THE CLOSER Mahmoud Abbas gets to the end of his reign, the more extreme his language becomes. Recently he spoke about Donald Trump and uttered the words “May your house be destroyed”. In Arabic this is a common curse, and sounds less extreme than in English. But even in Arabic this is not a usual … Read more
TOWARDS THE END of 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and declared war on the US. Their Nazi ally followed with its own declaration of war, and so did all its satellites. The joke tells about the Hungarian ambassador in Washington who delivered his declaration of war to the Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, who … Read more
IN THE Autumn of 1948, after some eight months of continuous fighting, I was promoted to the lofty rank of corporal. After taking part in a crash course for squad leaders, I was allowed to choose my new soldiers – new immigrants from Poland or Morocco. (Everybody wanted Bulgarians, but the Bulgarians were already taken. … Read more
THE FLOOD of corruption affairs that is now engulfing the Netanyahu family and its assistants and servitors does not seem to diminish his popularity among those who call themselves “the People”. On the contrary, according to the opinion polls, the voters of the other nationalist parties are rushing to the rescue of “Bibi”. They believe … Read more
I HAVE a confession to make: I don’t hate Binyamin Netanyahu. I don’t hate Sara’le either. I generally don’t hate people. With the sole exception of people who have betrayed the trust I put in them and tried to stick a knife in my back. Not more than three or four in all my life. … Read more
PITY THE almond tree, especially when it is in full bloom. The bloom of the almond is, in German, Mandelblüt. That is also the name of Israel’s chief legal official, called “the Legal Advisor of the Government”. The Legal Advisor is appointed by the government, but is supposed to be completely independent. He is in … Read more
WHAT THE HELL am I? An Israeli? A Jew? A peace activist? A Journalist? An author? An ex-combat soldier in the Israeli army? An ex-terrorist? A…? All of these and more. OK. OK. But in what order? Which is the most important component? First of all, of course, I am a human being, with all … Read more
MANY YEARS ago, right after the fall of communism in Eastern Europe, I was asked to write a book about the events. Rachel took the photos, I wrote the text. The book, which appeared only in Hebrew, was called “Lenin Does Not Live Here Anymore”. When we visited Warsaw, we were astonished by the many … Read more
YEARS AGO, when I was a member of the Knesset, I decided to stage a demonstration in the plenum hall. I put on a T-shirt with the slogan “Peace is greater than Greater Israel”. In the middle of the debate I took my jacket off, displaying the slogan. After a few minutes, an usher approached … Read more
WHEN I first met Yasser Arafat in besieged Beirut, in the summer of 1982, Abu Mazen was not present. But when I met him again in Tunis, a few months later, he asked me to meet Abu Mazen, too. Abu Mazen, it transpired, was the Fatah leader in charge of Israeli matters. MY FIRST impression … Read more