I HATE self-evident truths. Ideals may be self-evident. Political statements are not. When I hear about a self-evident political truth, I immediately doubt it. The most self-evident political truth at this moment concerns Iran. Iran is our deadly enemy. Iran wants to destroy us. We must destroy its capabilities first. Since this is self-evident, the … Read more
HALLELUJAH! AT long last I have found a point on which I agree with Binyamin Netanyahu. Really! This Monday the Knesset reassembled for its winter session after a long (and blessed) vacation. On such occasions, the president of the state and the prime minister are invited to speak. The speeches are supposed to be festive, … Read more
ONE DAY the Israeli Labor Party felt that it needed a new leader. That happens to this party every couple of years. The party is in bad shape. It looks more like a political corpse than a living organism. Wanted: a new leader, charismatic, energetic, enthusiastic. So they found Avi Gabbay. Why him? Nobody is … Read more
Ze’ev Begin, the son of Menachem Begin, is a very nice human being. It is impossible not to like him. He is well brought up, polite and modest, the kind of person one would like to have as a friend. Unfortunately, his political views are far less likeable. They are much more extreme than even … Read more
JUST IMAGINE: A new movement among the Mizrahim is born in Israel. It declares that all the existing organizations of Mizrahim (Oriental Jews) are phony. That they are all instruments of the Ashkenazi (European Jewish) elite to keep the Mizrahim in subjugation. That the Oriental Shas party is a joke, especially since the death of … Read more
THIS IS the story: at 7 o’clock in the morning, an Arab approaches the gate of Har Adar, a settlement close to the Green Line near the Israeli-Arab village of Abu Ghosh. The man is a “good Arab”. A good Arab with a work permit in the settlement. He lives in the nearby West Bank … Read more
I OWE many thanks to Bezalel Smotrich. Yes, yes, to Smotrich of the extreme right, Smotrich the fascist. Recently Smotrich gave a speech to his followers, which he intended to be a national event, the turning of a page in Jewish history. He was gracious enough to mention me in this monumental message. He said … Read more
MY OPTIMISM about the future of Israel irritates a lot of people. How can I be an optimist in view of what’s happening here every day? The practical annexation of occupied territories? The mistreatment of the Arabs? The implantation of poisonous settlements? But optimism is a state of mind. It does not falter in the … Read more
Today is the last day of the 93rd year of my life. Ridiculous.Am I moderately satisfied with my life until now? Yes. I am.If by a miracle I could be returned to, say, 14, and travel all this long way again, would I like that? No, I would not.Enough is enough. IN THESE 93 years, … Read more
A FEW days ago I found myself in Caesarea, sitting in a restaurant and looking out over the sea. The sunbeams were dancing on the little waves, the mysterious ruins of the ancient town arrayed behind me . It was hot, but not too hot, and I was thinking about the crusaders. Caesarea was built … Read more