Category Archives: Israeli Society

Why we are so happy (and the staff of Ha’aretz is not)

Posted on September 7, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

Who is rich? He who is happy with what he has. – Shimon ben Zoma (2nd century CE) As the new year approaches, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics released its annual report. It contained the astonishing detail that 89% of … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Society | 2 Comments

The Times They Are A Changing

Posted on August 20, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

When the State of Israel was declared in May of 1948, 35 men and two women signed the Declaration of Independence. The overwhelming majority was made up of activists of various left-wing factions, a few represented the interests of different … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli or Jewish History, Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Post-Zionism | 2 Comments

Will Israel remain a Jewish and Zionist state?

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

The Jewish state is truly under siege. Not from the Hamasniks of Gaza, who – despite their posturing – are no more than an annoyance (although a rather vicious one that our government is not dealing with properly), but from … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Arabs, Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Post-Zionism, The Jewish people, Zionism | 3 Comments

Two foolish youths and a Jewish Palestinian

Posted on August 10, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

Young people are naïve. They pop out of their mothers’ wombs as little fresh-faced tabulae rasae with a huge amount of energy. By the time they approach draft age, Israeli culture treats them as adults. They look like adults, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Society, Zionism | 5 Comments

But what about the Druze?

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

I didn’t intend to write about the Nation-State Law again. I thought that I had explained my position that the law is an expression of what it means to be a Jewish state, and is essential to protect our Zionist … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, Post-Zionism, The Jewish people, Zionism | 1 Comment

A few words about Gideon Levy

Posted on July 3, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

I’m a political writer. I put words together into arguments, structures that I hope will be persuasive, or at least encouraging to people who already share my point of view. I often wonder if my skills could be put to … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Society, Jew Hatred, Media, Post-Zionism | 2 Comments

Abolish the Rabbinut!

Posted on June 24, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

I have expended billions, perhaps hundreds of billions, of electrons attacking liberal strains of Judaism, particularly in the US but also in Israel, for what I perceive as a conflation of Judaism and Jewish ethics with liberal politics. Today it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Israeli Politics, Israeli Society, The Jewish people | 2 Comments

The Fires

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Victor Rosenthal

It’s impossible to write about anything except the fires. Foreign media are concerned with other things, but in Israel only the arrest of a former government minister charged with spying for Iran has come close to dislodging the fires from … Continue reading →

Posted in Israel and Palestinian Arabs, Israeli Society, War | 3 Comments