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Promoting Israeli Interests, Enshrining Liberal Values
and yes, they go hand in hand
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22/10/2026

What makes the West worth defending?

Strength, pride, and the courage to stand up against evil are essential - but they are not enough. When Secretary Marco Rubio called on "the West" to rediscover its greatness at the Acropolis in Athens, he invoked one of the foundations of Western civilization, while forgetting the other: Jerusalem.

The Jewish tradition teaches that every human being is created in the image of God - that human dignity is inherent, not earned.
Together, Athens and Jerusalem offer a vision of a civilization that is both strong and humane: one that defends itself while upholding freedom, justice, and the dignity of all people. Both America and Israel need the strength to defend themselves - and the moral compass to know what they’re defending.

01/10/2026

We have a hot take: Israel is arguing about the wrong question.

The debate over whether the war in Gaza should be described as “genocide” has become overwhelmingly focused on facts, numbers, definitions, and legal terminology.
But when someone uses the word “genocide,” they are often making a deeper moral argument: that Palestinian suffering has crossed a line, that something went fundamentally wrong, and that Israel needs to confront it.

We know facts matter. But if Israel responds to a *moral* accusation with nothing but *technical* facts, it is completely missing the real conversation.

In our latest op-ed, we argue why Israel needs to engage not only with the legal accusation in genocide, but with the moral concerns underneath it - and why the harder mission is not how to prove there was no genocide in Gaza, but to project what kind of country we want Israel to be.

Read the full op-ed in the first comment.

16/09/2026

Our fellow Oz Bin Nun wrote on NAZA:

I have nothing to say about the film because I haven’t seen it.

But last year, I wrote a long essay about morality and war, and I’ll tell you what “immorality” looks like:

If you are part of a people, feel a responsibility for the security of the civilians who live alongside you, and are willing to participate in the terrible thing called “war” in order to protect them - and if, as part of being a soldier (but also as a moral human being), you set boundaries for yourself, and your country sets boundaries for itself - that is called “morality.”

Morality is the ability not to turn the terrible thing called war into an excuse to do whatever you want.

So what does “immorality” look like?
“Immorality” looks like people who refuse to take responsibility for the security of their own people.
They are unwilling to confront the terrible yet ancient phenomenon called “war,” let alone take part in it.
They are unwilling to define which of the terrible things that happen within war fall within the boundaries of actions they are willing to tolerate - and which do not.

They are the equivalent of the ethics professor who lectures a Ukrainian soldier, explaining to him why Ukraine must not attack power plants unless it has been proven that they are used *only* for military purposes.

“Immorality” looks as morally pure as possible. But it is lighter than air; it is empty. “Immorality” has no roots, no responsibility, and no sides.

It is the most hollow statement one can make about the tragedy of war.

עוז בן נון

08/09/2026

For too long, the conversation about Israel has been trapped between two words: justice and security.

Israelis are told that caring about Palestinian human rights means compromising on Israel’s security. Palestinians and their supporters are told that respecting Israel's security concerns means ignoring Palestinian justice.

Both ideas are wrong. Israelis deserve to live in security, freedom, and dignity. Palestinians deserve the same. And in the long run, neither side can have one without the other.

At LIBRAEL, we believe it is time for a different point of view: pro-justice, pro-security, pro-Israel.

A vision in which Zionism and liberalism reinforce one another, rather than being treated as opposing forces.

What do you think? Read the full op-ed (first comment) and let us know.

02/09/2026

An Israeli and a Ukrainian walk into a bar?

28/08/2026

Does the Road to Washington Go Through Ankara?

Israel tends to think about the Middle East in simple terms: friends and enemies. But Erdoğan’s Türkiye doesn’t fit neatly into either category - and its growing influence in Syria, Gaza, and across the region presents Israel with a serious strategic challenge.

Yet that challenge may also create an unexpected opportunity in Washington. While Israel has increasingly invested in its relationship with Republicans, many Democrats remain deeply skeptical of Erdoğan’s authoritarianism and regional ambitions. Türkiye can become an issue around which Israel and the Democratic Party rediscover common ground.

Our latest op-ed explores why Israel should stop waiting for Democrats to “come back” and instead start rebuilding a relationship based not just on shared interests but also democratic values.

Read the full piece in the first comment and tell us what you think.

26/08/2026

Vinter is coming. And Amcha Israel is not another “unity” party.

Israel has seen no shortage of new parties promising to bring Israelis together. Ofer Vinter’s newly launched Amcha Israel is different.

It openly identifies with the right, takes a hard line on Gaza, rejects a Palestinian state, and promises to build a right-wing government.

But its biggest political asset may be something much simpler: Vinter is new.

He didn’t run the country on October 7. He doesn’t have to defend the decisions of the political establishment over the past decade. And his party is targeting voters who feel increasingly alienated from the existing right.

That could make Amcha Israel a much bigger threat to Likud and Ben Gvir than yet another centrist “unity” party.

So who is Vinter really targeting? Can he break into the broader populist right? And why is Likud already attacking him?

We take a closer look at the political strategy behind Amcha Israel - and what it could mean for Israel’s 2026 election.

**Read the full op-ed in the first comment**

19/08/2026

Three years after October 7, we risk repeating one of the central mistakes that preceded it: becoming trapped in a Conception, but this time regarding America.

When it comes to the U.S.-Israel relations, we see two competing Conceptions. One says shared interests are enough. The other says that merely changing Israel’s government will restore the relationship. Both contain some truth, but neither is enough.

Israel needs a new paradigm - one that recognizes that a durable alliance with America requires both shared interests and shared values, while understanding that both are changing. We explore what that paradigm could look like - and why we need to start the debate now, before the next October 7.

Link to the full article in the first comment.

12/08/2026

What happens when an unproven accusation becomes a story about an entire population?

Over the past few days, claims that Arab medical staff at Rambam Hospital deliberately withheld treatment from an injured IDF soldier because he was a soldier spread rapidly across Israeli social media.
Rambam investigated the allegations and found no wrongdoing.

But the damage goes beyond one false claim.

Israel is already a deeply interconnected society. Jewish and Arab doctors, nurses, paramedics, entrepreneurs, police officers and public servants work together every day. We depend on one another - and our country is stronger when all of its citizens can contribute.

That doesn't mean pretending that racism, mistrust, fear or genuine disagreements don't exist.
It means refusing to turn those problems into a reason to treat an entire fifth of Israel's citizens as suspects.

A Jewish-Arab partnership isn't a utopian idea. It isn't merely an electoral tactic for the opposition. It is essential to Israel's future as both the nation-state of the Jewish people and a liberal democracy.
We wrote about why - and what that partnership could actually look like.

Read the full LIBRAEL op-ed in the first comment, and tell us: What would it take to build more trust between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel?

09/08/2026

We founded LIBRAEL for a simple reason: American support for Israel has been one of Israel’s greatest strategic assets - and it is eroding, particularly among Democrats and younger Americans.

Dan Perry's new op-ed in The Forward takes a close look at our approach to this challenge.

Our premise is simple: not better Hasbarah or asking Americans to lower their standards for Israel.

Liberal Israelis need to enter the conversation themselves.

That means defending Israel’s right to exist as the democratic nation-state of the Jewish people, while also acknowledging where Israel gets things wrong. It means speaking about Israel in a language that resonates with American liberals - and being willing to advocate for policy changes when necessary.

We know that liberal Zionism - not government talking points - can help rebuild Democrats’ trust in Israel, one difficult conversation at a time.

And this is already happening: in the past five years, LIBRAEL has built relationships with 39 congressional offices across 19 states, trained more than 1,800 pro-Israel advocates, and reached tens of thousands of liberal Americans.

But there is so much more to do.

Read the full op-ed in the Forward in the first comment.

If you believe Israel needs a strong, bipartisan relationship with America - and that liberal Zionism has a place in that conversation - please support LIBRAEL with a donation, in the second comment.

Every contribution helps us keep showing up, building relationships, and making this conversation possible.

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