WHEN RABBI Ovadia Yosef first appeared on the national scene, I heaved a deep sigh of relief.Here was the man I had dreamed of: a charismatic leader of oriental Jews, a man of peace, a bearer of a moderate religious tradition. “Rabbi Ovadia”, as everybody called him, who died this week at the age of … Read more
Rabbi Ovadia YosefMade a Rabbinical rulingThat gaining peaceHas precedenceOver keeping territoryIf the hundreds of thousandsWho attended his funeralWould follow his teaching -Peace would beA reality. Published in “Haaretz” – October 11, 2013
BINYAMIN NETANYAHU aroused my pity. From my 10 years of membership in the Knesset I know how unpleasant it is to speak before an empty hall. His die-hard followers – a pathetic residue of Casino magnates and burnt-out Zionist right-wingers – sat in the gallery and an over-blown Israeli delegation sat in the hall, but … Read more
The worldHeard itLoud and clear:Israel’s PMThreatened warAnd dismissed as a liePresident Rohani’sConciliatory speech.(MeanwhileTaking for grantedIsrael’s own”Nuclear ambiguity”.) Published in “Haaretz”, October 4, 2013
YEARS AGO I disclosed one of the biggest secrets about Iran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was an agent of the Mossad. Suddenly, all the curious details of his behavior made sense. His public fantasies about the disappearance of Israel. His denial of the Holocaust, which until then had been typical only of a lunatic fringe. His boasting … Read more
Gush Shalom congratulates .Adv. Raji Sourani, veteran Gaza Human Rights activist, now Laureate of the Alternative Nobel Prize Gush Shalom warmly congratulates Adv. Raji Sourani of Gaza for winning the Right Livelihood Award (better known as “The Alternative Nobel Prize”). It is by all criteria a most worthy choice. Gush Shalom, an Israeli movement active … Read more
The State of IsraelPlaced settlersIn the heart of Hebron.Soldiers were postedTo guard the settlers.One of the soldiersWas shot and killed.In reaction, NetanyahuGives the settlersOne more building.To be guardedBy more soldiers… Published in “Haaretz” – September 27, 2013
Urgent Message – tomorrow’s action (25.9) at Khirbet Makhoul canceled Following an appeal lodged by the attorney acting for inhabitants of Khirbet Makhoul, a temporary judicial injunction allowing villagers to return to their village and re-build their homes.We have no details of the injunction and what conditions are set in it, when we get such … Read more
Gush Shalom: Israeli soldiers resorted to violence against diplomats from France and other European countries on their way to give humanitarian aid to inhabitants of a village destroyed by the IDF. Quite embarassing, just a few days after the government made a desperate plea to the European Union to relax its new guidelines , excluding … Read more
IF SOMEBODY steals something precious from you, say a diamond, you may be angry. Even God himself said so. When He sent a worm to kill the gourd which provided shade for the prophet Jonah in the desert, He asked him maliciously: “Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?” (Jonah 4:9) And now … Read more