RESEARCH SHOWS that one of the most often used words in Hebrew is “Shalom”. Israelis greet each other with “shalom” and many of them do the same when parting. (The others use the two slang words “yallah bye”, the one Arabic, the other English.) Shalom is not a synonym of the European word “peace”, as … Read more
TWO COUNTRIES competed this week for first place in news programs all over the world: Scotland and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. There could not be a greater difference than between these two countries. Scotland is damp and cold, Iraq is hot and dry. Scotland is called after its whisky (or the other … Read more
THE LAST war has come to an end, the next war has not yet started, so let’s use the time to speak of many things.Of Hannibal, for example. Hannibal? The man with the elephants? The very same. HANNIBAL, THE Carthaginian commander who is considered one of the military geniuses of all times, was a hero … Read more
FOR SIX decades my friends and I have warned our people: if we don’t make peace with the nationalist Arab forces, we shall be faced with Islamic Arab forces.The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will turn into a Jewish-Muslim conflict. The national war will become a religious war. National conflicts are basically rational. They concern territory. They can … Read more
AFTER 50 DAYS, the war is over. Hallelujah. On the Israeli side: 71 dead, among them 66 soldiers, 1 child. On the Palestinian side: 2,143 dead, 577 of them children, 263 women, 102 elderly. 11,230 injured. 10,800 buildings destroyed. 8,000 partially destroyed. About 40,000 damaged homes. Among the damaged buildings: 277 schools, 10 hospitals, 70 … Read more
THE WAR was over. Families returned to their kibbutzim near Gaza. Kindergartens opened up again. A ceasefire was in force and extended again and again. Obviously, both sides were exhausted.And then, suddenly, the war came back. What happened? Well, Hamas launched rockets against Beersheba in the middle of the ceasefire. Why? No why. You know … Read more
THE TROUBLE with war is that it has two sides.Everything would be so much easier if war had only one side. Ours, of course. There you are, drawing up a wonderful plan for the next war, preparing it, training for it, until everything is perfect. And then the war starts, and to your utmost surprise … Read more
TEL AVIV has no metro. It has been discussed for decades. Successive mayors have promised it. Alas, still no metro. When the Israeli army entered the Gaza strip and found there an astounding system of underground tunnels, an idea made the rounds: Why not invite Hamas to build the Tel Aviv metro? They have the … Read more
THERE WAS this village in England which took great pride in its archery. In every yard there stood a large target board showing the skills of its owner. On one of these boards every single arrow had hit a bull’s eye. A curious visitor asked the owner: how is this possible? The reply: “Simple. First … Read more
IN THIS war, both sides have the same aim: to put an end to the situation that existed before it started.Once And For All! To put an end to the launching of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, Once And For All! To put an end to the blockade of the Gaza Strip by … Read more