I couldn’t imagine a more enjoyable and exciting birthday. “Gush Shalom” has acceded to my wish to mark my 85th birthday not with a public celebration, as on my 80th, but with a brain-storming session devoted to the main issues concerning Israel. At the close of the event, I was given the floor. This is … Read more
A MAN was asked about his sons. “I have three,” he said, “but one of them is a complete idiot.”“Which one?” they asked.“Take your pick,” he replied.In 51 days, we shall vote for a new Knesset and a new government.Three big parties are competing for the prize: Kadima, Likud and Labor.From there on, see the … Read more
IT SOUNDS like an invented story. And indeed it is. In this tale, an American politician gets up and declares: The United States was founded by British Protestants who were persecuted in Europe for their Puritan beliefs. Therefore, the United States is an Anglo-Saxon Protestant state. And he goes on: the United States is also … Read more
For: the President-Elect, Mr. Barack Obama. From: Uri Avnery, Israel. The following humble suggestions are based on my 70 years of experience as an underground fighter, special forces soldier in the 1948 war, editor-in-chief of a newsmagazine, member of the Knesset and founding member of a peace movement: -1- As far as Israeli-Arab peace is … Read more
THE ISRAELI OBAMA. What will he look like, the Israeli counterpart of Barack Obama? What will be his attributes?That is a tantalizing question. It goes without saying that one cannot construct a human being according to a recipe, like a cake from a cook book. But one can, at least, consider a few of the … Read more
THE DAY before yesterday, two documents appeared side by side in Haaretz: a giant advertisement from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and the results of a public opinion poll. The proximity was accidental, but to the point. The PLO ad sets out the details of the 2002 Saudi peace offer, decorated with the colorful flags … Read more
WHEN I told this to Anwar Sadat, he laughed: “The moment the door of your airplane opened, all Israelis held their breath. I live on a main street in Tel-Aviv, and at that moment I looked out at the street below. It was totally empty. Nothing moved, except one cat which was probably hurrying home … Read more
On the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, Haaretz asked nine Israelis to comment on the state of the Israeli left. Their contributions were published on November 14, 2008. Uri Avnery’s contribution follows: Yesterday’s traitors In the crucial battle over the national consciousness, we are experiencing great success. Let us pause to recall: In the aftermath … Read more
IN JULY 2004, the convention of the Democratic Party was about to nominate John Kerry as its candidate for President. The organizing committee had to decide who would deliver the keynote speech. In the American tradition, that speech sets the tone for the whole convention. “Perhaps we should have a black speaker this time?” someone … Read more
IN THREE days, it seems at the moment, the incredible will happen: the most important “white” country in the world will elect a black president. 143 years after the assassination of Abe Lincoln, the man who freed the slaves, and 40 years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, the dreamer of the Dream, a … Read more