IN ITS original German form – Lieberman – the name means “lovable man”. It is hard to imagine a name less appropriate for the new Deputy Prime Minister of Israel.He is not lovable, neither in his personality nor in his views – and that is the understatement of the year.His personal lovability can be judged … Read more
AT THE height of the epic Battle of Britain in 1940, when British airmen were killed at an appalling rate (“never was so much owed by so many to so few”), an official in charge of propaganda had a bright idea to raise morale. On the walls at the Royal Air Force bases a poster … Read more
THE NAME of Franz von Papen is familiar to everyone who knows the history of the German republic that was born after World War I and that died when Hitler came to power. What made him deserving of a place in history? Not his talents. On the contrary, during his short term as Reichskanzler (chancellor), … Read more
IS IT possible to force a whole people to submit to foreign occupation by starving it?That is, certainly, an interesting question. So interesting, indeed, that the governments of Israel and the United States, in close cooperation with Europe, are now engaged in a rigorous scientific experiment in order to obtain a definitive answer.The laboratory for … Read more
ONCE, WHILE traveling in a taxi, I had an argument with the driver – a profession associated in Israel with extreme right-wing views. I tried in vain to convince him of the desirability of peace with the Arabs. In our country, which has never seen a single day of peace in the last hundred years, … Read more
HAD HAMLET been a reserve soldier in the Israeli army, he might now declare: “Something is rotten in the State of Israel!”And indeed, something is rotten. The President of the State refuses to suspend himself, in face of eight individual accusations of sexual harassment. He whines about a monstrous conspiracy against him and points at … Read more
Since the days when Roman Emperors threw Christians to the lions, the relations between the emperors and the heads of the church have undergone many changes.Constantine the Great, who became Emperor in the year 306 – exactly 1700 years ago – encouraged the practice of Christianity in the empire, which included Palestine. Centuries later, the … Read more
GUESS WHOSE words these are: “Starting this war was a scandal…It was possible to solve the problem of the missiles in South Lebanon by diplomatic means…The offensive of the last two days of the war, in which 33 soldiers were killed after the cease-fire resolution had already been accepted, was a spin of the Prime … Read more
IN EVERY language there are some words that cannot be properly translated into any other. It seems that they express something intimately connected with the speakers of that language and rooted in their history, traditions and reality. Such words become international expressions, appearing in other languages in their original form.For example, the German word “Schadenfreude”. … Read more
I ONCE saw a nice sketch in a political cabaret: on the stage several people were speaking in unconnected sentences, all of which ended with the word “but”. For example: “Some of my best friends are Jews, but…”, “I have nothing against blacks, but…”, “I really detest racism, but…”During the recent war, I frequently heard … Read more