For some weeks now, a red light has been flickering in my mind, illuminating a word in large Gothic letters: Weimar.As a 9-year old I saw with my own eyes the collapse of the German republic that came into being after World War I. It was generally referred to as the Weimar Republic, because its … Read more
So where is the cease-fire?Will Hamas and Islamic Jihad torpedo the withdrawal from Gaza?What is happening to Mahmoud Abbas?Generally, a cease-fire is declared in one of three cases:- When one side beats the other into submission,- When a third party imposes it on the two belligerents,- When both sides are exhausted. In our case, neither … Read more
A visitor to Israel at this time may get the impression that the country is in the throes of a contest between two football teams – orange and blue.Thousands of cars are already flying ribbons with these colors, mostly from the antennas. This is very striking on the roads: those who fly different colors are … Read more
All the world saw the horror on TV: a Palestinian boy lying on the ground, unconscious. An Israeli soldier bending over him, not knowing what to do. A settler coming up from behind and throwing a stone at the head of the injured Palestinian. Another settler dropping a big stone on him at point-blank range. … Read more
This week, the country was shocked by a terrifying train accident. A heavy truck was crossing the tracks as a train approached at high speed. The locomotive driver saw the truck but could not stop in time. The truck driver saw the train but couldn’t get off the track in time. Result: many killed, many … Read more
The experience was almost surrealistic: I was in a hall in the centre of Gaza, facing some 500 people, all of them bearded men, nearly all of them Hamas militants. The Hamas movement officially opposes the very existence of the State of Israel, and here I stand on the podium speaking in Hebrew about peace … Read more
“The President of the United States and the President of the Palestinian Authority!” intoned the voice, as the two leaders appeared before the journalists during the recent visit of Mahmud Abbas to the White House. George Bush also addressed his visitor as “President Abbas”, and not accidentally. The use of this appellation was a deliberate … Read more
Perhaps there are countries where drivers stuck in traffic jams don’t get annoyed. They know they can do nothing about it, so they wait patiently. Think their own thoughts, listen to the radio or read until the jam disperses. We Israelis are not like that. We are a nervous lot. We have no patience. When … Read more
What to do on “Herzl Day”, the anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Zionist movement – officially celebrated this week for the first time? How to honor the memory of this strange man, who still has such an enormous impact on our lives? The day found me in Berlin. I took a … Read more
The uproar has been raging for two weeks so far, and is showing no sign of abating. Israel is shaken to the core – is it the postponed “disengagement plan? Is it the killing of demonstrators against the Wall? No, it’s a song. Like a devout Christian, Naomi Shemer confessed, on her deathbed, to the … Read more