Note: This text was written on Wednesday, a day beforePresident Obama made his historic speech in Jerusalem. It appears that my text came much closer to his actual speech than I had dared to hope. Some passages are almost identical. Readers may want to compare the texts, to see what he left out. DEAR CITIZENS … Read more
IN THE days following the recent Israeli elections, Ya’ir Lapid, the major winner, let it be known that he wanted to be the next Foreign Minister. No wonder. It’s the hell of a job. You can’t lose, because the Foreign Minister is responsible for nothing. Serious foreign fiascos are always laid at the door of … Read more
THIS DOES not happen every day: a Minister of Culture publicly rejoices because a film from her country has NOT been awarded an Oscar. And not just one film, but two. It happened this week. Limor Livnat, still Minister of Culture in the outgoing government, told Israeli TV she was happy that Israel’s two entries … Read more
IS THIS the third intifada? This question was raised this week by a number of Israeli security experts. And not only by them – their Palestinian colleagues were almost as perplexed. All over the West Bank, Palestinian youth threw stones at Israeli soldiers. All the 4500 Palestinians in Israeli prisons took part in a three-day … Read more
ONE OF the most interesting and prolonged private debates I have had in my life was with the brilliant Dr. Nahum Goldmann. The subject: American peace initiatives. It was an unequal debate, of course. Goldmann was my elder by 28 years. While I was a mere editor of an Israeli news magazine, he was an … Read more
Appeared as oped in Haaretz Hebrew I swore allegiance to the army upon its foundation, in the middle of the War of Independence. I served in Samson`s Foxes, the mother of all Israeli commando units. We were an Elite unit (at least in our own eyes). We hated evaders, especially the pencil pushers in spotless … Read more
THE SOLE contribution of Ya’ir Lapid to Israeli folklore so far is his saying that he would not join a move to block Binyamin Netanyahu, since this would mean joining forces with “the Zuabis”. This needs explanation to a foreign audience. The Zuabi family is a large Hamula (extended Arab family) located in Nazareth and … Read more
“COMPARED TO the Knesset it could have been, this is a very good Knesset!”I heard this, in so many words, from at least ten former Knesset members and others, as we were drinking orange juice in the Knesset foyer. I could have said it myself (and probably did). It was the opening session of the … Read more
“VAE VICTIS!” was the Roman cry. Woe to the vanquished.I would alter it slightly: “Vae Victori”, Woe to the victor! The outstanding example is the astounding victory Israel won in June, 1967. After weeks of approaching doom, the Israeli army beat three Arab armies in six days and conquered huge stretches of Egyptian, Syrian and … Read more
IT WAS the night of the optimists.Tuesday at 10.01 pm, a minute after the ballot boxes were sealed, the three TV news programs announced the results of their exit polls. The dire predictions of the pessimists were scattered to the winds.Israel has not gone crazy. It has not moved to the right. The fascists have … Read more