As a marketer the incongruence of the way Israel’s media presents Naftali Bennett stands out like an enormous red flag. There is a deliberate pattern that is impossible to ignore – and it crosses over from the news to entertainment shows. Either they ignore him or they mock him mercilessly. …
Read More »The ‘Deal of the Century’ : Opinion Piece – Feb. 2020.
Some observations: – There has been a consistent pattern to the “peace process” for 100 years from when the Palestine Arab Executive Committee met in 1921 and declared – “Either us or the Zionists. There is no room for both” Some form of partition is proposed, the Jewish people go with …
Read More »From Israel: “Another Way of Looking at It!!”
What I am eager to offer here is a different perspective on some of the matters confronting us. It is not my intention to suggest that all is well. We know it is not, not even remotely. Yet information that provides hope of better times going forward is out there. …
Read More »INTO THE FRAY: Israel’s dysfunctional electorate?
Despite its many undoubted merits, democracy has one glaring detriment. There is never a dictator to blame for the fate that befalls the people. They alone are responsible for whatever befalls them. Israel is now hurtling towards its third national election within a year. Not Force Majeure This was not …
Read More »From Israel: “The People Deserve Better!!”
Benny Gantz has only until Wednesday until he must form a government or return the mandate. It’s anyone’s guess what is going to happen. And here I was, just days ago, thinking that maybe it would go well and we would have a unity government in very short order. But …
Read More »From Israel: Who Knows Which Way Is Up??!
As to the question of who knows which way is up: There is a WHOLE lot of confusion, not just in Israel, but around the world, with regard to this. While I make light of it, just a tad, to help us all keep our sanity, in reality this dysfunction …
Read More »“America First” and Israel – Opinion piece Oct ’19.
Just as it is wrong of those who criticise everything President Trump says and does just because it comes from him, likewise it is wrong for his supporters to blindly praise or try and explain away, a very poor decision and/or action. Trump made no secret of the fact from …
Read More »Into the fray: BDS (Bibi-derangement syndrome) & the myth of Israel theocracy
From the rabid rants of the myriad of “Bibiphobes”, the uninformed observer would be led to believe that Netanyahu is to blame for every misfortune and every malfeasance on the face of the globe… Let me commence with full disclosure on two matters: First, I am a totally non-observant Jew, …
Read More »Post Election Summary – September 2019.
It seems that in those countries where conservatives win elections, opinion polls and exit polling are proving less accurate. Think about Trump in the US, or Morrison here in Australia. Or Israel. Perhaps conservative voters are less likely to publicise their intentions. Never the less this time the Israeli polling …
Read More »Into the fray: A strange thing happened on the way to the polling booth.
Arguably, Netanyahu’s gravest strategic miscalculation was not to call elections in May 2016 rather than capitulate to Liberman’s demand to be given the Defense portfolio. Earlier this month, I wrote a column with the interrogative title: Sept. 17: Will the Right snatch defeat from the jaws of victory…again? Judging …
Read More »From Israel: A Very Swift Pain!!
With regard to the elections and their tortuous aftermath. Of course. As this is a professional posting, I refrain from telling you where the pain is. In any event, you may be feeling the very same discomfort. ~~~~~~~~~ But I want to preface my discussion of what’s going on with …
Read More »From Israel: Yuck! Election campaign not an enlightening period for Israel.
I have made no secret of it: the current election campaign has not exactly been an enlightening period for Israel. For many of us, this has been a source of great sadness. Our nation is capable of better – of a more elevated campaign. There has been too much back-biting, …
Read More »No worries in Israel – Opinion piece June ’19.
The amazing thing about coming to Israel, perhaps especially in summer, is that for all of the fears that people outside of Israel have for her, apparently Israelis themselves are not troubled nearly as much as her supporters overseas are. In Australia we worry for Israel about Iran. We worry …
Read More »From Israel: “A Revolting Thought”
It’s only a thought, or a rumor, at this point. I want to call your attention to a new, expanded (and highly informative) page I have put on my website about Israel’s rights to the Golan Heights: https://www.arlenefromisrael.info/israels-legal-rights-to-the-golan-heights/ As time allows, I will be updating my site in other ways …
Read More »From Israel: “Triumph!”
When the polls in Israel closed at 10 PM on Tuesday, the air was fraught with tensions. Various exit polls, notoriously unreliable in any event, were providing such disparate results that there was little clarity on what the outcome would be. The count was announced early in the morning on …
Read More »Into the fray: Restoring Jewish Sovereignty.
Intensive investment must be made in civil society frameworks that can not only draw the idea of extended Israeli sovereignty into the main-stream discourse as a legitimate political objective, but as one that can dominate that discourse. In a significant departure from his usual ambivalent and non-committal policy formulation regarding …
Read More »Answers apropos Israeli Election. Opinion piece March ’19.
A month ago we raised three questions in regards to the forthcoming Israeli election . The first has been answered. A group of three ex IDF Chiefs of Staff – Gantz, Ya’alon and Ashkenazi – have joined together with Yair Lapid to present the Israeli people an alternate leadership to …
Read More »Into the fray: Will the “Deep-State” destroy democracy?
The unrelenting drive to bring an indictment—any indictment—against Netanyahu has long exceeded the bounds of reasonable law enforcement. The issue at the center of these investigations seems trivial against the background of the existential crises Israel is facing…The first probe, also known as case 1000, involves gifts of cigars and champagne …
Read More »From Israel: Otzma – Disavowing Political Correctness!
There is quite a hullabaloo ongoing with regard to the inclusion of the Otzma Yisraelit faction on the Bayit Yehudi-National Union list (in a technical merger, which means they go their separate ways after the election). In an effort to move past the hysteria and the accusations, I want to …
Read More »From Israel: Who Could Have Imagined This??
Not I. In all of the many years during which I have tracked Israeli pre-election campaigns, I have never encountered a campaign season like this one. I’ve been writing about the multiplicity of new parties, and perhaps that was a clue that I missed: an overt sign of divisiveness. And …
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