WHEN I first met Yasser Arafat in besieged Beirut, in the summer of 1982, Abu Mazen was not present. But when I met him again in Tunis, a few months later, he asked me to meet Abu Mazen, too. Abu Mazen, it transpired, was the Fatah leader in charge of Israeli matters. MY FIRST impression … Read more
Abu Mazen despairedOf findingAn Israeli partnerFor peace,Or a fairAmerican mediator.There will never beA more moderateOr more patientPalestinian leader. Published in Haaretz, 19/01/18
NO, I don’t want to write about the affair of Ya’ir Netanyahu. I refuse adamantly. No force in the world will compel me to do so. Yet here I am, writing about Ya’ir, damn it. Can’t resist. And perhaps it is really more than a matter of gossip. Perhaps it is something that we cannot … Read more
Hundreds of millionsTo fight against“Delegitimisation of Israel”Are totally wastedWhen, day by day,Government policiesGive IsraelA bad name. Published in Haaretz, 12/01/18
Israeli security forces fired live ammunition, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring hundreds more at demonstrations and clashes, in an attempt to quell the Palestinian protest sparked by U.S. President Trump’s declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Live gunfire is permitted only in cases of immediate mortal danger that cannot be prevented by any other means. … Read more
Jerusalem is the Capital of Both Peoples: Palestinians and Israelis March Together in Protest and Hope The future of Jerusalem is for us to decide. Together. We invite you to march with us and model an alternative to the one-sided and aggressive approach of the American President. Jerusalem is holy and dear to all of … Read more
I AM angry with the Mizrahi elite. Very angry indeed. Mizrah is the Hebrew word for East. Eastern Jews are those who lived for many centuries in the Islamic world. Western Jews are those who lived in Christian Europe. The words are, of course, misnomers. Russian Jews are “Westerners”, Moroccan Jews are “Easterners”. A look … Read more
Trump triesTo forceThe PalestiniansTo talk with Netanyahu.That is ridiculous.Imposed negotiationsUnder blunt threatsCan have no value. Published in Haaretz, 05/01/18
NOBODY DESCRIBED the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict better than the historian Isaac Deutscher. A man lives in a house that catches fire. To save his life, he jumps out of the window. He lands on a passer-by in the street below and injures him grievously. Between the two a bitter enmity arises. Who is … Read more
“A 16 year old girlWith no weaponsOther than bare hands.Still, she might poseA danger”, said theMilitary judge whoSent her to detention.He is right.She dangerouslyExposesThe occupation. Published in Haaretz, 29/12/17