“An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country,” said the Britishstatesman, Sir Henry Wotton, some 400 years ago. Shimon Peres is a perfect ambassador and an honorable man (as in the speech by Marc Anthonyabout the murderers of Caesar in Shakespeare’s play: “And they are all, all … Read more
Report of Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee April 30, 2001 Suleyman Demirel 9th President of the Republic of Turkey Thorbjoern Jagland Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway George J. Mitchell, Chairman Former Member of the United States Senate Javier Solana High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, European Union Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee, April … Read more
“Jurassic Park” is one of Steven Spielberg’s immensely successful kitsch-movies. If hewants to produce a sequel, something like “Jurassic Park II”, he should come to Israel. In the original film, a group of scientists succeeded in resurrecting the dinosaurs bycloning. They intended to create an amusement park where people could admire the terriblelizards (that, by … Read more
“People, Atten-tion!!!” The voice comes from thousands of loudspeakers covering the whole country: “Fourth glass, d-r-i-n-k!” “Attention – m-o-u-r-n!” “At ease – r-e-j-o-i-c-e!” There are no loudspeakers in reality. No such orders, either. This is not the Soviet Union.What the hell, here we have democracy! Everyone can do what he bloody well wants! Provided, ofcourse, … Read more
an official request to annul the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Mr. Shimon Peres. Tel-Aviv, April 9, 2001 Mr. Geir Lundestad, Ph. D. Director, Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Oslo. Dear Sir, On behalf of Gush Shalom, the Israeli Peace Bloc, I hereby submit an official request to annulthe Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Mr. Shimon … Read more
Years ago a French anti-Semite asked to meet my friend Issam Sartawi, Yasser Arafat’s specialemissary in Paris. He offered him the help of the anti-Semites in the fight against Israel.Sartawi interrupted him: “Sir,” he said, “Take your papers and get out!” “The guy disgusted me,” he said when he told me about it the next … Read more
Despair is taking hold of great parts of the Israeli public. Its main cause is not just the coming to power of Ariel Sharon, the man of blood, but the absenceof any ray of hope. The Labor party has become a collaborator of Sharon’s; its leaders, Simon Peres and theothers, have become his most efficient … Read more
I am stuck in a huge traffic jam at the entrance to Jerusalem, and I am furious. Around me I seehundreds of cars stuck at the only entrance to the “eternal capital”, as they are every day, andas they are at the entrance to Tel-Aviv and Haifa. My thoughts wander to the dozens ofwonderful, modern, … Read more
Venice is sinking. The jewel of mankind, with its unparalleled beauty, is in the process ofvanishing. Scientists are already calculating when the waves will finally close over thecity. But the sinking is so slow that the inhabitants do not notice it. Israel is in a similar situation. Our Israel, the state that we have created … Read more
I met Yassir Arafat for the first time in besieged Beirut, on July 3, 1982. The city wascompletely surrounded, hundreds of Mossad and Phalangist agents were searching for Arafatin order to kill him. Few believed that he would come out alive. At the beginning of that war he could have left the city easily. Everyone … Read more