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Shalom Yerushalmi

Shalom Yerushalmi

Shalom Yerushalmi is the political analyst for Zman Israel, The Times of Israel’s Hebrew current affairs website
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chief Benny Gantz greet each other at a special plenum session presenting the new emergency government at the assembly hall of the Knesset in Jerusalem on October 12, 2023. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
June 22, 2026, 5:20 pm
Netanyahu is using a desperate Benny Gantz to do his political dirty work
Whether Gantz crosses the election threshold or not, his frantic campaigning and attacks on former political allies are serving the prime minister’s agenda perfectly
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks outside his office at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 7, 2026, 7:40 am
Netanyahu recalculates his election strategy amid shattered regional dreams
The prime minister hoped to head to the polls as the victor of the Middle East, but a rebuke from Trump and ultra-Orthodox crises have imposed a new political reality
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Ultra-Orthodox men protest against the jailing of yeshiva students who failed to comply with an army recruitment order, at the home of Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg in the settlement of Alon Shvut, June 3, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
June 6, 2026, 2:01 pm
The violent ultra-Orthodox fight against the draft is an ostensible holy war against the state
The shocking attack on Justice Noam Sohlberg’s home underlines that extremists view the enlistment battle as a religious crusade, in which there can and will be no compromise
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Shas leader Aryeh Deri in the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 27, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
June 1, 2026, 1:29 pm
Internal ultra-Orthodox politics are driving an unprecedented assault on the AG
Facing intense pressure from constituents over the failed draft exemption law, Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and right-wing allies are inciting a rebellion against law enforcement
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Rabbi Dov Lando casts his vote at a voting station on the morning of the Municipal Elections, in Bnei Brak, on February 27, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90/ File)
May 13, 2026, 9:30 am
Ultra-Orthodox parties break with Netanyahu but know they have nowhere else to go
Despite Rabbi Lando’s ultimatum and anger over the draft law, any talk of a historic alliance with the center-left is baseless, as the Haredi factions rightly fear losing their voters
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Peter Magyar, the leader of the opposition Tisza party, waves a national flag after a parliamentary election in Budapest, Hungary, on April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
April 16, 2026, 6:27 am
Hungary’s youth-led revolution is a wake-up call for Israel’s opposition
As Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule crumbles under economic collapse, Israelis in Budapest see a blueprint for change – but the path in Israel remains far more complex
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters at his party's headquarters in Jerusalem, November 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
January 11, 2026, 7:32 pm
As dueling political camps harden, electoral deadlock heaves back into view
Polls show neither the pro-Netanyahu bloc nor parties allied against him have a clear path to forming the next government, with little chance of wooing support from the other side
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Palestinian women holding their children make their way to Gaza City from Nuseirat, October 11, 2025. (Eyad Baba/AFP)
December 26, 2025, 5:19 pm
As Trump backs away amid global refusal, plan to relocate Gazans looking like pipe dream
No countries, with possible exception of Indonesia, willing to absorb Palestinians, as Israeli officials concede that a plan eagerly endorsed by Netanyahu and the far-right won’t happen
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (right) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 27, 2018. (Avi Ohayon / PMO/ File)
December 12, 2025, 2:37 am
Netanyahu planning Cairo trip to sign multibillion-dollar gas deal with Egypt
Senior US source confirms to ToI that Israeli officials are working with American diplomats on preparations for trip, which would be PM’s first official state visit to Egypt in 15 years
By Shalom Yerushalmi
President Isaac Herzog at a Memorial Day ceremony in the Old City of Jerusalem, May 12, 2024. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
December 1, 2025, 12:45 pm
In granting a pardon, Herzog would validate PM’s narrative that only he can lead the country
An unequivocal pardon would effectively back Netanyahu’s assertion that he bears no responsibility for alleged crimes, or for October 7, and tear the public apart
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Police detain an ultra-Orthodox man during a protest against Haredi enlistment to the IDF outside a military recruitment center in Jerusalem, November 12, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
November 28, 2025, 4:30 pm
Bismuth’s ‘conscription’ law is a corrupt load of crock meant to keep Haredim out of the army
Netanyahu seeks to rush bill through Knesset and tout its sham goals of ‘thousands of conscripts’ in election campaign, but it sets meaningless quotas and guts enforcement
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a press conference, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, on April 30, 2023. (Alex Kolomoisky/Pool)
September 29, 2025, 10:03 am
Netanyahu’s dilemma becomes Smotrich’s as Trump’s 21-point plan nears decision
As PM seeks DC gains and Ben Gvir threatens to quit, finance minister must choose whether to stay in coalition or bolt over prisoner releases, PA rule in Gaza and frozen annexation
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a signing ceremony for the E1 settlement project in Ma'ale Adumim on September 11, 2025. (Maayan Toaf/GPO)
September 12, 2025, 1:21 pm
At Ma’ale Adumim, Netanyahu buried the two-state solution
Paperwork signed by PM in settlement city east of Jerusalem enables construction in E1 area, intended to house 20,000 Israelis within 10-15 years, ensuring no territorial contiguity for Palestinians
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Nathan Eshel at a meeting in the Knesset on May 20, 2019 (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
June 27, 2025, 12:30 pm
A Netanyahu ally tells ToI no one will remember Oct. 7 by election time. He may be right
A triumphant narrative is being carefully crafted by the PM’s inner circle to fully clear him of responsibility for the disaster, as he systematically removes all ties to it
By Shalom Yerushalmi
Mossad chief David Barnea in Tel Aviv, on February 25, 2025. (Tomer Neuberg/ Flash90)
June 18, 2025, 9:52 pm
Quietly transforming Mossad, David Barnea paved the way for triumph in Iran
Israel’s spy chief worked from the shadows to build a campaign that has crippled Tehran, winning the backing of a once-reluctant IDF and shocking Iran, and the world, yet again
By Shalom Yerushalmi
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