The Old New Jew

Posted on: February 3rd, 2010

It's an old Jewish joke:The gentile drew a circle on the ground, stood the Jew inside and triumphantly declared, "If you leave the circle, you're a dead man!" He then proceeded to rob the Jew's wife and went on his way.

Who’s Pressuring Bibi?

Posted on: December 23rd, 2009

If Barack Obama didn't exist, Benjamin Netanyahu would have had to invent him.

God’s Country

Posted on: October 28th, 2009

Approximately 1,000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple and Israel's exile from its homeland - deep in the depths of the harsh exile and 1,000 years before the beginning of the return to Zion - the great Torah commentator Rashi opens his monumental commentary on the Torah with the question of the ownership of the Land of Israel. What with all the hardships and troubles facing European Jewry at the time, with the Land of Israel but a vague and distant memory, the most pressing problem demanding Rashi's attention is what we will answer the non-Jewish world when it will claim that we are robbers in our own land - usurping its ownership from the local Canaanites.

Solomon’s Judgment On A Hot Summer’s Day

Posted on: July 22nd, 2009

The first summer heat wave is already here, and with it the burning forests. If you have any doubt as to whose land this is, just take a look at the Judgment of Solomon that takes place here every time the desert wind blows in from the East. The Jews say, "The baby is mine" and plant trees. The Arabs say, "The baby is mine, and as long as he is in your hands, we will turn him to ashes."

Why Isn’t Gilad Shalit Home?

Posted on: July 15th, 2009

The painful history of soldiers who have fallen into the hands of terror organizations did not begin with Gilad Shalit. The list of soldiers kidnapped by terrorists is long and merciless: Ron Arad; Givati fighters Rachamim Alshich and Yosef Fink; the soldiers kidnapped from Har Dov - Omar Suweid, Benny Avraham and Adi Avitan; Nissim Toledano; Ilan Sa'adon; Avi Sassportas; Yaron Chai; Nachshon Wachsman; Aryeh Frankental; Ehud Goldwasser; and Eldad Regev. With the exception of Wachsman, Israel entered into extended negotiations to bring these soldiers home. But not one of them came back alive. Israel is currently employing the same method on behalf of Gilad Shalit.

Israel’s Moral Stance On Iran

Posted on: July 8th, 2009

"Israel does not interfere in Iran's internal affairs." That is more or less the reaction of Israeli officialdom to the unrest in Iran. Nobody questions this response. We have become accustomed to the fact that our response is not important. What does the oppression in China have to do with us? Why does the war in Chechnya concern us? Why is the slave trade in Sudan our business? And even more so, what does it matter what we think about Iran?

The Likud’s Shimon Peres

Posted on: March 4th, 2009

Here is the simplest way to describe what happened in Israel's election: the Right won and the Likud lost.

Israel’s Election

Posted on: February 25th, 2009

Israel is now entering a complex twilight zone. On the one hand, it is quite clear to all that the war that Benjamin Netanyahu waged against me caused the Likud to lose mandates.

The Runway To Marks & Spencer Passes Through Gaza

Posted on: January 7th, 2009

"We dreamed that the new state would be a place in which the next chapter of the Bible would be written as a prelude to world-wide redemption. After all, you are the Treasured Nation. We had great expectations. But now look at what you have done."

Why I Will Not Appeal Likud’s Decision

Posted on: December 24th, 2008

In response to the action of the Likud Elections committee that bumped me from the 20th to the 36th spot on the Likud Knesset list, I have received numerous phone calls from attorneys urging me to appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court.

Israel’s Fifth Column

Posted on: November 5th, 2008

Which super idealists in Judea and Samaria would be willing to trade places with the Jews living in one of Israel's mixed Jewish/Arab cities?

The Jewish Economy Triangle: Capitalism, Faith And Loving-Kindness

Posted on: October 15th, 2008

Like every other aspect of running a country, economics is a complex business.

Taking Stock: Rosh Hashanah 5769

Posted on: October 8th, 2008

It seems that God is reshuffling all the decks for the New Year, 5769.

Driving The Likud Bus To A Jewish Destination

Posted on: October 1st, 2008

September 13 passed uneventfully in Israel. It was supposed to have been a national holiday: the anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords.

Hyacinths And The Jewish Renaissance

Posted on: September 24th, 2008

It's always hottest at the end of summer. I am not a meteorologist and I have not checked the latest statistics.

Who Is Responsible For Our Children?

Posted on: September 17th, 2008

In the past weeks Israel has been rocked by a rash of murders - murders of children at the hands of their parents or in one case, the grandfather.

The Russian Bear And The Israeli Ant

Posted on: September 10th, 2008

About a year ago I saw a Russian television broadcast in which Vladimir Putin, riding a noble steed, reaches the edge of a lake, deftly removes his shirt and in an impressive display of muscle, leans over and washes his face in the crystal- clear water.

Terrorist Release Psychosis

Posted on: September 3rd, 2008

Yehudit Dasberg was one of the first victims of Oslo. Her daughter and son-in-law were murdered in a drive-by shooting near Gush Etzion.

Protesting Israel’s Participation In The Olympics

Posted on: August 27th, 2008

A week ago Wednesday, about 50 people protested outside the Chinese embassy in Tel Aviv against Israel's participation in the Olympics.

No Strings Attached

Posted on: August 20th, 2008

"He had recently become more religious," the reporters explained, as they described the second Jerusalem Muslim who attempted to use a bulldozer to murder Jews.