MAHMOUD ABBAS was not present at my first meeting with Yasser Arafat during the siege of Beirut in the First Lebanon War. That was, it may be remembered, the first meeting ever between Arafat and an Israeli. Some months later, in January 1983, a meeting was set up between Arafat and the delegation of the … Read more
Shimon PeresWill notSee the Day.YetThe day of peaceWill come! Published in Haaretz, 30/09/16
SHIMON PERES is a genius. A genius of impersonation. All his life he has worked on his public persona. The image replaced the man. Almost all the articles written about him since he fell ill are about the imagined person, not the real one. As the Americans like to say: He is so phony he … Read more
Again, stabbings.Again, “neutralizations”.Again proofThat PalestiniansDon’t wantTo be occupied.Did the British Army70 years agoSucceed in suppressingThe Jewish“Wave of terror”? Published in Haaretz, 23/09/16
To The Security Council members Greetings! We – Israeli and Palestinian citizens, and those of the rest of the world – call upon you to accept a resolution recognizing an autonomous Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967. We believe that the ongoing occupation which Israel has been imposing for 50 years in … Read more
ZIONISM WAS a revolutionary idea. It proposed that the “Jewish people” should create a new Jewish entity in the land of Palestine. The Zionist project was very successful indeed. By 1948 the embryo nation was strong enough to create a state. Israel was born. When one builds a house, one needs scaffolding. When the building … Read more
Finance Minister KahlonLaunched a campaignAgainst gambling.The mostIrresponsible gambleIs by a governmentWhose hunger forEver more settlementsRisks our future. Published in Haaretz, 16/09/16
I AM not the envious type, but I envy the Germans. I envy them for Angela Merkel. Merkel did something that was completely opposed to her political interests. She opened the gates of Germany to almost a million refugees, mostly Muslims, many from war-torn, bleeding Syria. No people, not even a people of Angels or … Read more
“We shareThe same values!”Declared NetanyahuIn Holland.The DutchWere skeptical.They endedTheir occupationOf Indonesia66 years ago. Published in Haaretz. 09/09/16
SOMETHING STRANGE happens to retired chiefs of the Israeli internal Security Service, Shin Bet. The service is by definition a central pillar of the Israeli occupation. It is admired by (Jewish) Israelis, feared by Palestinians, respected by security professionals everywhere. The occupation could not exist without it. And here is the paradox: once the chiefs … Read more