Merited mistrust in Israel’s legal system

“Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes? (But who will guard the guardians themselves?)” — Juvenal, a Roman poet (circa 55 C.E.-circa 127 C.E.), Satire VI, line 347. Read more

Gaza: Delaying the inevitable … again

“ A fool can throw a stone in a pond that 100 wise men cannot get out.” — Saul Bellow, (1915-2005)  Read more

Democracy devoid of the ‘demos’?

“They who sow the wind will reap the storm.” — Hosea 8:7

“[There is a] dangerous symbiosis between elements in the police Major Crimes Unit, the State Prosecutor’s Office and the media.” — Citation from Justice Minister Amir Ohana’s Press Conference, Oct. 29, 2019 Read more

When doves cry …

The most righteous of men cannot live in peace if his evil neighbour will not let him be.” — From Wilhelm Tell Act IV, scene III, by Friedrich von Schiller, 1804 Read more

Alternative Jordans?

There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.” — Sherlock Holmes, The Boscombe Valley Mystery Read more

BDS (Bibi-derangement syndrome) and the myth of Israel theocracy

“ …  for most Israelis, the election results are signalling hope! … hope that we were saved from halachic state and messianic tendencies govern[ed] by a prime minister that undermined the fabric of the collectivity!” — Professor Yossi Shain of Georgetown University and Tel Aviv University, in a Facebook exchange with me over the significance of the recent election results Read more

On domes and drones

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.” (“The more things change, the more they are the same.”) — Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, French novelist (1849) Read more

Will the ‘right’ snatch defeat from the jaws of victory … again?

For by …  faith more firm in their unhallowed principles, the bad have fairly earned a victory over the weak, the vacillating, inconsistent good. — William Wordsworth (1770-1850) Read more

Incentivized emigration: An idea whose time has come?

Past attempts to encourage Palestinians to voluntary emigrate have always failed, so time and effort would be better invested in reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.” — Yossi Beilin, former Israeli government minister and a principal architect of the Oslo Accords, Al Monitor, Aug. 26, 2019. Read more

The deadly detriments of a doctrine of defence

“Every round of violence, in which the results are not a clear-cut IDF victory is, in the eyes of Israel’s enemies, another nail in the coffin of the Zionist entity.” — Veteran war correspondent, Ron Ben Yishai, June 1, 2019 Read more

Bahrain economic conference failure foretold

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” — An aphorism thought to have originated with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1150). Read more

Cracks in the (Iron) Dome?

“ … the ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.” — Sun Tzu, “The Art of War,” circa 400 B.C. Read more

Let the Palestinian Authority collapse

It is all or nothing. We will not take any money if they do not give all of it—even if it means the collapse of the Palestinian Authority and an unequivocal declaration that the Oslo Accords are dead.” — Ashraf al-Ajami, former Palestinian Authority minister for Prisoners Affairs, on Israel’s decision to deduct the sums paid to convicted terrorists and/or their families from the tax revenue that Israel collects for the P.A., Galei Israel, April 19, 2019.  Read more

Benny Morris: An unlikely proponent of incentivized Arab emigration

As readers will recall, I have, for years, been urging the initiation of a large-scale initiative for the incentivized emigration of the Arab population in Judea-Samaria and Gaza, as the only viable policy option that can facilitate (albeit not ensure) the continued survival of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people—as it is, demonstrably, the only policy option that allows Israel to adequately contend with the geographic and demographic imperatives required for such survival. Read more

‘Terror,’ tigers and tabby cats

This was a week in which there was much for the citizens of Israel to be concerned about. Read more

What if the Six-Day War never took place?

If the “West Bank” was part of the “Hashemite Kingdom” up to 1967, how did it suddenly become the Palestinians’ long-yearned-for homeland which, up until then, they were submissively willing to cede to an alien potentate?…asks Martin Sherman/JNS. Read more

Bennett and Bibi’s election boo-boo?

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” – Robert Burns (1759-1796)

Given the emerging realities in Israel’s political landscape, the danger to right-wing incumbency entailed in early elections might well be considerably less than those entailed in postponing them. Read more

The most brutal of killings, those of kids

On International Children’s Day, Nov. 20, the British-based group Campaign4Truth held an event at Golders Green, commemorating the Israeli children murdered or maimed by Arab terror since 1920. I was asked by the organizers to compose a short message for the event. Read more

Israel’s stark option: Arabs in Gaza or Jews in the Negev?

Albert Einstein: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Read more

Gaza – Déjà vu…again?…asks Martin Sherman

An overwhelming majority [of the Palestinian public] demands the immediate halt to all measures taken by Abbas against the Gaza Strip and opposes the crackdown on demonstrations demanding an ending to these measures. Read more

Dangerously disloyal opposition?

This past week was one of immense sadness for me…writes Martin Sherman/JNS. Read more

Arens, you’re wrong about the law

A few notable personalities from the right are joining the wave of condemnation of Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, namely former Defense Minister Moshe Arens and Knesset member Benny Begin…writes Martin Sherman/JNS. Read more

Israel: Identifying the enemy as the enemy is not ‘racism’

One of the most mendacious and widely propagated myths regarding the Middle East conflict is that Israel’s defensive actions against hostile Arab initiatives, whose sole aim is to murder or maim Jews, simply because they are Jews—constitute “racism”…writes Martin Sherman/JNS.
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The Nationality Law brouhaha: The failing of Jewish national will?

[A] nation is the culmination of a long past of endeavors, sacrifice, and devotion. … The nation is a soul, a spiritual principle. Two things … constitute this soul or spiritual principle. One is the possession in common of a rich legacy of memories; the other is present-day consent, the desire to live together, the will to perpetuate the value of the heritage that one has received. – Ernest Renan, “What is a Nation?” 1882. Read more

The myth of Israeli ‘deterrence’

For more than a decade, Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hamas. It has, however, never really managed to deter it in the real sense of the word—i.e., of breaking its will to continue the fight…writes Martin Sherman/JNS. Read more

The weakening of the Israeli ‘right’

In the day-to-day political discourse, the current Netanyahu-led coalition is frequently referred to as the “most right-wing” ever in Israel’s political history…writes Martin Sherman/JNS. Read more

Inane, again! Thomas Friedman on Gaza

What if all two million Palestinians of Gaza marched to the Israeli border fence with an olive branch in one hand and a sign in Hebrew and Arabic in the other, saying, “Two states for two peoples: We, the Palestinian people of Gaza, want to sign a peace treaty with the Jewish people—a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with mutually agreed adjustments. – Thomas L. Friedman, Hamas, Netanyahu and Mother Nature, New York Times, May 22, 2018.

… the American conduct of the peace process bears an unhappy resemblance to the custom of treating diseases by placing leeches on the body of the afflicted person: It was based on an inadequate understanding of the pathology it attempted to cure, it did not solve the problem it was intended to fix, and it sometimes made it substantially worse. – Michael Mandelbaum, The Peace Process Is an Obstacle to Peace, Commentary, April 14, 2016. Read more

A politicised coup by the Israel police?

Ever since Benjamin Netanyahu was elected to lead Likud, and particularly after he became prime minister, the mainstream media has ceaselessly sought to besmirch him and his family. No other democratic leader has been continuously vilified to such an extent…writes Martin Sherman  (Mida via JNS) . Read more