Israel’s Wrongful Search To ‘Fit In’ Among The Nations

Posted on: December 21st, 2005

The Memorial Wall at Yad Vashem - the Wall of Holocaust and Heroism - has four sections, ranging from the Shoah to Rebirth. Magnificently designed by Naftali Bezem, it takes us movingly from an inferno in which the Holy is utterly profaned to the divine sanctuary of new Jewish generations. But these generations, symbolized by the countenance of a lion, must still shed endless tears.

Disengaging Reason: Building ‘Palestine’ Upon The Ruins Of Israel (Second Of Two Parts)

Posted on: May 18th, 2005

Make no mistake, Israel is despised by the Palestinian populations because it is Jewish - not the other way around. In fact, Israel's unceasing pattern of capitulation to Arab terror elicits even greater Palestinian loathing, as such surrender behavior merely confirms the prevailing Islamic view of the Jew as coward.

Disengaging Reason: Building ‘Palestine’ Upon The Ruins Of Israel (First of Two Parts)

Posted on: May 11th, 2005

From Arafat to Abbas, nothing fundamental has changed within the Palestinian Authority or in any of its sister terrorist organizations. In the prevailing Palestinian view, formal and informal, Israel remains the immutable focus of proposed eradication, although the language is usually more finessed and the tactics now more cleverly disguised.

On Practicing Realism In An Unreal World: A Jewish Imperative (Second Of Two Parts)

Posted on: May 4th, 2005

It is not just our enemies who show us no mercy and who "love death" who bring us death. The triumph of the absurd (the world of Chelm or the world of Kafka?) can be found also in sober actions of the United Nations.

On Practicing Realism In An Unreal World: A Jewish Imperative (First of Two Parts)

Posted on: April 27th, 2005

The story goes something like this. During World War I, a Jew loses his way along the Austro-Hungarian frontier. Wandering through the woods late at night, he is abruptly stopped in his tracks by the screaming challenge of a nervous border-guard: "Halt, or I'll shoot." The Jew blinks uncomfortably into the beam of the searchlight and retorts with obvious annoyance: "What's the matter with you? Are you meshugga (crazy)? Can't you see that this is a flesh-and-blood human being?"

Israel, ‘Palestine’ And ‘Correlation Of Forces’ In The Middle East

Posted on: April 20th, 2005

War is never far from the minds of prudent Israelis, and prudent operational planning must always look closely at the regional "correlation of forces." Drawn from the military lexicon of the former Soviet Union, this concept is usefully applied as a particular measure of armed forces, from the subunit level to major formations.

Facing An Explosive Future: Israel Iran And Anticipatory Self-Defense

Posted on: April 13th, 2005

Israel now faces grave dangers from Iran, a hostile Islamic state deeply involved in production of nuclear and certain other weapons of mass destruction. In essence, the Jewish State will soon have only two options vis-a-vis Iran: 1) sit tight, do nothing militarily, and hope that deterrence, political agreemeents and/or economic sanctions will prevent Iranian mega-aggression; or 2) strike preemptively against pertinent military targets, thereby expressing what international law calls "anticipatory self-defense."

Israel, Palestine And The ‘Samson Option’

Posted on: April 6th, 2005

Taken in isolation, the emerging Palestinian state - a state that is now being forged with the open support of U.S. President George W. Bush - will have no direct bearing on Israel's nuclear posture. Yet, although obviously non-nuclear itself, Palestine could substantially diminish Israel's capacity to wage certain forms of conventional war and could thereby enlarge the Jewish State's incentive to rely on unconventional weapons in particular circumstances.

France, Jews And The Absence Of Memory

Posted on: March 30th, 2005

Truly, there can never be any virtue without memory, and France - it would seem - displays a persistent penchant for forgetting. Now unambiguously aligned with the Arab/Islamic states in global geopolitics, France's staunchly oppositional posture toward Israel is a predictable continuation of official French policy toward the Jews during and immediately after World War II.

Understanding The Religious War Against Israel And America: Barbarism As Sacrifice

Posted on: March 23rd, 2005

How shall we truly understand what happened on the last day of March one year ago, when an Iraqi mob burned, desecrated and hanged four American contractors from a bridge in Fallujah?

Cowardice And Desecration: The Deeper Jewish Meanings Of ‘Disengagement’

Posted on: March 16th, 2005

Bettelheim, like the Greek poet Homer, understands that the force that does not kill - that does not kill just yet - can turn a human being into stone, into a thing, while it is still alive.

On ‘Disengagement’ And Disobedience (Second Of Two Parts)

Posted on: March 9th, 2005

Can the Sharon government protect Israel's citizens? Clearly, "disengagement" will open the door widely to "Palestine." In consequence, once deprived of its remaining strategic depth, Israel will become an irresistibly tempting object for aggression by certain enemy states.

Israel Freeing Arab Terrorists And Surrendering Jewish Land Living Precariously In The Delirium Of Expectation

Posted on: February 23rd, 2005

Writing of the Jews as a "people of solitaries," E.M. Cioran, the most dazzling French philosophical voice since Paul Valery, observes of the Jewish "nation" that this people, "...unsuited to the complacencies of despair, bypassing its age-old fatigue and the conclusions imposed by fate, lives in the delirium of expectation, determined not to learn a lesson from its humiliations...."

Israel Releasing Arab Terrorists – Again

Posted on: February 16th, 2005

It is a familiar story. Israel, with nary a hint of meaningful reciprocity (reinforcing standing government policy of "Land For Nothing"), releases Palestinian terrorist prisoners. This time, in fact, Prime Minister Sharon even threw in amnesty for terrorists not yet apprehended.

On “Disengagement,” Civil Disobedience, And IDF Military Refusals (First of Two Parts)

Posted on: February 9th, 2005

A dear friend of mine in Israel, a hard-fighting veteran of all too many wars, was asked to summarize his view of the "disengagement." "What," I inquired, "do you think of the forcible deportation of Jews from Jewish lands in Gaza and parts of Samaria by the government in Jerusalem?"

Israeli Nuclear Deterrence

Posted on: February 2nd, 2005

Israel's nuclear capacity remains undeclared. For now, this is in Israel's overall best interest. In a world where the United States currently expresses serious concerns about nuclearization in Iran and North Korea, it would be inappropriate for Israel to embarrass its major ally by any form of nuclear disclosure.

Resurrecting A Canard – Mahmoud Abbas And The ‘Cycle Of Violence’ In The Middle East

Posted on: January 26th, 2005

The new Palestinian Authority "President" hadn't even been sworn in before he criticized the "cycle of violence" in the Middle East. An inaccuracy, to be sure. Mahmoud Abbas knew exactly what he was saying.

The Meaning Of ‘Palestine’ For Israeli Security And Regional Nuclear War

Posted on: January 12th, 2005

A new state of "Palestine" will very likely be carved out of the still-living body of Israel. Supported by the President of the United States, this 23rd Arab state will quickly try to extend, incrementally, even within the "Green Line" boundaries of Israel itself.

If You Liked Fallujah, You’ll Love ‘Palestine’

Posted on: January 5th, 2005

Today we think of Fallujah as the site of ongoing battles between courageous American forces and assorted enemy fighters. But back on the last day of March of this year, Fallujah was briefly known for the manifestly unheroic behavior of its Arab/Islamic combatants. Then it was the place where Islamic insurgents openly dramatized their long-cherished practice of desecrating the dead.

What Islamic ‘Sacrifice’ Means To Israel (Part Two of Two)

Posted on: December 29th, 2004

Ayatollah Khomeini, in the foreword to his book on Islamic government, offered remarks which are today still taken as the dominant and incontestable orthodoxy in Iran: "The Islamic Movement was afflicted by the Jews from its very beginnings, when they began their hostile activity...."