ONE OF THE HAPPIEST moments in my life occurred in a restaurant. It happened before the second intifada. I had invited Rachel to celebrate her birthday with dinner at a famous restaurant in Ramallah. We were sitting in the garden under strings of colorful lights, the air was fragrant with the perfume of flowers and … Read more
First of all, I want to apologize to all the good women who are engaged in the world’s oldest profession. I recently described Shimon Peres as a political prostitute. One of my female readers has protested vigorously. Prostitutes, she pointed out, earn their money honestly. They deliver what they promise. Our president, on the other … Read more
EVERYBODY IS talking about the first 100 days of Barack Obama. And there’s a lot to talk about. Like a young bull he stormed into the arena. A deluge of new ideas in every direction, a tsunami of practical initiatives, some of which have already begun to be implemented. Clearly he had been thinking about … Read more
I AM not saying that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is an agent of the Mossad. Absolutely not. I don’t want to be sued for libel. I am only saying that were he an agent of the Mossad, he would not behave any differently. And also: If he did not exist, the Mossad would have had to invent … Read more
PERHAPS Avigdor Lieberman is only a passing episode in the annals of the State of Israel. Perhaps the fire he is trying to ignite will flicker briefly and go out by itself. Or perhaps the police investigations into the grave corruption affair of which he is suspected will lead to his removal from the public … Read more
PASSOVER Week is a time for outings. News programs on radio and television start with words like: “The masses of the House of Israel spent the day in the national parks…” It is also a feast of homeland songs. On television one sees groups of white-haired oldsters surrounded by their children and grandchildren fervently singing … Read more
ON THE first day of the new Israeli government, the fog cleared: it’s a Lieberman government. The day started with a celebration at the President’s office. All the members of this bloated government – 30 ministers and 8 deputy ministers – were dressed up in their best finery and posed for a group photo. Binyamin … Read more
IS THIS the government of Biberman (Bibi Netanyahu and Avigdor Liberman) or perhaps of Bibarak (Bibi and Ehud Barak)? Neither. It is the government of Bibiyahu. Binyamin Netanyahu has proven that he is a consummate politician. He has realized the dream of every politician (and theatergoer): a good place in the middle. In his new … Read more
THE MOST important sentence written in Israel this week was lost in the general tumult of exciting events. Really exciting: In a final act of villainy, typical of his whole tenure as Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert abandoned the captive soldier, Gilad Shalit. Ehud Barak decided that the Labor Party must join the ultra-right government, which … Read more
RETURNING HOME from a very short visit to London, I found the country in the grip of uncontrollable emotions. No, it was not about the looming danger of the radical right gaining control. It is now almost certain that the next government will consist of an assorted bunch of settlers, explicit racists and perhaps even … Read more