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translated from 07/Sep/98 Ma’ariv Alive? Dead? Dying? Flopping? Many doctors surround the bedside of theOslo Accords and proffer their learned opinions. I can calm their fears.Oslo is alive — alive and kicking. The most important historical event which took place five years ago is notthe Oslo Accord itself, but rather the letter exchange which precededit. … Read more

31/Aug/98 translation, not yet published in Israel “Thou shalt not rejoice when your enemy falls.” Thus are we commanded bythe book of Proverbs. It’s a command that is not always easy to carryout. For example, when it concerns Abu Nidal, who according to the news iscurrently hospitalized in Egypt in a terminal condition. Abu Nidal … Read more

translated from 24/Aug/98 Ma’ariv Come on, let’s stop the nonsese. Today is the first day of the rest of your tenure.You can go on as before, and leave office as a joke in U.S. history books.The sax player who has turned himself into the sex player. To go on preoccupied by Monica and her ilk, … Read more

translated from 18/Aug/98 Ma’ariv Two disasters befell the Labor party two years ago: 1) It lost theelections. 2) It lost by a minuscule margin. Of those two disasters, thelatter is the bigger one. A big defeat can carry within it a great blessing. Military historyabounds in such examples. Ehud Barak, who enjoys studying the history … Read more

Ttranslated from 12/Aug/98 Ma’ariv If there were such a thing as a universal grading scale forcorruption, Israel would find itself firmly in the middle. It isundoubtedly a less corrupt state than, say, Liberia or Indonesia.But it is much more corrupt than Britain or Germany. I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the field. As … Read more

Translated from 06/Aug/98 Ma’ariv The Prime Minister demands reciprocity. The extreme Right demandsreciprocity. Yahalom, Ze’evi, and Porat all demand reciprocity. I, too,am in favor of reciprocity, all the way. Some suggestions along theselines: The Palestinian Authority will extradite to Israel all those Palestinians who have killed or wounded Israelis. The Israeli government will extradite to … Read more

translated from 27/Jul/Ma’ariv (unabridged original) We have already become accustomed to the scene: Yeshiva students chasingarchaeologists on the hills, cops chasing the yeshiva students. Thediggers into holy books are at war with the diggers into antiquities. And what is this fight about? On the face of it, they are fighting overdry bones in old graves. … Read more

Unpublished, 21/Jul/98 All it takes is the publication of an ad with a single word — “Liar” –and everyone knows to whom it refers. The public, the ministers withinhis government, the leaders of neighboring countries and worldleaders in general — all know that one cannot trust a single wordout of his mouth, that his political … Read more

Translated from 20/Jul/98 Ma’ariv The scene could have been taken from the theater of the absurd. A seniorIDF officer was facing the camera, reacting bitterly to Israelidemonstrators calling him and his soldiers “Nazis.” “How can you call usNazis?” he asked, filled with rage. “We are only carrying out orders!Without sentiments!” I have given much thought … Read more

translated from 13/Jul/98 Ma’ariv I am not a devoted fan of soccer. But the World Cup has held a growingfascination for me. Take, for example, the contest between England andArgentina, “the Second Falklands War” (only the results are reversed). Awar-like excitement on both sides. Agitated crowds. Flags. Anthems. Averitable war, only without Margaret Thatcher in … Read more