![Eitan Cabel, an Israeli minister without portfolio and member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv May 1, 2007. Cabel announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israel's government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last year's costly Lebanon war. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1P7RE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTR1P7RE.jpg/1-RTR1P7RE.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=PdF_XNU1)
![Mazal Mualem](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2022-09/mazal%20book%202.jpg?h=55541bb6&itok=28S04G5r)
In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics
Mazal Mualem is a columnist for Al-Monitor's Israel Pulse and formerly the senior political correspondent for Maariv and Haaretz. She also presents a weekly TV show covering social issues on the Knesset channel. She is the author of "Cracking the Netanyahu Code" (published 2022). On Twitter: @mazalm3
![Eitan Cabel, an Israeli minister without portfolio and member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv May 1, 2007. Cabel announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israel's government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last year's costly Lebanon war. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1P7RE](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTR1P7RE.jpg/1-RTR1P7RE.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=PdF_XNU1)
![Aryeh Deri (C), leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, attends an annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan-born sage and kabbalist also known as the Baba Sali, in the southern town of Netivot January 14, 2013. Powerful political players for years, Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties must now reckon with a new force ushered in by voters bent on stripping them of perks they have relied on for decades. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/RTR3CWJ3.jpg/RTR3CWJ3.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=AFDuoE4_)
![Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid gestures as he speaks during the opening of the summer session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem April 22, 2013. Lapid is seeking spending cuts of 18 billion shekels ($5 billion) and tax increases of 5 billion shekels as part of the 2013-2014 budget framework, a spokeswoman for Lapid said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXYVXA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/1-RTXYVXA.jpg/1-RTXYVXA.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=jBffAnK5)
![Bennett_Hanegbi.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/Bennett_Hanegbi.jpg/Bennett_Hanegbi.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=Ljt7OaC9)
![Jamal Zahalka, an Israeli Arab lawmaker from the Balad party, speaks to the media during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 23, 2007. Israeli Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara, under criminal investigation in Israel, resigned from the Knesset on Sunday at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and said he would stay abroad for a time because of a "racist" climate. Bishara, who heads the anti-Zionist party Balad, has clashed with Israel's justice system in the past by making solidarity trips to Syria a](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/08/jamal%20zahalka.jpg/jamal%20zahalka.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=eVF9vJ-n)
![Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets Israeli lawmaker Zahava Gal-On, leader of the left-wing Meretz party, in the West Bank city of Ramallah August 26, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3753Y](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTR3753Y.jpg/1-RTR3753Y.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=gLht1U6T)
![Naftali Bennett (C), leader of the Bayit Yehudi party, gestures as he leaves the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday, January 21, 2013. Bennett, leader of this far-right party, has emerged as the surprise success story of the country's election campaign. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGION) - RTR3CQYX](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/Naftali-Bennett.jpg/Naftali-Bennett.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=0_ElNBYs)
![Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd L), flanked by Tzipi Livni (L), Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror (3rd L) and Military Secretary Eyal Zamir, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) during a meeting in Jerusalem June 29, 2013. Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on reviving their stalled negotiations. REUT](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/Tzipi-Livni.jpg/Tzipi-Livni.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=YMDV5_aI)
![Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid speaks during a joint news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, Energy Minister Silvan Shalom and (not pirctured) in Jerusalem June 19, 2013. Israel said on Wednesday it will keep the majority of it's newfound natural gas for domestic use, but will still allow enough gas to be sold abroad to satisfy exploration companies who want access to the global market. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSI](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/1-RTX10TKM.jpg/1-RTX10TKM.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=pYsSaRue)
![Labour party leader Shelly Yachimovich addresses supporters at her party's headquarters in Beit Berl, north of Tel Aviv January 23, 2013. Hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerged the bruised winner of Israel's election on Tuesday, claiming victory despite unexpected losses to resurgent centre-left challengers. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CTBJ](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/RTR3CTBJ.jpg/RTR3CTBJ.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=OAZBSe3C)
![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media at the Knesset, Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem July 22, 2013. Netanyahu will seek formal cabinet backing for reviving U.S.-sponsored peace talks with the Palestinians, an Israeli official said, after pro-settler ministers threatened to try and thwart the initiative. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11V51](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/07/RTX11V51.jpg/RTX11V51.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=yvHtsA8j)