If I were a cynic, I would have said that Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon planned it all in advance. Just a month ago, Barak was bankrupt; a politician at the end of his career. He had lost hismajority in the Knesset, his partners had left him, the days of his government were numberedand it … Read more
Military action speaks for itself. The results can be seen with the naked eye. In this war, some 70 Palestinians (including 11 who were Israeli citizens) were killed,several thousands were wounded, many of them severely. On the Israeli side, two soldiers werekilled and several dozens wounded, almost all of them lightly. What does that show? … Read more
It’s no use accusing Ariel Sharon of the bloodshed which followed his visit to the compound ofthe mosques on the Temple Mount. Since the Kibia massacre of 1953, through his bloody reign inGaza at the end of the 60s and the Beirut events of 1982, he has left behind rivers of bloodwherever he has gone. … Read more
You can’t understand Ehud Barak without knowing where he came from: the “General Staffcommando unit”. The commando unit is not an army unit like any other. It is a frame of mind, a disposition, a way oflooking at the world. During the 1948 war I served in Samson’s Foxes company which was, together with the … Read more
Uri Avnery “The face of the generation is like the face of a dog, and there is no truth,” says the Talmud.There are several interpretation of this saying. One goes like this: “The face of thegenerations” means its leaders. And why does it look like a dog? Because a dog runs ahead, as ifit were … Read more
Concerning the Duvdevan affair, all the questions have already been asked, except theimportant ones. (Duvdevan, Hebrew for cherry, is the code-name of an undercover Israeli army unit used inPalestinian surroundings, usually masquerading as Arabs. In a recent action, three of itssoldiers were accidentally killed by their own comrades in the Palestinian village Assiraal-Shmalieh while trying … Read more
I wouldn’t have believed it possible. Since the first day of the State of Israel, I have campaigned for the separation of stateand religion, the enactment of a constitution, civil marriage, the abolition of the Ministryof Religions. I have written hundreds of articles in Haolam Hazeh (the late newsmagazine,which I edited for many years), made … Read more
Dear Michal Oren, When you published your decision to form a group in order to found a new State of Israelsomewhere else, my first reaction was intense anger. Who does she think she is, this woman? Weare in he middle of a tough struggle for the character of our state, and she wants to desert? … Read more
The Book of Job, one of the most beautiful in the Bible, has become involved in a furiouspolitical debate, caused – once again – by the inimitable Rabbi Ovadia Josef, The book tells about a cruel game played by God and Satan. In order to prove Job’s loyalty, Godallows Satan to inflict terrible suffering on … Read more
“Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish…” You cannot jump over an abyss in two jumps – thus said David Lloyd-George, the Prime Ministerwho made the historic decision to liberate Ireland after centuries of British rule. Hejumped. Yitzhaq Rabin wanted to cross the abyss in many little jumps. He fell into the abyss. Ehud … Read more