Monthly Archives: May 2016

Lessons from the schoolyard

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

When I was about 12 years old, I got into one of those schoolyard fistfights. Surrounded by a circle of boys cheering us on and hoping for as much blood as possible before a teacher noticed, we threw relatively ineffective … Continue reading →

Posted in War | 3 Comments

Kissinger’s Promise and Obama’s Fulfillment

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Old realpolitiker Henry Kissinger was in the news recently when he sat down with Donald Trump, to give him the benefit of his experience. It brought to mind Kissinger’s numerous attempts to get Israel out of the territories it conquered … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East politics, US-Israel Relations | Comments Off on Kissinger’s Promise and Obama’s Fulfillment

Adjusting the Moral Compass, Part II

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

…European universalist ethics no longer promotes the survival of cultures that espouse it in the environment that is present-day Europe. We certainly see in present-day Europe all of the above responses to this pressure: adaptation, migration and cultural failure. – … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Society, Terrorism, War | 2 Comments

Adjusting the Moral Compass, Part I

Posted on May 23, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

News item: [Ya’alon] said Thursday that he has been “surprised” of late at a “loss of moral compass on basic questions” in Israeli society. “We need to steer the country in accordance with one’s conscience and not whichever way the … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Zionism | 1 Comment

Goodbye, Diaspora

Posted on May 20, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

I had the good fortune to meet Tuvia Tenenbom, author of Catch the Jew and I Sleep in Hitler’s Room the other night. He’s writing a book about America. It hasn’t been published yet, but I think I can safely … Continue reading →

Posted in American Jews, Israeli Politics, Jew Hatred | Comments Off on Goodbye, Diaspora

On observing the nakba

Posted on May 15, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Many of you have seen the traffic coming to a stop on Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance day and Memorial Day, with drivers getting out of their cars and pedestrians standing stock still, at attention while a siren sounds for two minutes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Arabs, Zionism | 1 Comment

Israel’s dangerous addiction

Posted on May 13, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

On this 68th anniversary of the independence of the modern Jewish nation-state, my thoughts naturally turn to the question of how long we will be able to keep that independence, purchased at such great cost. It’s not an issue that … Continue reading →

Posted in US-Israel Relations | 4 Comments

Sacrifice and independence

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Victor Rosenthal

Wednesday is Israel’s day of remembrance for fallen soldiers. More than 23,000 military personnel have died in Israel’s wars (including military actions before the founding of the state), and about 4,000 civilians have been killed as a result of war … Continue reading →

Posted in War | 1 Comment