DURING HIS short visit to Israel, Pope Francis laid a wreath on the grave of Theodor Herzl.That was not a usual gesture. Foreign heads of state are obliged to visit Yad Vashem, as did the pope, but not the grave of Herzl. It is not like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris. So … Read more
The Pope madeA call for peace,Striking a chordAlso withNon-ChristiansA day later:“Jerusalem Day”Netanyahu crying“Forever ours!” Published in Ha’aretz – May 30, 2014
ACCORDING TO press reports, President Barack Obama has decided to let Binyamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas “stew in their own juice.” That sounds fair. The United States has tried very hard to make peace between Israel and Palestine. Poor John Kerry has devoted almost all of his considerable energies to getting both sides to meet, … Read more
Maccabi Tel AvivWon a European CupAnd the crowdsWent wildIn the streets.But with no peace in sightAnd occupation for ever -How long willThe gates of EuropeRemain open to us? Published in Ha’aretz – May 23, 2014
YEARS AGO I was invited to a UN conference on the Palestinian refugees in Paris. I was to open the debate as an Israeli, after the Palestinian representative, Salman Abu Sitta, a refugee from a Bedouin tribe in the Negev, had opened as a Palestinian. Before the debate I was warned that Abu Sitta was … Read more
A panicking NetanyahuStarts a legislation barrage:Blocking prisoner release -In case peaceIs not dead yet,And abolishingThe presidency -Because his own seatIs shaking. Published in Ha’aretz, May 16, ,2014
JUST BEFORE Israel’s 66th Independence Day, the country acquired a new national hero.If it is true that every nation gets the national heroes it deserves, it was a rather worrying spectacle. THE VIDEO clip that turned David Adamov from an anonymous soldier into a national figure was taken with a Palestinian camera in Hebron. Such … Read more
IDF Chief of StaffBenny GanzSaid on Memorial Day:“The calm situationIs a misleading illusion.Any spark might causeA conflagration”A society which normallyAdmires the ArmyCompletely ignoredThis warning Published in Ha’aretzMay 9,201
HOW WOULD the US react to a declaration that the Palestinians would not conduct negotiations with an Israeli government that includes semi-fascist parties? With outrage, of course. How does the US react to an Israeli statement that Israel will not negotiate with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas? With full approval, of course. FOR ANYONE … Read more
The State of IsraelIs celebratingIts sixty-sixthIndependence Day.Israel’s futureWill not be assuredUntil the State of PalestineCelebrates its firstIndependence Day. Published in Ha’aretz, May 2, 2014