DURING THE last few days, I met with two old friends: Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin. Well, the term “friends” may not quite be appropriate. Certainly, Arafat called me “my friend” in a recorded message for my 70th birthday, but Rabin called nobody “friend”. That was not his character. I am glad that I knew … Read more
The Balfour DeclarationDoes not refer toThe national rights of“Non-Jewish communities”,Only to civil andreligious rights.But even theseThe state of IsraelDenies to the Palestinians. Published in Haaretz, 10/11/17
A new report, Unprotected: The Detention of Palestinian Teenagers in East Jerusalem, published today (25 October 2017) by human rights NGOs HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual and B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories reveals broad, systemic abuse by Israeli authorities – including the police, the … Read more
I HATE self-evident truths. Ideals may be self-evident. Political statements are not. When I hear about a self-evident political truth, I immediately doubt it. The most self-evident political truth at this moment concerns Iran. Iran is our deadly enemy. Iran wants to destroy us. We must destroy its capabilities first. Since this is self-evident, the … Read more
Yitzhak RabinPaid with his lifeFor seeking peaceWith the Palestinians.Tomorrow night we willHonor his memoryOn the square whereHe was murdered. Stickers showing the Rabin-Arafat handshake will besent on demand. Write to info@gush-shalom.org withthe title “Rabin stickers” and give a postal address andthe number of required stickers. Published in Haaretz, 03/11/17
HALLELUJAH! AT long last I have found a point on which I agree with Binyamin Netanyahu. Really! This Monday the Knesset reassembled for its winter session after a long (and blessed) vacation. On such occasions, the president of the state and the prime minister are invited to speak. The speeches are supposed to be festive, … Read more
Netanyahu will notAttend the conference ofAmerican Jews.For the first time,An Israeli PMIs afraid ofBeing greeted thereWith hissing and booing. Published in Haaretz, 27/10/17
Women Wage Peace! “In the world in which we are living, peace will be possible only when women with integrity and hope will stand up for their right to be concerned about the future of their children”. (Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate)In September and October 2017, tens of thousands of … Read more
ONE DAY the Israeli Labor Party felt that it needed a new leader. That happens to this party every couple of years. The party is in bad shape. It looks more like a political corpse than a living organism. Wanted: a new leader, charismatic, energetic, enthusiastic. So they found Avi Gabbay. Why him? Nobody is … Read more
ReconciliationBetweenThe PalestiniansIsGoodForIsrael! Published in Haaretz, 20/10/17