by now
The UN General Assembly has, since 1992, passed a resolution every year condemning the ongoing ...
- 145k
58
votes
Has the Israeli supreme court ever come to a decision that can be seen as pro-Palestine or pro-Arab/anti-Israel/-Jew?
Very much so.
1.
Last year, the Israeli supreme court struck down a 2017 law having to do with legalization of illegal housing built in previously Palestinian areas (New York Times source).
Here is a ...
- 1,384
57
votes
Why are the territories gained by Israel in 1967 not internationally recognized?
The general philosophy of post-WWII international order is that the inhabitants of a territory are entitled to self-determination. While there are still many political and historical obstacles to the ...
- 16.2k
54
votes
Accepted
Why has no party ever won a majority in Israel?
Israel's elections are based on nation-wide proportional representation. Specifically, that means there are no local districts in which candidates run.
Your assertion that many parliamentary ...
JJJ♦
- 38.9k
54
votes
Accepted
Why are there so many pro-Palestinian protestors in the United States?
[edit] Pro-Palestinian support has increased everywhere in the world, not only in the US. There might be many factors at play, some country-specific and some not. Among these, a few general long-term ...
- 16.2k
51
votes
Why are so many on the left in western countries so passionate about supporting Palestine (and being anti-Israel)?
This simplest explanation here is that people on the Left (Progressives and/or social liberals) tend not to classify human beings into undifferentiated groups representing competing power blocks. Or ...
- 67.7k
50
votes
Why did Israel vote against lifting the American embargo on Cuba?
Other answers focus on the US-Israeli relationship, but there is also no love lost between Cuba and Israel. Cuba sent troops to fight Israel in the Yom Kippur War after breaking relations the previous ...
- 983
50
votes
Accepted
Why does the U.S. send foreign aid to Palestine at all?
Probably several things:
Money brings influence. Without influence on the Palestinians, the US has even less leverage to shape Palestinian policy in a way that is acceptable to Israel.
Palestine is ...
50
votes
Accepted
Why is the U.S. turning a blind eye to Israel's nukes?
There are several points that invalidate the comparison of South Korean situation to Israeli one.
First, "ballistic missile" does not equate "nuke" - there are plenty ballistic ...
- 3,832
47
votes
Accepted
Why are right-wing politicians in the US typically pro-Israel?
Americans on the Right tend to be Evangelical Christians. As Jerusalem is holy to Christians (as well as being central to several Christian prophecies), there is a decently broad base of Christians ...
- 46k
46
votes
Accepted
Where and how does Hamas obtain the technology and raw material for rockets?
Quassam is an older missile design (or rather a family of missile and a generic term for Hamas homebrew rockets). The key point is (my emphasis):
Design
The utility of the Qassam rocket design is ...
44
votes
What are the benefits for the US in declaring Jerusalem as Israel's capital?
At least prior to the previous U.S. administration, Israel has been a long-time ally of the United States and each country had usually supported the other. Having technologically and economically ...
- 8,238
40
votes
What are some possible downsides about a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict?
In theory there could be a secular, multi-ethnic, multi-religious state.
In practice that is all but impossible.
After the Holocaust, many Jews vowed to live in their own state defended by their own ...
- 106k
40
votes
Accepted
Why do Republicans consistently talk about standing with Israel?
Because it is a very important issue to one of their key voting blocs.
As I explain in this answer, white evangelical voters voted overwhelmingly for Trump both in 2020 and 2016 (somewhere around 81% ...
- 1,512
40
votes
Accepted
Why is the $14 billion aid bill to Israel "bad for Israel", according to the White House?
The White House's opposition to the bill was articulated both in a statement by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre here, and more comprehensively in a Statement of Administration Policy by the Office ...
CDJB♦
- 105k
40
votes
Accepted
How many Americans support leveling Gaza?
I suppose that you are correct “that pollsters may have qualms about asking this”, since thus far, I have not been able to find any polls that ask a question like “Should Israel drop an atomic bomb on ...
- 3,590
39
votes
Accepted
Germany's Ladenschlussgesetz in comparison to Israel's business laws about the Sabbath
Many Germans who have friends and family really enjoy the fact that there is one "common day off" in the week which is the same for all family members. Going to church together has become rather ...
- 106k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible