I have received a lot of curses in my lifetime, and here and there some compliments, too. But Ihave never received a compliment like this one: an important party, represented in theKnesset, has mentioned my name in its official election platform. Under the heading “Legislation and strict supervision of organizations and activists of theextreme left”, … Read more
The Gush Shalom Peace Proposal (2001) The Ayalon-Nusseibeh Statement of Principles (2002) The Geneva Initiative () Note: the three documents here compared are of very different length, the Gush Shalom Draft Agreement covering three pages, the Ayalon-Nusseibeh Statement of Principles, a single page (being more a statement of general principles then a draft peace agreement) … Read more
The “Legal Advisor to the Government” is a curious animal. Lately, his activities have becomecurious, too. Like the mythological Centaur, who was half human, half horse, the office of the Legal Advisorcomprises two different parts. On the one side is the person indicated by his title, givinglegal advice to the government. The government is, of … Read more
If you want to help Ariel Sharon to remain in power – here is some useful advice. One: Talk about a “National Unity Government” that will be set up after the elections. This is a sophisticated trick. It says, in effect, that there is no difference between Likudand Labor. If so, why vote for Labor? … Read more
What does it mean to ” watch? ” In Bethlehem, this first week of Advent,faces watch from doorways, at corners, as those under curfew risk thestreets to visit sick relatives or find the half-opened grocery door.Soldiers watch from tanks, at checkpoints for the unwary traveler, or invadehouses in the dark hours before dawn when no … Read more
In order to win, Amram Mitzna needs three miracles. He needs a miracle in order to defeat the Likud, which is expected by all the public opinionpolls to win by an astonishing 2:1. He needs a miracle in order to defeat the functionaries of his own party, who want to compel himto join a Sharon-led … Read more
What does it mean to ” watch? ” In Bethlehem, this first week of Advent,faces watch from doorways, at corners, as those under curfew risk thestreets to visit sick relatives or find the half-opened grocery door.Soldiers watch from tanks, at checkpoints for the unwary traveler, or invadehouses in the dark hours before dawn when no … Read more
I loathe Binyamin Netanyahu, and therefore I hoped that he would be elected leader of theLikud. I am sorry that Sharon won the primary election instead. How’s that? After all, Netanyahu presented himself as a man of the extreme right and demandedto “expel” (the code-word for “kill”) Yasser Arafat. He is ready to fight to … Read more
To many Americans the Israeli/Palestinian issue is a complex and unsolvableone, plagued with propaganda from both sides and shrouded in the interestsof global politics. But the everyday reality of many Palestinians is onethat rarely has a contributory voice towards American opinion of the issue. Yesterday, my first day in Palestine, I met Lutfiya el-Sharif, her … Read more
To many Americans the Israeli/Palestinian issue is a complex and unsolvableone, plagued with propaganda from both sides and shrouded in the interestsof global politics. But the everyday reality of many Palestinians is onethat rarely has a contributory voice towards American opinion of the issue. Yesterday, my first day in Palestine, I met Lutfiya el-Sharif, her … Read more