“Advance and be recognized!” the recruit on sentry duty calls out when he hears somebody approaching. “Sergeant Johns!” comes the answer.”Advance and be recognized!” the sentry calls again. “I told you already, I’m Sergeant Johns!” comes the answer.”Advance and be recognized!” the sentry calls for the third time. “What do you think you are doing, … Read more
THE MOST dramatic and the most boring election campaign in our history has mercifully come to an end. Israel looks in the mirror and asks itself: What the hell has happened? On the way to the ballot box, in the center of Tel-Aviv, I could not detect the slightest sign that this was election day. … Read more
I BELIEVE this must be about the 15th time that I am writing an article like this one. On the eve of every national election I set out my doubts and hesitations. I do not tell people how to vote. What I am trying to do is help voters (including myself) to organize their thoughts … Read more
THE CENTRAL theme of this article is disgust. Therefore I apologize in advance for the frequent use of this and similar words.In the thesaurus I find quite a number of synonyms: loathing, revulsion, dislike, nausea, distaste, aversion, antipathy, abomination, repulsion, abhorrence, repugnance, odium, detestation, and some more. They are all present in my feelings about … Read more
IN ENGLISH, a “four-letter word” is a rude expletive. It is a vulgar description of a sexual act or organ, and an educated person will not use it.Now it appears that in the Hebrew language, too, there is a four-letter word, which a decent person will not use, especially not in an election campaign. A … Read more
IF YOU want to understand the policy of a country, look at the map!” advised Napoleon. What he meant was: Regimes come and go, rulers rise and fall, ideologies flourish and wither, but geography stands forever. It’s geography that decides the basic interest of every state.Vladimir Putin, heir of Czars and Commissars, looked at the … Read more
A FINAL score of 1:1 may not be the most impressive, but for the youngsters of Bil’in it was a glorious achievement. For them, it was not the result that was important, nor even the match itself (against a team from the nearby town of Betunya). What was important was where it took place: on … Read more
ONE OF our former Chiefs-of-Staff, the late Rafael (“Raful”) Eytan, who was not the brightest, once asked a foreign guest: “Are you Jewish or Christian?””I am an atheist!” the man replied.”Okay, Okay,” Raful demanded impatiently, “but a Jewish atheist or a Christian atheist?”Well, I myself am a 100% atheist. And I am increasingly worried that … Read more
ONLY AN earthquake can still prevent an overwhelming victory for Kadima in the coming elections.But don’t rule it out. In this election campaign, four earthquakes have already struck. First: the Labor Party elected a Morocco-born left-wing leader. Second: Ariel Sharon split the Likud and created the Kadima party. Third: Sharon was felled by a massive … Read more
IF ONE wants to understand what the Palestinians did on election day, one has to see the film “Paradise Now”, which has been nominated for an Oscar for the best foreign film, after collecting several prestigious international prizes. It explains better than a million words.Its makers – the screen-writer-cum-director, Hani Abu-As’ad from Nazareth, and the … Read more