King of the Planet
THE PRESIDENT of the United States is the king of this planet. I live on this planet. Therefore, the election of the President concerns me, too. Very much so. русский The President is not the sole ruler of the world. There are other rulers too, albeit less powerful ones. His decisions are subject to many […]
Is Akko Burning?
THROUGHOUT ITS thousands of years of history, Akko has never been an Israelite town.Even according to the mythological story of the Bible, the Israelites did not conquer the city, which was already an ancient port. The first chapter of the Book of Judges, which contradicts much of the description given in the Book of Joshua, […]
A Fairy Tale
Recently I was asked by the German Else-Laker-Schueler-Gesellschaft, which commemorates the German-Jewish-Israeli poetess, to describe how peace would look like. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the day of reconciliation, I would like to distribute it instead of my weekly article. русский A fairy tale “If you want, it is no fairy tale!”Theodor Herzl, founder […]
Summing Up
IN COLLOQUIAL Israeli Hebrew, when someone discovers something that everybody else already knows, we say: “Good morning, Elijahu!” Why Elijahu? I don’t know. Now one could say: “Good morning, Ehud!” That’s what I said to myself when I read the sensational interview that Ehud Olmert gave this week, on the eve of the Jewish New […]
It Can Happen Here!
THE GERMAN name Sternhell means bright as the stars. The name fits: the positions of Professor Ze’ev Sternhell indeed stand out sharply against the darkness of the sky. He warns against Israeli fascism. This week, Israeli fascists laid a pipe-bomb at the entrance of his apartment and he was lightly injured. The choice of victim […]
Fly, Tzipora, fly!
THE POLLS were wrong, as usual. And in a big way. As usual.Instead of winning by a huge margin, as predicted until the very last moment by all the polls, she just squeaked through. Of the 72 thousand or so registered Kadima members, only 39,331 troubled themselves to go to the polls, and among these […]
Tzipi’s Choice
AS AN ISRAELI, I am ashamed. An incumbent Prime Minister has been compelled to resign because of personal corruption. How awful! As an Israeli, I am proud. An incumbent Prime Minister has been compelled to resign because of personal corruption. How wonderful! Compelled not by a revolution, not by a military coup, not by rioting […]
Lonely Rider
AT THE funeral of Abie Nathan, I said to myself: the Israel-as-it-is takes its leave from the Israel-as-it-could-have-been. From the state that we dreamed of when it was founded. A state where moral considerations govern both domestic and foreign policy. A state whose citizens take responsibility for their own actions and the actions of their […]
Hottentot Morality
“If he steals my cow, that is bad. If I steal his cow, that is good” – this moral rule was attributed by European racists to the Hottentots, an ancient tribe in Southern Africa. It’s hard not to be reminded of this when the United States and the European countries cry out against Russia’s recognition […]
The Devil’s Hoof
I WAS shocked when I read the headline in Haaretz. It quoted Sari Nusseibeh as saying “There is no Room for Two”, meaning two states between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan. What? Has Nusseibeh abandoned his support for a solution based on coexistence between the State of Israel and the State of Palestine? I […]