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Ron Skolnik

@ronskolnik.bsky.social
947 followers 524 following 2.2K posts

Consultant, writer, speaker, Hebrew->English translator. Posting mostly on Israel-Palestine, plus some US politics. I'm all for conversation and nuance. If you're here for snark, simplism, slogans, don't follow me.

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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 52m
Suspiciously timed possible political bribe. Even if not, a drop in the bucket compared to rising costs. Those seniors who can afford it should pass the $ on to orgs that support, or candidates who are committed to, #MedicareForAll. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
Trump's $90 Medicare rebate rolls out, but millions aren't eligible. Critics see a political stunt
President Donald Trump's Trump’s promised $90 Medicare rebate rolls out this week, but millions of people will be left out.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 6h
Israel's Jewish sector is 60% rightwing by self-definition. So the anti-Netanyahu Jewish opposition in large share reflect that, and, except for HaDemocratim, and maybe Lapid's rump Yesh Atid, might be closer to Likud of the '90s (before it had been 'Bibified') than Labor of the '90s.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 6h
The idea seems to be that most Jewish Israelis believe that anyone left of Netanyahu is a 'leftist in rightist's clothing'. Can't say that's an incorrect observation and, if accurate, a testament to Netanyahu's corrosive genius.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 7h
Although the treatment of fear here is sorely one-sided (suggesting that only Jewish citizens of Israel have a reason to be fearful), it's a useful reminder of the psychology of trauma that's keeping non-ideological Israelis in the rightwing camp. www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026...
haaretz.com
Opinion | Israel's left will lose to Netanyahu by ignoring fears over a Palestinian state
Israel's left must confront the legitimate fears driving the right, without accepting permanent military rule over Palestinians. The solution always has been, and always will be, moderate pragmatism
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
"The surreal protest against [Mamdani] represents the death throes of radicals being left behind as the more palatable of their demands have hit the mainstream." @arnorosenfeld.bsky.social offers takeaways from last night's peace vigil and its disruptors. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Haaretz Today • Pro-Palestinian protesters who heckled Mamdani on October 7 did him a favor
Open support for Hamas may reflect genuine support for militant Islamism or frustration with unchanged U.S. policy toward Israel. Either way, it amounts to trolling that any competent politician is fr...
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Reposted by Ron Skolnik
Partners for Progressive Israel @partners4israel.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Join us TODAY at 12:30pm ET! us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Hopefully last night gives him more perspective about the downsides of intense polarization promoted by ideological extremes.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
It's interesting how much your description sounds like Trump as well, the mainstream media futilely waiting for him (in his first term) to become "presidential" or turn toward the center. Mamdani has done better than Trump in that respect, but he is certainly still a 'work in progress'.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
...who are also deeply traumatized and felt Mamdani's main focus on Palestinian suffering yesterday was inappropriate. If the occupation is to be ended, those folks are needed as allies as well.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The question is, and I admit I don't have a full answer, is whether there are a significant number of liberals (for lack of a better word) who are sincere in their opposition to Israel's actions, who demand an end to occupation, but ...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Yes, there are many who will criticize anything associated with Mamdani. And for them (can't quantify the 'them'), there was almost nothing he could have said that would've been considered satisfactory.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
What friends have said to me is that Oct. 7 is sacred and should mark the killing that day; that Palestinian victims could be commemorated another day, e.g. Oct. 8. I don't agree - I think both sides deserved mention. But, given the quantitative imbalance in his statement, pushback was predictable.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Friends in Israel, liberal, consider Zohran Mamdani a very big threat to them. I've been trying to push back, explaining that his intent is sincere and positive, even if they (or I) don't always agree with him. Maybe this will clarify my point. www.jta.org/2026/10/07/n...
jta.org
Protesters overrun Oct. 7 Israeli peace vigil attended by Mamdani - Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Demonstrators mocked and yelled at participants in the event organized by the left-wing group Israelis for Peace.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
A historiography professor of mine would stress the significance of the *amount* (number of pages) that a book discussed this/that topic - quantity becoming quality. Nothing Mamdani wrote was wrong. But he did make a choice in terms of which noncombatant suffering merited more lines.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yeah, it's time. And maybe we're reaching the stage where Republicans are realizing it's not just right, but good politics, too. thehill.com/homenews/cam...
thehill.com
Newsom calls for 25th Amendment after Trump’s remarks on California
President Trump is stoking outrage among California Democrats and at least one House GOP candidate after he suggested at a midterm rally that he would allow Iran to “take out” Los Angeles and San D…
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
אל מול הקריאות לנקמה ועוד דם והרס, שמרחיקות מאיתנו את הביטחון והחיים שמגיעים לנו, אנחנו בוחרות להתעקש על המאבק למען עתיד. להראות אומץ וסבלנות כדי לשמר ולבנות על השותפות הקיימת ששרדה את הזוועות. A Land for All on Facebook. www.facebook.com/2states1home...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Let's suspend disbelief and buy the WH line that Trump meant to say the exact opposite of what he said: Isn't it itself a red flag when a POTUS is unable to express what he means? At least this time their excuse wasn't that 'he was joking'. www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/n...
cbsnews.com
Trump suggests allowing Iran to "take out" LA and San Diego during campaign rally
Gov. Gavin Newsom called President Trump "deranged and dangerous" after he suggested letting Iran "take out" Los Angeles and San Diego.
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Reposted by Ron Skolnik
Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The moment Netanyahu & Ben-Gvir stepped into office on 12/29/22, the number of homicide victims in Israel's Arab community began to skyrocket. The problem is political, not sociological. I'm delighted to have co-organized this important webinar. Registration is at us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
There have been reports of sharp disagreement within the party. And indications previously that Golan represents the party's right flank.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
While in the near-term, more votes for HaDemocratim at the expense of Eisenkot and Bennett/Lapid would be a good thing, a strong performance by the party would cement his leadership, and that wouldn't be helpful. I still believe the party has 'good bones', but it needs better leadership.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
In voting to disqualify Abu Shehadeh, HaDemocratim capitulated to the right, writes Danit Schinagel, "accepting the terrain [the right] has created", where political equality is a privilege, not a right, and Jewish-led parties can grant or withhold it. www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026...
haaretz.com
Opinion | At a crucial and defining moment, Israel's Democrats made a dangerous mistake
A party that champions Jewish-Arab equality and partnership cannot honor that commitment only when it carries no political cost. The vote to bar Sami Abu Shehadeh revealed what the Democrats' promises...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The moment Netanyahu & Ben-Gvir stepped into office on 12/29/22, the number of homicide victims in Israel's Arab community began to skyrocket. The problem is political, not sociological. I'm delighted to have co-organized this important webinar. Registration is at us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Full @usccrgov.bsky.social report at usccr.gov/files/2026-0... bsky.app/profile/uscc...
usccr.gov
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"Current Title VI law distinguishes discrimination based on Jewish ancestry or national origin from opposition to Israel or Zionism." This is a pretty significant document, but because it doesn't have "Mamdani" attached to it, it's gotten less attention. usccr.gov/news/2026/bi...
usccr.gov
Bipartisan Federal Report Calls for Stronger, More Transparent Response to Campus Antisemitism
WASHINGTON — September 28, 2026 — The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today released a unanimously approved, bipartisan report stating that campus antisemitism is a serious civil rights concern and ca...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thank you for this and sharing earlier precedents that the Supreme Court is now looking to ignore (without saying so!). BTW: The liberal (not far-left) Dr. Tomer Persico today plainly argued that the Supreme Court is simply running scared after years of incitement against it by the Israeli right.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Thank you for the heads-up!
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The August report was filed by senior military affairs correspondent, Alon Ben David www.maariv.co.il/news/opinion...
maariv.co.il
הפצצה של צמרת הצבא: "נתניהו מחפש תירוץ לדחות בחירות - אנחנו לא ניתן לזה לקרות" | אלון בן דוד
הממשלה הנוכחית וגם מרבית ראשי האופוזיציה טוענים שנידרש להמשיך להחזיק את שלוש רצועות הביטחון - בעזה, בסוריה ובלבנון - אבל לאף אחד אין כרגע מושג איך נממן את זה
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Last month, Maariv reported that senior Israeli military brass fears that Netanyahu is "looking for a pretext to postpone or disrupt the elections". The sources said the IDF wouldn't allow him to start a new unnecessary war. www.jpost.com/israel-news/...
jpost.com
Benjamin Netanyahu: Israel's enemies may attack in the run up to the election | The Jerusalem Post
Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot called on the prime minister to brief opposition head Yair Lapid on the matter, "to ensure it is a genuine threat, rather than a political maneuver."
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"On September 15", "Shin Bet security service chief Ronen Bar briefed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu" about the "earthquake" warning conveyed to Israel from Hamas' Yahya Sinwar. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Report: Israeli defense officials had urgent meeting on Gaza weeks before Oct. 7
Sufian Abu Zaida, dubbed 'Coal Eyes,' said he conveyed the Hamas leader's threat to his Israeli contacts 22 days before the October 7 attack, receiving a call less than half an hour later before being...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yes, he'd posted about needing to do away with the political involvement in the disqualification mechanism, but the first part here is a bit stronger than what he'd written, albeit still a bit guarded (inasmuch as he wants to avoid criticizing Golan).
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Where did he say that? All I've seen him say is that he understands the disappointment of some friends/comrades over the vote to disqualify Abu Shehadeh, while stressing that the party voted against all the other disqualifications.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Notwithstanding yesterday's vote, HaDemocratim, based on its slate overall, still appears to have 'good bones', and hopefully will yet demonstrate that more clearly once it rounds into shape and gains confidence that it need not pander to the center and right. But we'll see.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
OFC, the vote could've been a tactical attempt to avoid being depicted (even by 'centrist' allies) as too left, too sympathetic to the Arab community - while hoping the High Court would reject Abu Shehadeh's disqualification anyway. In that case, it's an abdication of principles.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Had Meretz entered the Knesset, it would've been led by Zehava Galon, who defeated Golan in the primary race for party chair in 2022. I'd like to believe that Meretz would've voted against.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
As for the the Yair Golan-led HaDemocratim voting in favor of disqualification: Taken at face value, their claim that Abu Shehadeh (who publicly apologized for what he wrote) is on a par with the Kahanist Ben-Gvir (who will apologize for nothing) is analytically unsatisfactory.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As for Abu Shehadeh's 10/7/23 column, written before the full details became clear: It was cold; it lacked acknowledgement of loss. He's apologized for that; and admits that he wrote it prematurely. But saying an event is "historically significant" ≠ support for armed struggle.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And is it possible that Solberg and Baharav-Miara were trying to 'have their cake and eat it, too"? In other words, to please the rightwing by backing disqualification, while laying the legal groundwork for the High Court to overturn the decision?
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It sounds like both chose to ignore their legal sensibility here and adopt the course of tactical retreat.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Both Solberg and AG Baharav-Miara have been subjected to vicious attacks by the right. Likud last month accused Solberg of staging "a targeted assassination of the right wing"; and the gov't, for many months, has been trying to terminate the latter.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Importantly, Judge Solberg (Committee chair) and the AG both emphasized that disqualifications must be based on "yearslong", "consistent, systematic" (AG) behavior, not "individual exceptional remarks" (Solberg). But both chose to disregard that and support disqualification.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The vote to disqualify Abu Shehadeh cannot, of course, be viewed in a vacuum and must be seen within the context of repeated disqualifications over many election cycles since 1988 (when Progressive List for Peace was disqualified, until overturned by the High Court).
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Balad chair, Sami Abu Shehadeh, was disqualified from running for Knesset by Israeli party reps, who make up the Central Elections Committee. They cited this Oct. 8, 2023 column. Use a translation function to read in English. Vital to read primary texts. www.alaraby.co.uk/opinion/%D8%...
alaraby.co.uk
"طوفان الأقصى": ملاحظات أولية
بات واضحاً أن معركة "طوفان الأقصى" حدث تاريخي مهمّ بالمفهوم العسكري، والسياسي والاستراتيجي، وستكون له دلالاته وتبعاته ونتائجه مع انقشاع غبار المعركة. رغم ذلك، بعض الملاحظات السريعة والتي من الممكن الت...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The analysis is also hamstrung by an association fallacy, the argument that attachment to Jewish peoplehood inescapably means support for "Jewish statehood" - as opposed to the latter being one possible application of the former.
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Buchdahl's intentions are good - but the analysis is heavy on pre-state theory, divorced from the Land's demographic actuality; and it fails to grapple with why, among the Jewish Israeli majority, the term came to mean “Jews first” (and, for some, "Jews only"). forward.com/opinion/8513...
forward.com
I want to rescue the word Zionism. We cannot reduce a vast Jewish idea to the politics of the moment.
Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi of Central Synagogue in Manhattan, delivered a sermon on Zionist ideas and ideals
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
When Israel asked to be a member of the UN and int'l community, writes Haaretz's publisher, Amos Schocken, it also agreed to a charter that commits it to protect the people in occupied territory, and assist them to achieve political self-determination. www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026...
haaretz.com
Opinion | Israel's next diplomatic goal should be a Palestinian state
This is the correct decision, and Israel must make it. A decision not to view the Palestinians as enemies who require a defense budget of $60 billion (it's hard to believe), but as brothers living as ...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Not entirely convinced that, in the longer run, J Street U wouldn't benefit from being pushed out by Hillel, but J Street is circulating this petition to demand the chapter be readmitted. It'll be Hillel's loss if they fail to do so, of course. act.jstreet.org/sign/2026091...
act.jstreet.org
Tell University of Michigan Hillel: Welcome J Street U!
None
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Ethics and real-world politics, "the Jerusalem above and the Jerusalem below", aren't a self-evident mix. Which is what makes this webinar so intriguing. Happy to have played a role in organizing; deepest appreciation to the panel. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Last week, Haaretz's EiC was already pointing to this likelihood. www.haaretz.com/opinion/2026...
haaretz.com
Opinion | Are Netanyahu and Eisenkot signaling they could govern together?
The prime minister and his chief rival are sending signals that, in business, might attract the Competition Authority's attention
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Sadly, Times of Israel again excludes Arab-led parties from the Opposition. More generally, if Oct. 27 elections do produce another Netanyahu-led government (and it's not impossible), it'll severely weaken the Netanyahu ≠ Israel argument. www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...
timesofisrael.com
TV poll shows Netanyahu-led bloc slightly ahead of opposition parties
* * *
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Ron Skolnik @ronskolnik.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The old establishment continues to shrink the size of the tent. In doing so, it's both acknowledging its increasing weakness and is contributing to its own further decline. www.haaretz.com/us-news/2026...
haaretz.com
At University of Michigan, J Street U chapter is pushed out of Hillel tent
J Street U was barred from Hillel over its national ties, but its leaders question why the new rules do not affect Birthright or Wolverine for Israel
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