The truth about our next war is that it may not happen at all. It’s shaping up to be big enough and ugly enough to make all sides lose their appetite for it. It may not happen, even though it looks and feels like it is going to happen.
The truth about our next war is that if it does break out, there will be another war after it. Neither side is going to really win, win in the old-school sense of the word. And in the absence of closure, there will be another round, and another round.
Watch me on BBC World Have Your Say TV: Iran, Israel and US
Let’s take score so far: Continue reading
My wife has been asking me to go and get our gas masks already. I gave mine back a few years ago when I was told to give them back, and haven’t made the effort to pick up new ones. I’m existentially lazy that way. But now my wife insists I get them back. And who am I to argue? Continue reading
Creative Commons. IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Voice of Israel from Jerusalem,
Shalom, the time is now 6 am and here is the news,
in the studio, this is Rivki Dangot, Continue reading
Anonymous, the hacking ‘movement’, has created a YouTube video declaring war on Israel. The form and content of the declaration are sinister, in a Hollywood type of way. The cyber war, after all, has been going on for quite some time already. But what’s new is that this movement has now formally called on like-minded people all over the world to join in on the attack against Israel. By the way, the Anonymous video could be a fake, nobody really knows.
A tale of two very different films about neo-Nazis which are about to hit the screens.
Kriegerin, which translates loosely as “female fighter” is on wide release in Germany. It looks like a serious and contemporary film exploring the issue of women in the neo-Nazi scene, and it has parallels to a recent neo-Nazi case in Germany. From the screenshots [I haven't seen the film] I do get an impression however that the protagonists are humanized, and fighting to be recognized. It’s tough to reconcile myself to the fact that, in Germany, neo-Nazis might not seem, to the mainstream anyway, as nothing other than pure scum. Screenings are also planned at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival as well as the Berlin International Film Festival.
Ascot Elite/ Alexander Janetzko
So, Homefront Defense Minister Matan Vilnai has accepted an appointment to be Israel’s new ambassador to Beijing.
There are a few things very wrong with this piece of news:
Firstly, Matan Vilnai, a former soldier and deputy defense minister, has absolutely no diplomatic experience to speak of. And he doesn’t speak Chinese. I mean, China is not important enough for us to send a career professional diplomat to, right? Vilnai will replace the current ambassador, Amos Nadai, who served as deputy head of the foreign ministry’s Asia department prior to his appointment as ambassador to China. Now THAT’S relevant experience. Continue reading
I never took Charles Krauthammer for an optimist.
According to Krauthammer, Bashar Assad’s fall would “deprive Iran of an intra-Arab staging area and sever its corridor to the Mediterranean. Syria would return to the Sunni fold. Hezbollah, Tehran’s agent in Lebanon, could be next, withering on the vine without Syrian support and Iranian materiel. And Hamas would revert to Egyptian patronage.” Continue reading
When it comes to threatening a massive attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities [and by extension launching a full-scale war against Iran and its proxies] is Israel bluffing, or are we really going to do it? If the government believes that it can do it alone, without even informing the Americans, will it? This is what everybody from Washington to Tehran, and everyone in between, wants to know. Continue reading
In a video message posted on YouTube from an undisclosed location, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli nation hours after Israeli Air Force warplanes launched an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. Continue reading
Yair Lapid, the man who would be king, is starting to lose altitude. Just under two months since he announced that he was quitting journalism and entering politics, Lapid is starting to get worn down. And now the polls are starting to show what could be, for Lapid, a long, slow, and painful descent until the country actually heads into general elections, sometime toward the end of the year or the beginning of next year. Continue reading
News coming out today from the Prime Minister’s Office could lead one to believe that the atmosphere inside the most important and sensitive office in the country is on the chaotic side of late.
Firstly, the sensational story about alleged harrassment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bureau chief Nathan Eshel. Continue reading
I can’t sleep.
How awful. I’ve had such a long day, and now I’m lying in bed, and all I can think of is Iran. Will we or won’t we? Should we or shouldn’t we? If we do, will the Americans join in? Or will we be in this on our own?
It seems like today, more than most days, was ‘let’s talk about Iran’ day. Ashkenazi talked about it, Yadlin talked about it, Dempsey talked about it. Time Magazine wrote about it. The New York Times had a big story about it. The Institute for Science and International Security released a report about it today. Continue reading
When it comes to sending signals, a picture is worth a thousand words. And lately, Israel has been sending a lot pictures to get its message across.
Just over the past week, the Israeli defense establishment has released the following pictures of its set pieces:
The Ministry of Defense has released pictures of an Arrow 3 anti-missile defense system test. [Message to Iran: We can hit your long-range missiles, your threats of massive rocket attack have been noted and we're prepared].
When the Muslim Brotherhood leadership looks around them they see an America in decline – both at home and abroad. They see how the US abandoned Mubarak. They see how America speaks of human rights in Egypt and Tunisia, but don’t apply these principles in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Continue reading
Over the past few weeks there have been a growing number of signs that relations between Washington and Jerusalem are even more strained than they’ve been over the past few years.
The US Administration has gone out of its way to make it clear to the Israeli leadership that it believes sanctions against Iran are working and need more time to evolve. The US does not want Israel to launch a strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons program, and there exists a certain amount of unease at Israel’s opacity when it comes to sharing its Iran plans with America.
Where do Israel and America’s interests dovetail, and where do they part? Continue reading
Will the Israeli silent majority vote in larger numbers in the next general elections than they have in previous elections?
There are signs that it may. Over the past year, it is the silent majority, and specifically, those who consider themselves centrists in their political and economic outlook, which has been most heavily involved in three public campaigns that seem to have shaken it awake from its political slumber. Continue reading
He must be rolling around in his grave. The handful of ultra-Orthodox, to whom he gave indemnity from work and military service, have become a million. Presidents and Cabinet ministers have landed themselves in jail for rape, corruption, and nepotism. ‘Proteksia’ is Israel’s official religion and all of its streams agree. The Knesset and the High Court are locked in a battle to the death, and the Knesset is winning. We have lost Turkey. And hardly anyone has moved to the Negev. If he were not already dead, he would resign. Continue reading
