The myth of an Israeli-Arab peace, like the Loch Ness monster, is too good a moneymaker to give up.

Two extraordinary recent events seem entirely unrelated, but they are in actual fact no less than peas in the same proverbial pod. US President Barack Obama of “yes we can” fame confessed that he can’t (impose instant peace on us). A concurrent shock was delivered by reports of the possible (premature?) demise of lovable Nessie – the maybe monster that has made Loch Ness one of the UK’s top tourist attractions. Though ostensibly far-fetched, the connection between the two news bombshells is inexorable. Continue reading →

By appearing to identify with the concentration camp’s victims, MK Barakei implies an analogy between them and Palestinians.

Arab-Muslim attitudes to the Holocaust are manifold, cunningly complex and often ostensibly contradictory. But these apparent incongruities are predominantly tactical. The endgame is how to best combat the remnants of Europe’s destroyed Jewry and their descendants in Israel. The common denominator for the diverse ploys is an underlying hypocrisy that allows Holocaust-justification, Holocaust-denial and cynical Holocaust-exploitation to thrive simultaneously in Arab discourse. Continue reading →

Consciously or otherwise, the carrot-or-stick motif conjures images of masters and the dumb donkeys they try to prod and move along. Those lucky enough to be in position to choose between inducing or punishing are obviously the power-wielding honchos. Continue reading →

Whoopty do – the ostensibly uplifting news is that our attorney-general has at long last made a pro forma move against a libel of particularly monstrous ramifications. Talk about too little too late! It took him a long time, and Menahem Mazuz has managed the grudging gesture literally only days before his six-year term ends. Continue reading →

Last week’s High Court decision to open Route 443 to both Jewish and Arab traffic generated lots of squawk. However, another decision, only months earlier, to forbid “mixed” traffic failed to excite much interest. The petitions in both cases were nearly identical, yet the rulings appear completely contradictory. One common denominator, though, does stand out – both decisions are detrimental to Jews. No way can the High Court of Justice be accused of inconsistency – not even when it blatantly applies diametrically different logic to different litigants. Continue reading →

Strictly in the Israeli context, the first decade of the 21st century deserves to be remembered as the decade of defeatism. The country ushered in the new millennium with an air of resignation. The no-can-do premise and loser mentality still persist, perniciously. Continue reading →

‘Turkey has a very special place in my heart and special relationship with Israel… Turkey can bridge the gaps between us and our neighbors and help promote normalization and coexistence in the region” – Trade and Industry Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in Turkey last week. Continue reading →

His real name, according to author L. Frank Baum, was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. Since it’s a bit cumbersome, the bearer of this moniker squeezed it down to the initials only, which came out as O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D. From the third letter onward the acronym spells “pinhead,” not desirable for an ambitious individual, even if it does hint at the truth. Obfuscating that truth and enhancing his image, therefore, necessitated a further trim, leaving only OZ. Continue reading →

One of this country’s prominent professional talking heads, who also happens to be a longtime friend, opined in all earnestness when we met the other day that “the most pivotal recent political development” was Tom Friedman’s op-ed in The New York Times (November 7) entitled “Call White House, ask for Barack.” The broadcaster positively glowed and gloated. >From his ultra-leftist standpoint this was a devastating blow to Binyamin Netanyahu and he lustily savored the triumph. Continue reading →

Some scarecrows are charmers. They cannot maintain their upright position without outside support, but there’s a wide engaging smile scrawled on their faces and their incontrovertible cute-factor makes everyone adore them.

Just hear all that pretentious poppycock spouted at us by world opinion (as ever, resonated shrilly by our own left wing). According to trendy conventional wisdom, the Palestinian Authority’s scarecrow – Mahmoud Abbas – can do no wrong. At the same time, the Israelis who keep him from keeling over can do no right. Simple isn’t it? Continue reading →