The Circle Game

Now that Obama and Barkat are safely esconsed in their new offices we can direct all of our political angst toward the upcoming Israeli elections for the Knesset on February 10, 2009. The current surveys are predicting a major comeback for the Likud, which is expected to catapult from its current eight seats to more than thirty, soundly defeating Labor as it crashes and burns with under ten seats, and overtaking its current rival Kadima, with Tzipi Livni at the helm, with around twenty-six. With eight weeks to go, anything can happen to upset these predictions but the way things are looking now, our next prime minister will be Benjamin Netanyahu.

After being defeated, Israeli politicians don't trudge home with their tails between their legs and retire quietly from public life. Instead, they wait patiently for the disgrace to dissipate, and then rise miraculously, like a phoenix from the ashes, to return to the political arena and save the country from imminent disaster. The magic words seem to be, "I've changed. I've learned from my experience." The Israeli voter, who has a notoriously short memory, buys into the whole cycle - or recycle, as it were - no matter how bitter the disappointment was in the first round.

(Let it be noted that succesful paradigms for the reformed leader do exist, the best case-in-point being Yitzhak Rabin, who fell from grace thanks to his wife's illegal American bank account in his first round as prime minister in the early 80s. Like the idolotrous people of Israel sent back into the wilderness as a punishment, Rabin waited patiently in the political desert for close to ten years but ultimately returned to the prime minister's office, big-time, to initiate negotiations with the Palestinians with the blessing of an overwhelming majority of the electorate. In a theoretical mode, I can't help thinking what Hillary could have done with health care reform second time around, with the wealth of bitter experience she has accumulated. Wouldn't we all be better parents if we had to start over again when our children reached eighteen?)

Yet, the expected return of the Likud is not a simple case of Israeli amnesia. Instead, it signifies a deep flaw in the Israeli electorate's perception of the conflict with the Palestinians since the signing of the Oslo Accords. The cycle goes like this: the Palestinians initiate a wave of violence that claims a critical mass of Israeli casualties. A right-wing leader who, in the campaign claims to be a tough guy, is elected to put the Arabs in their place. He sends the peace process to the deep freeze, incurs the wrath of the family of nations and the security situation deteriorates. He is ultimately forced to make conciliatory gestures to the enemy, proving that there is no possiblity of maintaining any kind of status quo. The Israeli electorate realizes that the right cannot make the giant steps necessary to bring about significant change. The leader is booted out of office and the left is back in the driver's seat.

An earlier example of this pattern is Yitzhak Shamir's defeat by Rabin in 1992. The next round in the cycle was Netanyahu's election in May 1996, following Rabin's assasination and three major suicide bombings not long afterwards. Many who had voted for Rabin now questioned the remaining Labor leadership's ability to navigate the process and the Palestinian's committment to it. Bibi rode in on a campaign of 'full gas in neutral,' and attempted to halt the significant concessions Israel had planned to make to the Palestinians. In addition to isolating Israel from the international community, he was not able to stop the suicide bombings and was ultimately forced to rejoin the Palestinians at the negotiating table at the Wye plantation, even shaking hands with Arafat. Bibi was not able to fulfill the promise of improved security by putting the process on hold and suffered a humiliating defeat by Ehud Barak and the Labor party in 1999, one year before the expiration of his term of office.

Barak suffered his own fall from grace when he bankrupted the left's account by failing to negotiate a final agreement with Arafat in August, 2000 at Camp David. The 'true face' of the Palestinians was revealed when the second intifada broke out in September, 2000. In the face of Palestinian violence the people cried out for an iron fist and Barak was sent home by Ariel Sharon, the consummate Israeli tough guy. Sharon was not able to stop the waves of suicide bombers and the drive-by shootings with a hard line, hawkish approach. However, in one of the most brilliant maneuvers of Israeli politics, instead of allowing the left to unseat him, he chose to become the left by adopting two far-reaching strategies that were vehemently condemned by his own party, the Likud: the building of the separation wall and the disengagement from the Gaza strip. In fact, in order to implement these strategies he had to break away from the Likud and form Kadima, a new, centrist party, together with many of his political comrades who had come to the same conclusion - that the Likud was not capable of making the painful concessions demanded of Israel to put an end to the conflict.

And now we see the latest version of the cycle: the new wave of Palestinian violence is of course the constant rocket fire from the evacuated Gaza strip on Israeli civilian settlements. Everyone consciously understands that, given the current Palestinian political constellation, the only way to stop the rockets is the complete recapture of the Gaza strip, an undertaking that will no doubt result in many casualties and will have far-reaching implications for Israel and should therefore be considered very carefully. However, Bibi's meteoric rise in popularity indicates that the people want a tough guy in charge. Just as a leapoard cannot change his spots, Bibi is the same Bibi. The people clamoring for his reelection do not hear him speaking from two sides of his mouth - the belligerent, "they give, they get; they don't give, they don't get" side and the "Yes, Obama, I will work with you to bring peace to the Middle East" side. Irrelevant is the fact that Bibi's plan for 'economic peace' has been proven many times over to be a sham. The Israeli public wants to punish the Palestinians by electing someone who will give them nothing. The Likud, riddled with incompetent leadership and corruption and nearly erased from the political map just a few years ago, is once again poised to take the helm of the government of Israel. (It goes without saying that this scenario makes me sick.)

Ehud Olmert as prime minister was crucified for rushing into war with Lebanon. Ehud Barak as defense minister is roundly criticized for not launching a military operation into Gaza. Political leadership should be sent home when they fail but our reality is so complex that in many cases success and failure can only be measured in retrospect. The Israeli public wants instant results; the repetition of these voting patterns can perhaps be understood as a refusal to acknowledge that change is a slow process. Heaven help us.

We Won

The long-awaited election day for the mayor of Jerusalem finally arrived last Tuesday. For several years I have been volunteering for Meretz, my party of choice, on election day. Usually I serve at a polling station registering voters as they come in, together with a board of two other party representatives and an official from the board of elections. The remaining parties often have observers present, so everyone can ensure that the voting is done according to the rules. This year I asked for the vice secretary position because the head has to accompany the official to city hall to turn over the ballot box. This is done after all the votes have been counted, late at night, and I had to get up early for work the next morning. I had the last shift, from 6-10 pm, including the count after the polls closed.

I was assigned to a poll at a school in Givat Massua, a largely secular new nightborhood on the southwestern edge of the city. When I arrived at 6, many parents with young children were waiting on line to vote, a good sign. I presented my credentials to the board of elections official, a stunningly beautiful young woman named Natalie who had just recently finished her army service and was earning a handsome salary for this one-day stint. Turned out that Natalie was not the sharpest tool in the shed. The other two party reps at the table, also very young, were more interested in keeping records for their own parties than running the show according to the rules and Natalie wasn't laying down the law. When a twelfth grader with short hair presented his ID, where he had long hair, Natalie assured him, "You look much better now." While she went out for a smoke, a man came in, presented his ID and almost voted when I realized he was not on our list, because he was at the wrong polling station. When Natalie came back I asked her to call out the voters' names in order to ensure we had the right person but she ignored me (the end result was a descrepancy of ten voters between the lists because of the chaos).

The seventeen-year old from the right-wing National Union seemed to think he was at a student council meeting, suggesting frequently that we discard the protocol and just do things the quick way. Another young man with strawberry blonde pais, from the ultras, replaced him for a while and seemed to take things a bit more seriously. Watching from the side were two observers: the Shas guy, a tall, gangly university student who wasn't even wearing a kippa, with whom I enjoyed a surprisingly enlightened discussion on the Jewish roots of democracy during a lull; and Arcady Gaydamak's rep, a kid named Shlomi right out of central casting. Dressed in tight jeans with a wide leather belt, a gold earring and sporting longish hair, he was the classic image of what we used to call a chach chach, better known in my kids' generation as an arse. (I caught him and Natalie about to light up their cigarettes in the room after we closed the poll and sent them you-know-where.)

A crisis erupted when Edna, the woman in charge of all the polling stations in the school, came around to ask who was going with Natalie to city hall after we finished counting. "I can't, my brother's in the hospital," said the third member of the board, a ditzy law student from Nir Barkat's party. "I'm not going," declared Matan the 17 year-old, "I have to be at school at 7:30 tomorrow." I'd be damned if they stuck me with that job. "You're the head," I told Matan. "It's your job to go." He proceeded to throw a tantrum. I tried to explain to him that he had been given a responsibility with his position but it was like a teacher trying to convince a ninth-grader to stay after school - the kid couldn't have cared less about the responsibility. Since there was no one else, I reluctantly volunteered to go.

When it came time to count the votes, Natalie fell apart. Despite clearly-written instuctions from the board of elections about what to do, she was helpless. Luckily, Edna read the situation and showed up to run the show. We had to open and count 580 envelopes for the mayor and 580 envelopes for the city council. Everyone pitched in to get the job done with a surprising esprit de corps, considering what a bunch of jerks most of them had been earlier in the evening. Even Shlomi helped open envelopes, although after a while he got bored and put on his sunglasses. "Where did they find you?" I asked him.

Not surprisingly, Nir Barkat took this station by a landslide. My party, Meretz, did very well too, so well that 17 and blond pais began making cracks about the friggin' liberals (smolanim maniakim) every time a Meretz vote was registered. (Later on blond pais smiled at me and apologized if he had hurt my feelings.) In the end, the ditzy law student whose brother was in the hospital discovered her boyfriend was going to city hall with another polling station, so she volunteered to go and I was off the hook. I still got home at 2 am.

I'm thrilled to report that the ultra-orthodox candidate for mayor of Jerusalem was defeated by Nir Barkat, thanks to the fact that secular Jerusalemites took the time and trouble to vote, which typically hasn't been the case in the past. I think that many people realized the dire situation ahead if the city remained in religious hands for another five years. Barkat is still a question mark but hopefully he will not disappoint - I will be keeping tabs on him.

Denial Ain't A River in Egypt

Elections for the mayor of Jerusalem are a little over a week away and I find myself in crisis mode because it turns out my candidate is a big idiot. For months I have been privately campaigning for Nir Barkat, trying to convince everyone I know that he is the man who is going to save Jerusalem from the shtetl politics of the ultra orthodox. He has never attempted to hide the fact that he falls on the right side of the political spectrum (the wrong side, in my opinion) but I had heretofore been willing to forgive his misguided understanding of national issues because he has many of the qualities imperative for a mayor to take Jerusalem where it needs to go: he's a dedicated Zionist, a good businessman, he has an impressive record of activism in educational initiatives, he's got some good contacts in the eastern part of the city and he has a long-term plan with well-defined goals.

But now it seems I've been overruled. Barkat made a visit to the east Jerusalem village of Anatot with some right-wing extremists this week and promised them he would build a new Jewish neighborhood there if he wins the election. In the wake of what can easily be understood as a provocation, Haaretz ran an editorial urging the large left-wing parties to withdraw their support for Barkat. Until now I have suggested tolerating a right-wing statement or two but Barkat's gesture of support to people who represent some of the most divisive and belligerent approaches to Jerusalem is appalling. It's not only the political statement, but the fact that he made it knowing it would infuriate one of his most loyal circles of supporters. Does he think we're all stupid, or is this a desperate attempt to woo right-wing voters away from the ultra orthodox candidate? The educated, secular, left-leaning Jerusalemites, although a fast-disappearing minority in the city demographic, are amongst this town's most loyal voters. If Barkat thinks he can afford to lose us then he is not who I thought he was.

Last night I attended a cultural event of the above-mentioned demographic and people spoke in hushed tones about how Barkat will never be able to win now. I'm very regretful that when I attended that parlor meeting with him several weeks ago, together with a roomful of people like me, no one knew to put him squarely on the spot and extract a clear statement about his right-wing intentions. He cannot be oblivious to the damage he has inflicted on his campaign and I am waiting for a statement from him to put me at ease. The bottom line is that I will still vote for him because even a right-wing jerk is preferable to an ultra-orthodox mayor, but at the moment I am bitterly disappointed in what I thought was an excellent candidate. Tomorrow night I will attend a Meretz meeting and see what all the big shots have to say about this.

Left and Right Are Irrelevant In Jerusalem

Perhaps one of the most salient characteristics of Israeli culture is its tendency to politicize everything, and to infer a world view based on an identification of 'right' or 'left.' Ethnic background, economic status, education and religiosity are all common idicators of what have become deeply ingrained prototypes of Israeli partisan political positions. In fact, when in doubt, there is even a simplistic, one-question litmus test that will determine an individual's political bias : What would be worse for you: to have a sister who is a prostitute, or a son who is gay? (Anecdotal evidence suggests that right always answers the latter and the left the former.)



It is interesting to note that the formation and the initial success of the Kadima party in Israeli politics is a fulfillment of the prophecy of "the big bang." This theory that says that in the widely-acknowledged demographic reality of a growing parity between Jews and Arabs in our little sliver of earth, the creation of a Palestinian state is not only inevitable, but is imperative for the future survival of the state of Israel. This understanding erases the traditional differences between right and left and enables the formation of a fusion, centrist party that combines the left's willingness to compromise and the right's suspicion and caution. The traditionally left-wing platform of negotiations with the Palestinians has been elevated to the level of national consensus and the proof is in the pudding: amongst the founders of Kadima were Ariel Sharon and Shimon Peres, ideological arch enemies from the right and left for decades who ended their political careers on the same partisan bench, together with a host of well-known Israeli politicians from both Likud and Labor.

However, the positions of left and right are alive and well when it comes to the future of Jerusalem, still a volatile issue for the Israeli electorate. Just insert the words, "...will divide Jerusalem" after the name of any potential candidate for office to guarantee defeat at the polls (see Bibi Netanyahu's defeat of Shimon Peres by less than 1% in the 1996 prime ministerial elections). Anyone running for mayor here with a modicum of political saavy understands that talking about the division of the city is taboo, especially since the secular population of Jerusalem leans heavily to the right. A smart candidate, no matter what he truly thinks, will signal right in his campaign.

I'd be the first to castigate a politician who is dishonest about an important issue in his campaign - except for Jerusalem. This city's future is a national, and not a municipal issue. Anyone with half a brain understands that the fate of the capitol will not be decided in city hall, but in the Knesset. With all due respect to the mayor of Jerusalem, the future division of the city is none of his business. The mayor's job is to reverse the trend of strong populations leaving the city, to create jobs, to build tourist infrastructure, to provide affordable housing for young couples, to clean up the streets and to strengthen the educational system. The mayor must have a vision of Jerusalem twenty years down the road and the perseverance to lay the groundwork for the next generations of residents. The ultra-orthodox candidates have proven that they are not up to the task; our best option is uncharismatic, right-wing but enterprising Nir Barkat. It infuriates me to read that some of the leaders of the Meretz party, my political home, will not cast their votes for him because he is right wing. Wake up, you idiots! Right and left are irrelevant in this election. Jerusalem needs a capable leader who can rise above partisan and sectorial politics to tap the extraordinary potential the city has to be a fabulous home for its residents and a wonderful place to visit.

A Critical Election

The upcoming U.S. presidential election is the topic of the day for Americans, but this American is more focused on the November 11 election for the mayor and city council of Jerusalem. Those of you who have been with me since I started blogging know that the worrisome future of this city is one of the issues in Israel that is closest to my heart. As a secular Zionist who deeply believes in the centrality of Jerusalem to all of the Jewish people, I have stood my ground in this city for twenty three years as residents of my ilk have decamped, in alarming numbers, to the coastal plain. They have abandoned the city because many succesive Israeli governments have abandoned it, denying Jerusalem the resources and attention it needs in order to thrive and succeed as the capitol of the state of Israel and as a city representative of the great diversity of the Jewish people. The vaccuum has, of course, been filled by the ultra orthodox, whose sectarian interests and shtetl mentality have turned Jerusalem into a backward, poor, dirty excuse for an illustrious capitol. This process was accelerated in recent years by the ultra orthodox takeover of the Jerusalem mayor's office. Although Mayor Lupolianski is a very nice man, he is merely a puppet of the ultra orthodox establishment, which, through him, has made itself very clear: ultra orthodox interests supercede the welfare and the future of Jerusalem.

It wasn't always like this. Under the tutelage of Teddy Kollek, who reigned for twenty-eight years as the indefatigueable and undefeatable mayor of Jerusalem, the city experienced impressive development. This was thanks primarily to Kollek's excellent leadership and to the fact that he was utterly devoted to the city - he had no ambitions to move on to national politics from his prestigious office, but considered Jerusalem to be his life's project. At age eighty-two he was finally defeated by Ehud Olmert who, recognizing that his Likud party was temporarily on the downswing during the halcyon days of the peace agreement with the Palestinians, strategically chose to strengthen his political standing by taking a time-out from the Knesset and gaining international prestige throught the office of the mayor of Jerusalem. The position was merely a stepping stone for him, albeit slightly off the beaten path, in his return to national politics. Thankfully, he has reached the end of that road but during his ten years as mayor of Jerusalem he managed to lay the groundwork for the significant deterioration of the city by joining forces with the ultra orthodox political hacks in city hall. When Olmert left they were perfectly positioned to take over the mayor's office.

The secular public of Jerusalem is not without blame in this story, as most of them chose not to vote in the previous elections. However, hopefully many previously apathetic citizens now understand that the upcoming mayoral election is the last chance to save Jerusalem.

Who's running? The ultra-orthodox candidate, Meir Porush, has painted himself in his election posters as a cuddly grandpa but beneath the caricature is the scion of a greedy, manipulative, horse-trading dynasty of politicians whose candidacy is problematic amongst many of the ultra-orthodox subsets themselves. It's not yet clear whether he can garner the unwavering support of the entire sector, which is the only way he can possibly win (the ultras, needless to say, will do whatever their rabbis instruct them to do, whether it's to go out and vote or stay at home).

The jury is still out on Arieh Deri, who has until Tuesday to submit his candidacy. Deri, a well-known, extremely talented ultra-orthodox politician from the Shas party, was convicted of corruption after a meteoric rise on the political scene and went to jail for two years. The law prohibits a person convicted of crimes of 'moral turpitude' for running for political office for seven years, which for Deri means he cannot return to politics until January 2009. He applied to the court to run for mayor on the grounds that when he was convicted, the law required only a five-year waiting period. His request to run was denied and we are waiting to see if he chooses to appeal. If he runs, he will be difficult to beat despite his problematic past. Hopefully he will choose to remain out of the race. Although he is an excellent administrator, ultimately an ultra-orthodox mayor will, first and foremost, look out for the ultra-orthodox interests.

The next candidate is Arcady Gaydamak, who is today a household name in Israel but about whom the less is said, the better. A billionaire Russian oligarch who made his fortune in shady arms deals with Angola and, despite his pretensions to local power, still does not speak Hebrew sufficiently, Gaydamak is a power-hungry, media-exposure freak who sees the state of Israel as his future kingdom. The current polls indicate he doesn't stand a chance; in fact, he might even draw votes away from the ultras. Hopefully, he will not pose a threat.

The man who is going to save Jerusalem is Nir Barkat, a local boy who group up in the city and has an impressive resume of experience in the army, high-tech and education. He is totally, one hundred percent dedicated to bring Jerusalem into the twenty-first century and tapping into the enormous potential the city harbors. He's smart, energetic, driven and actually has a vision of where the city should be in twenty years. He spent the last four years on the city council and is intimately acquainted with the day-to-day issues of running this town. It's true that he's somewhat right-wing but partisan politics are mostly irrelevant in this race. The future divison of Jerusalem will not be up to the mayor to decide, but rather the prime minister and the coalition. The mayor must be able to nurture and grow the city just under the radar of a future agreement with the Palestinians.

Nir Barkat seems to have a good chance of winning - if people come out to vote. It is to this goal that I am wholely devoting myself for the coming weeks. I interrogate every Jerusalemite I meet to make sure they are planning to vote for Barkat. I took my two seventeen-year-old daughters, who are now entitled to vote in mayoral elections, to get the ID cards required for them to cast a ballot. (I also proudly fulfilled my responsibility as a parent by convincing my daughter Shaked to come with me to meet Barkat and hear him speak at a parlor meeting.) I even convinced my father-in-law, a life-long communist, political cynicist and former Tel Avivian who is in a wheel chair, to vote (he doesn't care who wins but he'll do it for me). Those of you who are reading: if you know anyone sane who lives in Jerusalem please contact them and urge them to go out and vote on November 11: Nir Barkat for mayor, and any non-ultra orthodox party for city council. For me, it's as important as a matter of life and death.

Paul McCartney in the Holy Land

Last week I joined 45,000 Israelis and went to hear Paul McCartney play at Yarkon Park. I admit that initially, I balked at the 500 shekel ticket but eventually I was convinced that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - and it was.

The ticket bought a place on the grass, first come, first served. Friends managed to get in as soon as they opened, around 5:30, and stake out our territory fairly close to the stage. Until seven we lounged leisurely on the grass, eating and drinking. I went for a walk to find a few of the many friends I knew were in attendence, which would not have been possible without a cellphone - go find someone you know in a crowd of 45,000 (in fact, it was difficult to get people on the phone, probably because of the intense call load in the immediate area where everyone was looking for someone else). When I made my way back to my friends around 7:15 most people were no longer sitting on the grass, but standing up, and when I finally spotted them it was all I could do to make my way through the tangle of bodies to rejoin them. There was literally no empty space on the ground to put my feet but somehow I made it.

As the eight o'clock starting time drew closer, more and more people pushed their way towards the stage. There was nowhere to move without touching someone and the collective heat output was unbearable. When eight o'clock, and then eight fifteen passed with no Paul McCartney I was on the verge of giving up and moving to an open space where I wouldn't be able to see the stage but where I could breathe. Then, as I asked myself for about the tenth time, "why am I doing this?" the lights on the stage went on and he was there. In that moment, as he played the opening chords to "Hello,Goodbye" every physical discomfort was suddenly meaningless.

Dressed in an impeccably tailored suit, the jacket of which he shortly removed to reveal a pink shirt embroidered with flowers and suspenders, he is as slim as a young man. Although he has probably had some work done on his face, there wasn't the slightest whiff of an aging rocker about him. He seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself singing and playing those same tunes for the umpteenth time. He opened by saying, "Shalom Tel Aviv" and "Shana Tova," and he introduced several of his songs in Hebrew from a crib sheet he charmingly glanced at. He even threw in a few words in Arabic, although I doubt there were many Arabs in the crowd.

The atmosphere was magical and I couldn't help trying to imagine what it must be like to hear 45,000 people singing the words to the songs you wrote, full of love and excitement just to be in the same physical space with you. Only about half his selections were Beatles songs - the rest were from Wings and onwards. There were even a few I had never heard before. I guess there can be life after the Beatles, even for Paul McCartney.

The finale was, of course, Hey Jude, or as he introduced it, 'Ahalan Jude.' The crowd sang the "Nananana" chorus until he and the band came back on stage and did two encores. When it was finally over he could have just walked off the stage but he took the mike and said, "it's time for you to go home!"
"No!" roared the crowd.
The exchange continued for a few minutes until he finally waved and disappeared into the darkness.

What a musician. What a performer. What a guy.

Things Are Heating Up Around Here

Summer may be ending but the political arena is finally getting warmer after months of boredom. Not surprisingly, Tzipi Livni took the Kadima primaries on Wednesday but the fallout was heavy. All the polling companies predicted a significant victory for her over Shaul Mofaz, but when the ballots were actually counted her advantage was only around four hundred votes. What is the excuse for this gross statistical miscalculation? It seems the exit poll voters pulled a fast one on the pollsters by lying about their votes, a very interesting ploy. It may be understood as a classic example of the Israeli desire to beat the system. It may also be an expression of frustration with a political culture obsessed with the public's opinion. Perhaps this attempt to mess with the system is actually a cry of desperation from an electorate weary of politicians who determine their policy based on the feeling of the Israeli street? Perhaps it's a demand for the return of political leaders who lead according to their own inner moral compass? Where are the Begins, the Rabins, the Sharons who pursued policy despite what the people wanted? Give us a politician who tells us what we do not want to hear, but knows best (Barak and Netanyahu need not apply).
P.S. At least one of the polling companies has announced that it will not longer run exit polls for primary elections.

The second very interesting development is Shaul Mofaz's announcement that, in the wake of his loss to Tzipi Livni in the Kadima primaries, he is leaving politics for now. If there were any doubts about Mofaz's integrity, this move affirms them all. There's only one word for a guy like this: quitter. Politics is a tough, dirty business, especially in Israel. Even a successful person like Mofaz, who worked his way up from a poor family to become chief of staff of the Israeli army, and then Minister of Defense in the government, has many detractors. His claim that the media was against him might be true (two days before the primaries there were five editorials in Haaretz, three about the election and all heavily in favor of Livni); since they largely represent the Ashkenazi establishment he might, as a Mizrahi Jew, feel justifiably discriminated against, although we can be sure that many other Mizrahi Jews voted for Mofaz simply because of his ethnic background. No matter how many dirty tricks his opponent's people played on him and no matter how he analyzes his loss, Mofaz has a responsibility to all of the people who worked tirelessly on his campaign and all of the people who gave him their votes of confidence to stay in the game and represent them, even if he lost the contest. If I had voted for him I would be bitterly disillusioned over his announcement to quit.

Mofaz evidently feels insulted by the Livni's smear campaign against him. "They tried to portray me as a political wheeler dealer, a stupid, depraved man, despite all I contributed," Mofaz was quoted in Haaretz. One of the commentators suggested Mofaz felt the media had manipulated the announcement of the exit polls to turn away his voters while the polls were still open - in short, a conspiracy. He also mentioned Mofaz's dislike of Livni and his defeat by a mere 1.1%, the ultimate insult. One needs a very thick skin to play the political game in Israel, which Mofaz evidently does not have, but I think his surprising exit from the highest reaches of government (pundits were predicting that Livni would give him the foreign ministry post) might really be about reporting to a woman boss. Not only does Mofaz come from a deeply chauvinistic ethnic culture but he rose through the ranks of the Israeli army, the ultimate homegrown macho, chauvinistic institution, to lead and symbolize it. At the risk of sounding politically incorrect I would like to point out that our former, now disgraced president Moshe Katzav is a native son of the same Persian culture so notorious for its deeply ingrained view of women as inferior to men. It's dangerous to generalize but I speak now as a woman, regardless of my ethnic background. Some men, no matter how accomplished, are incapable of accepting women as their equals and I believe that Shaul Mofaz is one of them. He can declaim a littany of shortcomings about Livni as a politician but the bottom line is he would rather go home and sulk rather than report to a woman. The welfare of the state, the party, the future of the Jewish people - suddenly, they can manage just fine without Shaul Mofaz. I never liked him anyway, so good riddance. Although, mark my words: he'll be back.

Embrace Change

There's nothing like spending August in New York during a year of both Olympics and upcoming presidential elections to reinforce the American part of my identity. The showcase of American athletic talent on display in Beijing was an inspiring advertisement for the power of both the individual and the state in a democracy. Those wholesome, corn-fed, free-range gymnasts exhuded an honesty that seemed out of reach to the robotic pre-teen Chinese girls, and Michael Phelps' accomplishments renewed the time-worn idea that every individual retains the potential to do what has never been done before.

Even more exciting has been following the nominations for Democratic and Republican candidates for president. The fact that a woman and a black man were the two main contenders for the Democratic nomination is an astounding development in the advancement of the American democratic system. The monopoly of American presidential politics since the country's inception by white, anglo-saxon, protestant men has finally been busted. Millions of under-represented, disenfranchised citizens finally feel their votes might actually count for something. As a result of Barack Obama's nomination, the number of voters expected to go to the polls in 2008 will break all records, and this is a true victory for democracy. Even if the Democrats lose, the revolution has been won because a regression to the old domination is unthinkable. The Republicans proved this by choosing a woman to run on the vice-presidential ticket. As conservative and reactionary as she may be, her presence still represents 51% of the citizens of the United States and their stake in the future of the country.

So, as a proud American, what messages can I bring back with me to Israel and our Palestinian neighbors this year? First of all, change is a good thing. We are a work in progress and we must continue to search for new options, new formulas and new leaders. It always seems safer to rely on the familiar but perhaps the keys to our most difficult issues are lying in an unobtrusive place, waiting to be discovered? Tzipi Livni is the most promising face in Israeli politics today. The Israeli WASP (white, ashkenazi, smolani (left-wing) paratrooper) old boys club is always quick to put down a woman for being soft and militarily inexperienced, but I have long maintained that if women were running the Middle East our conflicts would have been solved long ago. Livni is extremely intelligent, hard-working, pragmatic and honest and her lack of an army career means she will be much more capable of thinking outside the narrow, formulaic box of retired generals. Viva la difference!

The other message I would like to impart, particularly to the Palestinians, is that even in a healthy democracy change does not take place overnight; it's a painstakingly slow, laborious process that regresses a step backward for every two forward. It took one hundred years after the elimination of slavery before the civil rights act was passed to finally guarantee equal rights to blacks in America, and over forty years since then for a black man to represent a major party in presidential elections. It's a long, uphill slog but it can be, and has been, done. However, to paraphrase an American writer, with dreams come responsibilities. When Barack Obama raised the issue of the failure of black men as fathers to a black audience he demonstrated that the ability to question inwardly and to accept responsibilty for failure is a critical characteristic of true leadership. Is there a Palestinian leader out there somewhere who is capable of galvanizing a nation of under-represented, disenfranchised citizens under the flag of true equality and freedom for all? I doubt it, but being American means you never lose hope.

Old City, New Style

This summer Jerusalem inaugurated two modern additions to this ancient epicenter of holiness.
"Old City, New Style" was the catchy slogan in the advertising campaign for the Mamilla mall, the latest temple of the cult of Israeli shopping, conveniently located directly opposite the Jaffa Gate. This previously slummy street that connects the old and new cities has been transformed into a charming avenue of classic Jerusalem stone facades and painstakingly renovated structures to create a unique environment for spending more money. Jerusalemites are now privileged to shop for the same name brands we previously had to journey to the coast of the Philistines to purchase ( in fact, the tv commercial showed the logos being laboriously hauled, a la the ancient Egyptian pyramids, up a steep incline to the Holy City). Tourists now have a respite from the spiritual and educational exhaustion of the four quarters. After a day of religious and political sensory overload and aching feet, they can easily repair to this quaint yet stylish avenue to enjoy a cappuccino, try on Naot sandals, buy a cocktail dress and view the work of local artists inspired by the diversity of the city's landscapes. Finally, a shopping venue with a touch of class and character - it's almost like having a taste of Fifth Avenue in the city, a refreshing change from the seedy discount stores that line Jaffa Road and the mediocrity of the Malcha Mall. The Mamilla mall's intimate proximity to the Old City serves as a reminder that a vibrant, modern society exists alongside the enthralling strata of five thousand years. The mall's easy access from David Street, the main avenue of the Arab market and the latest incarnation of the Decamanus, a central commercial artery of ancient Jerusalem, hints that despite the fancy innovations nothing much has changed here in two thousand years: tourists love to shop!

The second new attraction in Jerusalem is the wonderous and spectacular Chords Bridge at the entrance to the city. Designed by the world-renown Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, the bridge will transport the trains of the new light rail system over the main intersection at the city's entrance into the central bus station. A suspension bridge, its structure consists of a severe, angled mast rising into the sky for 119 meters and supporting 66 steel cables that wrap around it on one side. Depending on the direction from which it is viewed, it appears as a fantastic bird poised in flight, a space-age aircraft soaring into the sky, a work in progress on a giant weaver's loom or an unabashed middle finger directed at the heavens.
The bridge's exhorbitant cost of 220 million shekels and its location in a congested, unaesthetic section of the city have been relentlessy criticized as wasteful but happily, the naysayers lost this one. Every time I drive past the bridge I am reminded that Jerusalem has been reinvented as a city with a relationship to other cities in the modern world. We are no longer just a metropolis with an ancient wall at its heart, but an urban center with a modern architectural monument as well. In a city that is being slowly strangled by reactionary religious leaders and abandoned by mainstream Israelis, the bridge is a ray of hope that we are not being left behind. Not surprisingly, this light was overshadowed by the scandalous travesty of the bridge's dedication ceremony when teenage girls participating in a dance performance were forced to cover their bodies with long-sleeved garments and their hair with ski caps by ultra-orthodox political hacks from city hall. Jerusalem is tottering on the brink of destruction by Jewish fundamentalists; hopefully, the Chords Bridge is a sign that the future of the city is not yet lost.

The John Hagee Imbroglio

News has reached us in Israel of an election-related fracas in the U.S. concerning the endorsement of John McCain by Pastor John Hagee, who allegedly insinuated that the Holocaust was part of God's plan to bring the Jewish people back to Israel.

Without messing in the current debate, I would like to say a few words about John Hagee, with whom I have worked several times over the past ten years and whom I know personally. Pastor Hagee is arguably the prototype of the classic evangelical preacher: he is charismatic, with an enormous booming voice tinged with a deep Texas twang. He has a huge church in San Antonio, reaches millions more people through his television ministry and he raises extraordinary sums of money.

A kind and gentle man, I admit that I was never especially concerned with the messages he preached to the hundreds of participants of his tours I have guided - usually, when the preacher starts preaching the guides go off for a cup of coffee (and anyway, that southern accent always makes me think of white hoods and Mississippi Burning). However, during his visit this past April Pastor Hagee held A Night To Honor Israel, a platform for Christian support for Israel he has developed. Numerous Israeli dignitaries and politicians were in attendance, including representatives of the many Jewish charitable organizations that received a total of more than six million dollars from John Hagee Ministries. Songs were sung and speeches were made, but Pastor Hagee's speech was the main attraction, and I must say that I was deeply moved to hear his message.

Friends and members of the tribe, this is a breed of gentile that is foreign to us. After three thousand years of persecution, even in the twenty first century we are still resigned to remain the object of hatred and scorn by Christians, whether overt or covert. Hence, I had to listen very carefully to John Hagee's speech because I had never heard statements like his from a Christian leader. "I love the Jewish people because they gave me everything that is precious to me: the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the prophets, Joseph , Mary and Jesus." He continued on to say very emphatically that he has no hidden agenda, and the following day at a memorial service at Yad Vashem he declared that "Christian anti-semitism is an oxymoron." And although his political positions on the Israeli issues are heavily right-wing, he has publically advocated for Israel's right to make it's own decisions.

Our Jewish knee-jerk reaction to a person like this is suspicion: what's the real motivation behind the words? Is this a ploy to get our guard down so he can convert us all to Christianity? Or perhaps it's a plot to hasten the war between Gog and Magog? Sorry, gang, none of the above. As outlandish as it sounds, John Hagee is a devoted Christian pastor who deeply loves and respects the Jewish people - that is my personal impression, based on his clearly articulated messages to the sixteen busloads of Christians he brought with him to Israel. This is not an enemy, but rather a close friend and advocate of the Jewish people and Israel who is attempting to rectify centuries of Christian animosity towards us. It is no small task, especially since, ironically, he encounters deep suspicion from many American Jews. Before you write him off as yet another fire-and-brimstone preaching, bible-thumping, anti-semitic southern evangelist get beyond the stereotype. Listen carefully to what he says: he may be our most devoted and powerful friend.

This Passover I Joined the Exodus

On October 3, 1985 I made aliyah to Israel at the age of twenty-three. This year, in 2008, the count will be evened: I will have spent twenty-three years of my life in Israel. After periodically reflecting on this milestone I decided to do something quintessentially Israeli: to leave the country for passover.

Looking ahead last winter at a work calendar overloaded for the long and unusually healthy tourist season, a relaxing vacation for the whole family seemed in order. I booked us into a resort hotel in southwestern Turkey - all inclusive. The idea of leaving took some getting used to; after all, passover in Israel is the ultimate Jewish experience. It begins with a cleaning frenzy that crescendos up to the night of the seder. It then continues with food, food, more food and hoardes of Israelis at every leisure attraction in this small country. It's the retelling of the exodus, it's the personalization of Jewish history, it's the covenant at Mount Sinai, it's the reexamination of the Jewish people's future and it's matzah. Matzah pizza, matzah lasagna, matzah felafel - until it emerges from all one's orifices, one crusty crumb at a time - except from, well, you know...

In the past I always felt obligated to participate in this dubious extravaganza of the Jewish establishment, but this year I liberated myself. We celebrated the seder with a mostly American crowd. We sang corny passover songs set to American classics (eg "Take Me Out to the Ball Game") and read the haggadah in English - just like in the old country. Two days later we were out of here.

How can I sing the praises of Turkey and the Hillside Beach Club sufficiently? After a short plane ride and no time change we landed near the Aegean Sea and drove along a green, mountainous coastline until we reached the resort, nestled in a private, idyllic cove on the beach. Just looking out the window of the hotel room soothes the soul immediately. When we said we were from Israel no one asked us why we were torturing the Palestinians in Gaza; all they wanted to know is if we were coming to play beach volleyball. The clientele is very international; judging just from what people were reading on the beach there were plenty of Turks, Germans, Brits, Dutch and Russians. Even though there were several hundred Israelis there with us we barely felt their presence.

And best of all - there wasn't a matzah in sight. In the enormous dining room, on the buffet overflowing with pasta, seafood, chinese, grilled meats, salads, cheeses and what not there was not a single morsel of unleavened bread. The waiters practiced their three Hebrew phrases on us every day but nobody mentioned the words 'passover,' 'exodus' or 'matzah.' No one asked us if we felt guilty betraying the Jewish people and no one cared what we ate. They just wanted us to have a great time - and we did.

And so, passover of 2008 will be remembered in my family as the most enoyable, relaxing vacation we've had in a while. A true festival of freedom.

Draft Notices

Last week my two sixteen year-old daughters received their first draft notices in the mail. The fruit of my womb has been requisitioned by the Israel Defense Forces, and on May 25 my girls will start the process of enlisting in the army for two years after they graduate from high school.

This is a significant milestone for all of us, including me. I arrived in Israel after the draft age and never served in the army; at the end of eleventh grade I was filling out college applications and traveling around the northeast to visit campuses. (Needless to say, the thought of enlisting in the American armed forces never crossed my mind.) I missed out on the army as the ultimate experience of the Israeli melting pot; perhaps this is why I have always felt, to some extent, an outsider here. My daughters' army service might be my chance to serve in the army vicariously.

My husband's parents never wanted him to serve. Timid, fearful immigrants with Holocaust baggage, they sent him into exile in Canada at age fourteen, hoping he would choose not to return to Israel. Their plan backfired and he returned, determined to contribute, but the IDF was always a foreign body to them.

So our daughters will enlist with the full support and enthusiasm of both their parents because we believe deeply in the importance of the army as the tool of a strong, independent Jewish state. However, those letters from the IDF forced me to consider that our time together as a family in this configuration is running short. When our girls went off to first grade it seemed my ability to protect them was suddenly limited - all at once I found them with one foot outside the nest. Still, they were always close to home, in our orbit, under our watchful eyes, somehow steerable.

When they go off to the army we won't be able to see them from the nest anymore, a thought which prompts reflection on my role as a parent. Did I do the best job I possibly could while I still had the power to shape them? Have I prepared them to handle whatever will challenge them? Did I take advantage of every moment I had with them? Will they leave feeling loved and protected, or gasping for freedom?

It will be a struggle to step back and watch them take charge, although I believe that teaching our children to be independent is a parent's greatest obligation. If my daughters' army service will be an opportunity for them to learn and grow, then somehow the idea of an empty next isn't quite as daunting. I'll keep fluffing the feathers and warming the oven; hopefully, they'll always be happy to return home.

Deja Vu

The attack on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva last Thursday brought back a wave of painful memories and desperation. It's been a while since we sat in front of the tv watching the details of yet another bloodbath unfold in real time. Yet, it was if three years of relative quiet vanished into thin air as we returned to those horrendous days of siege and breaking news.

The general assumption here is that the most recent attack is not an indication of a new trend, a third intifada. The separation fence and the IDF's unlimited access to the dens of terror in the West Bank ensure that we will never return to the darkest days of the second intifada. However, although Hamas and the various minions of terrorism find it increasingly difficult to act, their determination and persistence sometimes pay off, particularly when the fires of revenge are coursing through their blood.

The newspapers reported that the terrorist, a 26-year old Palestinian from a prosperous family from East Jerusalem, was deeply affected by the media images of last week's Israeli incursion in to Gaza, when about one hundred Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians. He chose to avenge their deaths, knowing he would die in the process.

The Palestinian glorification of death and their preoccupation with revenge are two cultural characteristics with which Israelis and Jews cannot identify. Although a desire to blow them all to kingdom come is a common reaction to a terrorist attack, it is widely acknowledged as a visceral one. When we regain our senses we remember that revenge is not a strategy by which a state operates but a powerful emotional desire that brings no resolution to the problems at hand.

Obviously, the terrorist did not care to acknowledge that the Israeli incursion into Gaza was a response to a direct threat to our homefront that no sovereign nation would willingly accept. The Palestinian inability to self-examine has created a deep sense of victimhood - they are always right, Israel is always at fault. This approach was evident in the reply of an Arab man from the terrorist's hometown who was asked by a reporter, "what do you think of the terrorist?" "What do you think about what happened in Gaza?" he retorted.

So, the solution is not to hit harder. It is to find a way to end the hitting by both sides. The cycle of violence only serves those who wish to perpetuate the conflict, and not those who are tired of living by the sword. However, speaking as an eternal optimist, it's virtually impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no leadership figure on either side that can tip the balance towards a positive process - at best, we will continue to jog in place. Each party to the conflict is intrenched in its indignation and convinced the ball is in the opponent's court. Is there anybody out there who can save us?

Crossing the Rubicon

The rockets from Gaza have been flying left, right and center and frankly, we're sick of it. We're sick of waging war against a terrorist entity that claims to represent the best interests of the Palestinian people. We're sick of listening to them whine about how miserable they are. We're sick of the impotence of their leadership and their inability to take the reins and move forward with anything. We're sick of the international reluctance to condemn Hamas in no uncertain terms.

But mostly, we're sick of the Palestinians' inability to rationally and logically decide what is in their best interests. A Gaza resident interviewed in Haaretz this morning complained about Hamas' rule of terror in the strip. Then he added, "You need to understand that however angry people are with Hamas, their anger at Israel is greater." Neighbors, do you want an independent state of your own or do you wish to continue the armed struggle indefinitely? Do you want to compromise and begin building your own state, or do you want to keep fighting for generations in the futile attempt to achieve the unattainable ? Do you want a viable, thriving state in Gaza or do you want Israel to reoccupy and begin the cycle all over again?

In Israel we are running out of patience because it has been quite some time since we concluded that creating a Palestinian state is the only way to resolve this conflict. In 1992 we elected our toughest warrior, Yizhak Rabin, to lead us into negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. In 2000 we sent the most left-leaning, peace-pursuing government ever formed in Israel to sign a deal with Yasser Arafat - the veritable dream team of compromise. Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, Shlomo Ben Ami, Yossi Sarid, Yossi Beilin - never since then has a team like this been assembled within a government of Israel charged with negotiating a deal with the Palestinians. Even our current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, a long-time member of the Oslo opposition, was elected on a platform of closing a deal with our neighbors. We're ready to compromise and to get this done, although we know there will be plenty of opposition from within our own ranks.

But our neighbors are still back there on the other side of the river, paralyzed, crying over their wounded honor. Where is the Palestinian Nachshon, the first Israelite slave to free himself of bondage by wading into the waters of the Red Sea? Is there a person in Palestine who is capable of leading the people across the Rubicon? Is there a figure who can take control and do what needs to be done? Is there anyone there capable of knocking some sense into masses? If you're out there, please: stand up and identify yourself, and do something.

The Elephant in the Living Room

Israel is a small country surrounded by menacing enemies, so invariably one community or another is suffering from the aggressions of our neighbors at any given time. During the Gulf War Saddam's missiles were all aimed at the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. In the second intifada the residents of Gilo in Jerusalem absorbed gunfire from Palestinian militants in Bet Jallah across the way. During the second Lebanon war the entire northern portion of the state came under rocket fire from Hizbollah. Today it's the citizens of Sderot and the rural settlements around the Gaza Strip. It's the luck of the draw: if your community happens to be the bull's eye on the target, normal life is transformed into living hell. On the other hand, if you're out of range you carry on doing what you always do, as if you're in Iceland somewhere.

The television is what keeps us all connected to our unfolding reality, bringing the misery and suffering of our compatriots and neighbors right into the living room, ensuring none of us ever forgets where we really live. Each of the three local channels operates a crack news team, with predictably aesthetic visages broadcasting the latest events from fancy studios in real time.

Not surprisingly, most of the local programming is unabashedly escapist: talented young singers and dancers competing for instant fame, glossy, sculpted Jewish hotties trying to survive on a desert island. The imported programs like CSI, Law and Order and the Dog Whisperer whisk us ot other places on the globe where the most pressing problems are how to solve a crime or educate your pet. Even the commercials transport us to another place. My current favorite is for a bank, showing a gang of kids playing with a supermarket cart in the desert, transforming this most unromantic of objects into a vehicle for flight and fantasy, all for the token sum of a five shekel deposit.

However, amidst the vapid , celebrity-obsessive zeitgeist of Israeli television there remains a cadre of programmers who insist on using this medium to explore the Arab-Israeli conflict at a more intimate level than the news. Thought you could turn on the box and get away from it all? Not a chance. The world's most volatile disagreement is in our living room, and it's surprisingly compelling.

The current show running for several months is called Avodah Aravit, or Arab labor, a play on the concept of avodah ivrit, Jewish labor, a pillar of the Zionist ethos of the pioneers that built the state. This sitcom, written by Sayed Kashua, a well-know Israeli Arab journalist (whose book 'Dancing Arabs' is on my favorites list at the bottom of this website) protrays his alter-ego, Amjad, an Arab journalist working for a Jewish newspaper. Surrounded by a cast of supporting Arabs and Jews who fit every possible current stereotype, Amjad is interviewed in the various media as a spokesman for the Arab sector, buys a car from a sleazy used-car salesman, rescues his friend from an apparent terrorist kidnapping, searches for an appropriate preschool for his daughter, attends a passover seder, accompanies his pregnant wife to the obstetrician and goes into therapy to explore his confusing identity as an Arab living in Israel. Each episode cleverly highlights one of the many absurdities in our behavior towards one another and within our own cultures in Israel of the 21st century. Both sides receive equal treatment as their strengths and weaknesses come under the microscope. We are forced to examine the stereotypes and evaluate their origins, each time from a different angle. The series is funny, entertaining, insightful and thought-provoking, all at the same time. Somehow, it manages to make us endearing, in a Keystone Kops sort of way.

Up next is a soon-to-premiere series called 'All-Consuming,' a translation which does no justice to its Hebrew name Ochelet Yoshveya. The series, about two women chefs, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who compete against one another in a reality show, takes its name from an infamous biblical description of the land of Israel. Moses has sent a team of men to spy out the land and report back to him. Bearing a bunch of grapes so big it has to be carried on a pole by two men, they return and Caleb describes the land as one"flowing with milk and honey," advocating immediate conquest. Others, however, beg to differ and paint the picture of "a land that devours its inhabitants," eretz ochelet yoshveyha. A tv show about chefs in the land that devours its inhabitants sound extremely promising just from the title.

By nature, I'd typically much rather read a book in the evening. More and more, however, I'm finding that amidst a world of money-driven, intolerable drivel some very creative minds are working to create quality, relevant television in Israel. Will wonders never cease?

Soul Searching in the Snow

Beneath the scorching, relentless summer sun it's hard to believe it can ever snow in Jerusalem, but when the city is covered in white and the texture of the powder reminds me of my childhood backyard in New York I can't help but think of the ancients. Did Abraham and David know the same tricks for keeping warm as the Hopi and the Blackfoot? Could structures akin to teepees perhaps once have dotted the hills overlooking Mount Moriah? The scene doesn't sound all that incongruous as I size up the height of the fluff accumulated on the rough boulders of Jerusalem stone in my garden. Lions and Syrian bears roamed the hills then; maybe the biblical poets simply forgot to mention the wild turkeys and the squirrels?

But not even a noreaster could prevent the long-awaited presentation of the Winograd report yesterday evening at six pm sharp (the Haaretz cartoon showed Olmert and the committee members being transported to the meeting comfortably nestled in the palm of the snow plow). This 610-page tome bears the exhaustive conclusions of the committee set up to evaluate the roles of the government and the army in the Lebanon War of Summer, 2006. Prime Minister Olmert was reprimanded for some faulty decisions but the failure of the war was not laid primarily at his feet. The Israel Defense Forces bore the brunt of the criticism; the panel was unequivocal in concluding that the army had failed in almost every way to evaluate the war situation and utilize its forces effectively. The panel also found fault with every Israeli government and every army chief of staff since the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, who were guilty of not reading the situation correctly and not preparing for it.

Perhaps the most interesting criticism of the report was leveled at Israeli society at large via the army. The committee pointed out that many of the problematic military decisions were based on avoiding casualties for our forces and that advances were halted in order to evacuate the wounded. In other words, the army assigned so much importance to protecting the soldiers that it tied its own hands for the battle mission. It's important to note that after Hizbollah kidnapped the two soldiers from sovereign Israeli territory the whole country was in favor of going to war to restore our deterrent capabilities. If we let this one slide, what was next? However, at the end of the day no one was unequivocally prepared to sacrifice untold numbers of living Israeli soldiers to achieve this goal. On the contrary - the army was expected to produce a swift, bloodless victory with all the casualties on the Hizbollah side. The army in fact cooperated with this delusion by claiming, at the beginning of the conflict, that the whole war could be fought and won by the air force alone.

The committee felt compelled to remind the public that Israel's deterrence lies in its "fitting military leadership, military ability and public fortitude." In other words, if you guys aren't willing to put down your cappucinos, lay your lives on the line and bear the sacrifices stoically then we can't beat anyone. An army cannot win a war without casualites and sacrifices. The problem is that life is so rich and good here, that at times we altogether forget we're actually at war. What a bummer -you mean they still want to fight?

Despite the partial positive outcome of the war, the Winograd Committee stated repeatedly that Israel had lost, Israel had failed, Israel had erred. Hassan Nasrallah and his minions are no doubt celebrating their victory tonight, enabled by the Israeli insistence on airing our dirty laundry in public. However, although our enemies gloat the process of self-evaluation and the honest and difficult search for the causes of failure lie at the roots of our strength. Our state, our society and the building of our future are one big work in progress which will only succeed if we continuously re-evaluate the formula and those who lead us in our aspiration to build the optimum Jewish society. The Winograd Report isn't about punishing those responsible for the failures. It is an attempt to identify mistakes and make the necessary corrections to achieve better, more effective results in the next round against our enemies. And there will most certainly be a next round...

Our Parallel Universe

Strolling through Tel Aviv yesterday, I couldn't help marvelling over how, on the surface, Israel seems like a perfectly normal western country going about its business on a Thursday morning. Men in snappy clothes hurried to work, chicks in tights and big sunglasses walked dogs and looked beautiful, shopkeepers hawked their wares and pedestrians daydreamed at crosswalks.

In the paralled universe of the Gaza Strip Palestinians were gingerly making their way over the rubble of the old barrier separating them from Egypt as, in a great rush of relief so loud you could almost hear it, they gleefully liberated themselves from the ongoing siege that has virtually suffocated them.

Watching them on tv, it was hard not to sympathize with those poor souls who ultimately pay the price for the decisions of their leadership, which in this case is the continuing rocketfire from Gaza on to civilian settlements in sovereign Israel. The Palestinians are skillful at manipulating the media to their advantage but no matter how the picture is painted the bottom line is still the same: Israel's responsiblity is to the security of its citizens first, and to the welfare of the civilian population from whence the rockets come only second. We're in a game of trial and error here, where the ultimate goal is to find the most effective way to pressure Hamas to stop the rockets without actually reoccupying the Gaza Strip.

Many Israelis are cursing Ariel Sharon and his Disengagment for having created this situation and I think everyone would agree today that it was a fatal mistake to ignore the Palestinian leadership and execute the job unilaterally - under no circumstances can territory be evacuated in a vacuum. Fundamentally, however, the Gaza Strip has no place within the future final borders of the state of Israel. We must continue to think creatively until we find the carrot/stick that will put an end to the rocket fire.

A tourist couple wrote me a thank you note this week at the end of their tour. Amongst other things they said, "We think you guys (Israel) are too nice and accomodating - and we think they will never be satisfied no matter how much you give them back - so I'm for you keeping it all. I have been amazed at how kind you have been towards the Arabs and Muslims."

I wish I could have conveyed to them a story I heard the following day from a friend, who went to a seminar on Israel's War of Independence this week. She said that the thing that stayed with her the most was related by the Israeli writer Yoram Kaniuk when describing his experiences as a soldier during the war: "We had conquered an Arab village and rounded up the villagers to expell them. As they were leaving, several buses pulled up carrying Holocaust survivors who were to occupy the abandoned homes. And I have struggled to live in that gap ever since."

It is a complex reality in which we live. Despite our extraordinary achievements and despite the Tel Aviv bubble, Israel is still a nation fighting for its survival and forced to justify its existence every day. As long as the Palestinians choose to pursue the armed struggle we will do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves, even if it makes us look bad.

We will continue to soul search in cafes over double lattes before during and after, and hope that we won't always have to live by the sword. It's still hard to be optimistic, but then again, this is the Middle East - anything can happen...

Dubya in the Holy Land

"Israeli politics is like karate. You never know where the next chop will come from."
Thus spake the world's ostensibly most powerful man, eloquently encapsulating the complex reality at the root of the world's problems. Observing George Bush in the land of the Jews this week was a fascinating exercise in wishful thinking: is this really the guy who's going to bring peace to the Middle East?

From the moment he appeared at the open door of Airforce One, waving and smiling like a cowboy about to mount the meanest bronco in the rodeo, Bush was relaxed, easygoing, jovial. The warm, confident grin never left his face - not in the mile-long receiving line of Israeli politicians waiting to shake his hand, not in the midst of Israeli children singing and dancing for him at the president's residence and not at the dinner of who's who in Israeli politics as Olmert steered him from one empty conversation to another.

The entire country was on the edge of its seat as the president of the United States made his rounds. Needless to say, the traffic arrangements in Jerusalem were so daunting that people stayed home from work. My daughter's classes were cancelled one day because the teachers were convinced they couldn't get to school. That's the best excuse invented since "the dog ate my homework"!

There probably isn't a single other country that would have received Bush with as much love and admiration as he got here in Israel. Olmert the prime minister positively gushed with praise and kind words for him. The excitement at the airport was so palpable it radiated right though the tv screen; every single one of those salty, manipulative, horse-trading Israeli politicians couldn't wait to run home and tell all their friends they shook hands with the president of the United States of America. It's interesting to note that there was a similar, albeit less intensive ado over Jerry Seinfeld a few weeks ago when he was here to promote his new movie. Both the prime minister and the president rushed to have their photos taken with the Jewish comedian. Despite the attention lavished on little Israel by these great men, we're still stuck in our ghetto inferiority complex. Beneath our achievements in armaments, technology and slow drip irrigation we still can't believe that we deserve to be treated as equal among the nations of the world. "What, the president of the United States is coming to Israel? Give him a visit to remember, because who knows when we'll get this much attention again."

And be sure and send him home with copious gifts. What does one give to a man who owns many oil wells and a ranch in Texas? Olmert's aides were given a mission: find out what Dubya likes. "Bicycling," they reported back. The prime minister presented his guest with a uniform of the Israeli national cycling team (who knew we even had one?)and a GPS system outfitted for a bicycle, complete with information on the road near the ranch. So the next time Bush is lost in the wilderness of the Middle East all he has to do is phone home to Israel. We'll be happy to steer him right back to the road map we've drawn up specially for him.