Author Archives: Victor Rosenthal

The Survival Imperative

Posted on January 31, 2023 by Victor Rosenthal

It has been this way since our ancestors started walking upright, maybe before that. Two tribes struggle over a piece of land. One will prevail and the other will be defeated. One will remain in the land and the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Arabs, The Jewish people | 4 Comments

Israel’s Democracy Is Endangered – But Not for the Reason You Think

Posted on January 16, 2023 by Victor Rosenthal

Israel’s new government is being hammered by an unprecedented political and media blitz, focusing on its intention to restore checks and balances between the judiciary and the Knesset. “If this government does not fall,” says opposition leader Yair Lapid, “Israel … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics | 7 Comments

The Palestinian Weaponization of Language

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

One of the frustrations of “peace processing,” as it has been practiced by various Israeli governments and American administrations, is that there are systematic ambiguities in the way important concepts are understood by the two sides. The Palestinian ideology, like … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Peace' Process, Israel and Palestinian Arabs, US-Israel Relations | 2 Comments

Palestinianism: an Ideology and an Identity

Posted on September 14, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

Palestinianism is more than a collection of political beliefs. It is a closed system of memes including a historical narrative, a Cause to which its believers aspire, and an idiosyncratic language in which familiar words have special meanings. In those … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Arabs | 2 Comments

Managing the Unmanageable

Posted on August 10, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

In their ongoing struggle to escape reality, Israeli politicians and opinion leaders have settled on a new approach to our never-ending war with the Arabs of Eretz Yisrael: not ending the conflict, but managing it. After almost thirty years of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Politics, Terrorism, War | 5 Comments

Facing Reality

Posted on July 31, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

Sometimes reality can be difficult, even painful. But resist it as you will, it remains reality. Let me quote Nehemia Shtrasler, a left-wing journalist writing in the left-wing newspaper Ha’aretz: Humans are tribal creatures by nature. Hundreds of thousands of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Arabs, Terrorism, The Future, War | 4 Comments

Why Israel Should Not Talk to the PA

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has let it be known that its 86-year old leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is prepared to talk to Israel’s caretaker Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, about a “diplomatic horizon” for the Palestinians. No doubt this is prompted by … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Peace' Process, Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Terrorism, US-Israel Relations, Zionism | 4 Comments

A “Dear Europe” Letter

Posted on May 22, 2022 by Victor Rosenthal

Negotiations are underway between Israel and the European Union for Israel to sell natural gas to Europe, which wishes to end its dependence on Russia for fuel. Italy and Germany presently get 40% and 35% of their gas from Russia, … Continue reading →

Posted in Europe and Israel, Information war, Iran, Terrorism | 11 Comments