Archive

photo gallery A delegation of Gush Shalom met today (Saturday, 10.04.04) with the ‎‎Chairman of thePalestinian authority, Yasser Arafat, in order to protest ‎‎against Ariel Sharon’sdeclarations about his intention to kill him.‎ ‎”We appreciate not only your place in history as the leader of the ‎‎Palestinian NationalMovement, but also recognize you as the only ‎‎Palestinian … Read more

‎ Bitter Rice (2)‎or: The March of Folly‎ The following passage may look familiar: “On the fourth day of the 1982 Israeli attack on Lebanon, I crossed ‎‎the border at a lonelyspot near Metulla and looked for the front, which ‎‎had already reached the outskirts ofSidon. I was driving my private car, ‎‎accompanied by a … Read more

President Yasser Arafat, Shalom. ‎ I write these lines in order to protest against a statement that I cannot ‎‎ignore.‎ ‎ In theweekly Palestinian paper, The Jerusalem Times, there ‎‎appeared on March 26 a short itemreporting that you have viewed the ‎‎controversial film of Mel Gibson, “The Passion of theChrist”. ‎‎Afterwards your advisor and close … Read more

Five hundred black- and white-bearded Hamas members were sitting opposite me. Venerablesheikhs and young people. On the side, some rows were occupied by women. I was standing on thestage, talking in Hebrew, with the crossed flags of Israel and Palestine on my lapel. As I have recounted already several times, it happened like this: at … Read more

A Prime Minister is waging war. The great majority of the people oppose the war. The majorityvote for the Prime Minister. Absurd? Well, that was the situation in Spain. It also applies, more or less, in Israel. Buthere the similarity ends. The Spanish people have thrown their Prime Minister out. The Israeli people go on … Read more

Arna Mer was a tempestuous and exciting woman. She was the daughter of a professor of medicine,who had already become a legend in his own lifetime. As a young woman she joined the legendaryPalmakh fighters of the underground army, and since then the Keffiyah affected by them becameher trade-mark. After the 1948 war she joined … Read more

“O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, How faithful are your leaves! You’re green not only in summertime, But also in winter when it snows, O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum…” (Old German Christmas song. “Tannenbaum” is the fir tree.) This is a well-established Israeli ritual: One takes a trivial matter, declares it to be thecenter of national life, decorates … Read more

Uri Avnery’s opening remarks at “Fence or Wall?” photo exhibition, Tel-Aviv 3.3.04 (Translated from Hebrew) Eyal Ofer’s photos speak of the suffering caused by the wall to those who are imprisoned behindit – leaving their lives in tatters. “Speak” – and not shout. “Speak” and not scream. They document reality and leave it to theviewers … Read more

“It is easier to get the Jews out of the ghetto than to get the ghetto out of the Jews!” – thisdictum of the early Zionists is now assuming a new meaning. Israel is cutting itself off fromthe world and enclosing itself in a ghetto, and not only physically. In The Hague, the proceedings of … Read more