The recent decision by renowned physicist Stephen Hawking to boycott the fifth Israeli Presidential Conference, co-sponsored by Shimon Peres and Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, is being touted by the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction (BDS) movement as a great victory. Yet the bitter irony of this “victory” was underscored by Greg Scoblete, who points to this reaction …
Continue reading “Boycott Israel?”
The Shi’ite-led government in Iraq has selected a new target for harassment: Iraqiya spokesman Haider al-Mulla and two other lawmakers. This comes despite recent efforts by Iraqiya to lessen political tensions that threaten to ignite a sectarian war. Meanwhile, at least two Iraqis were killed and 26 more were wounded over the last two days.
Years ago I said that there are but two miracles in Israel: the Hebrew language and democracy. Hebrew had been a dead language for many generations, more or less like Latin, when it was still used in the Catholic church. Then, suddenly, concurrent with the emergence of Zionism (but independently), it sprang back to life. …
Continue reading “It Can Happen Here!”
Political change is slow. One doesn’t go to sleep in a democracy and wake up in a fascist regime. The citizens of Egypt and Tunisia can attest to the fact that the opposite is also true: dictatorship does not become democracy overnight. Any political change of such magnitude is the result of a lot of …
Continue reading “Israel’s Crackdown Grows with Boycott Bill”
The anti-boycott law passed Monday night. Much has been said about what the American administration — blind as always to Middle East realities — tagged “an internal issue.” Let me just add that my readers should remember, from now on, that there are things I am not allowed to say. For example, I expressed my …
Continue reading “Things You Can Say, Things You Cannot”
In a rare late-night session, the Knesset has finally adopted two obnoxious, racist laws. Both are clearly directed against Israel’s Arab citizens, a fifth of the population. The first makes it possible to annul the citizenship of persons found guilty of offenses against the security of the state. Israel prides itself on having a great …
Continue reading “Who Is Annexing Whom?”
Channel 10, one of Israel’s three TV channels, aired a report this week that surely frightened a lot of viewers. Its title was “Who Is Organizing the Worldwide Hatred of Israel Movement?” and its subject was the dozens of groups in various countries which are conducting a vigorous propaganda campaign for the Palestinians and against …
Continue reading “The Boycott Israel Movement Needs to Rethink Tactics”
Hundreds of Israeli college professors have signed a petition accusing the education minister of endangering academic freedoms after he threatened to “punish” any lecturer or institution that supports a boycott of Israel. The backlash against Gideon Saar, a member of the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, comes after a series of moves suggesting he …
Continue reading “Israeli Education Minister to Punish Supporters of Academic Boycott”
The people of Sodom, the Bible tells us, were very wicked indeed. They had a nasty habit of putting every passing stranger into one particular bed. If the stranger was too tall, his legs were shortened. If he was too short, his body was stretched to the required length. In a way, each of us …
Continue reading “The Boycott Revisited”
How much did the boycott of South Africa actually contribute to the fall of the racist regime? This week I talked with Desmond Tutu about this question, which has been on my mind for a long time. No one is better qualified to answer this question than he. Tutu, the South African Anglican archbishop and …
Continue reading “Against the Israel Boycott” 
