Ruthie Blum

Jerusalem, Tel Aviv

Columnist at Jerusalem Post

Columnist at JNS

Columnist @JNS_org. Former adviser at the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. Author of To Hell in a Handbasket.

Articles

Long division and a short memory

1 week ago | israelnationalnews.com | Ruthie Blum

Ruthie Blum, a former adviser at the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is an award-winning columnist and a senior contributing editor at JNS. Co-host with Ambassador Mark Regev of the JNS-TV podcast “Israel Undiplomatic,” she writes on Israeli politics and U.S.-Israel relations. Originally from New York, she moved to Israel in 1977. She is a regular guest on national and international media outlets, including Fox, Sky News, i24News, Scripps, ILTV, WION and Newsmax.
Passover: Long division and a short memory

2 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum

(April 10, 2025 / JNS)It’s become fashionable—almost ritualistic—to lament the “unprecedented” disunity among Israelis today. Members of the public wring their hands over the loss of social cohesion that they insist used to characterize the country. But let’s face it: Such nostalgia borders on amnesia. Indeed, anyone reviewing both past and recent history has to admit that there’s nothing new about Jewish polarization. On the contrary, a lack of consensus is one of our oldest traditions.
Unpacking Trump’s ‘major meeting’ announcement at Netanyahu summit

2 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum |Mark Regev

(April 8, 2025 / JNS)Is the United States making a dangerous mistake by trusting Iran? What does President Donald Trump’s latest announcement mean for Israel’s security? Join JNS senior contributing editor Ruthie Blum and former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev—both former advisers at the Prime Minister’s Office—as they dive deep into the Trump-Netanyahu summit and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
It’s the Israeli economy’s ‘internal enemies,’ stupid!

2 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum

(April 7, 2025 / JNS)Ron Tomer, head of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to warn against the “severe consequences” that would result from President Donald Trump’s slated 17% tariff on Israeli exports to the United States. Tomer wasn’t alone in his reaction to Trump’s new trade policy.
Netanyahu, Orbán and the Israeli media

2 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum

(April 6, 2025 / JNS)When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that he would be flying to Hungary, I received a call from an outraged friend. “We’re in the midst of a war, with 59 hostages still in Gaza” she said, seething. “And Bibi has nothing better to do than take Sara on a jaunt to Europe for their anniversary?”Apparently, this is how the excursion was initially portrayed by the Israeli TV channel she watches religiously.
Tensions escalate: What comes next?

3 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum |Mark Regev

(April 2, 2025 / JNS)In this episode of “Israel Undiplomatic,” JNS senior contributing editor Ruthie Blum and former Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom Mark Regev—both former advisers at the Prime Minister’s Office—break down the most urgent national security issue facing Israel and the West: the Islamic Republic of Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Don’t Be Duped by the Demonstrations in Gaza

3 weeks ago | jewishexponent.com | Ruthie Blum

By Ruthie BlumThe protests in Gaza that began last week have ignited speculation about the possibility that Hamas is losing its grip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the scenes in the Gaza Strip — with thousands demanding an end to the terrorist organization’s rule — ”something we’ve never seen before,” [which] “shows that our policy is working.”Even those who dispute the second part of that statement have been interpreting the turn of events as a sign that Hamas is crumbling.
Methinks the left doth protest too much

3 weeks ago | jns.org | Ruthie Blum

(March 31, 2025 / JNS)In a letter obtained last week by Israel Insider, Reps.
Don’t be Duped by the Demonstrations in Gaza

3 weeks ago | jewishpress.com | Ruthie Blum

The protests in Gaza that began on Tuesday have ignited speculation about the possibility that Hamas is losing its grip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the scenes in the Strip—with thousands demanding an end to the terrorist organization’s rule—”something we’ve never seen before,” [which] “shows that our policy is working.”Even those who dispute the second part of that statement have been interpreting the turn of events as a sign that Hamas is crumbling.
Can great art transcend political disgrace?

3 weeks ago | jns.org | Jonathan S. Tobin |Ruthie Blum

(March 28, 2025 / JNS)Ours is an era when canceling people for dissenting against fashionable woke shibboleths has become an inevitable and often lamentable aspect of contemporary culture. That’s true not just in politics, but also in the arts, where virtue-signaling about various causes is commonplace.