David Ranan

Ahmadinejad - Go Green

2012-01-11T12:56:00.006+01:00

Recently, several cadets, at the Israeli army’s officers-school walked out of a military ceremony because of the participation of female soldiers in the choir that sang in the ceremony. This – they and their rabbis said – was contrary to Jewish halachic teaching. An ultraorthodox soldier has warned: “We'll find a way to get out of the IDF because it has betrayed us." As it is, thousands of ultra-orthodox get out of serving in the army through an exemption clause that allows them not to serve provided they are full time yeshiva students. This option is not given to any other group in Israel.

Orthodox Students, who do enlist, organised a petition addressed to the IDF’s Chief of Staff in which they warned, "Anti-religious commands create an impossible reality for a religious soldier after which, the future remains unknown."

Now, Mr Gaffni, a senior orthodox Member of Parliament has advised ultra orthodox Israelis not to enlist because “the army will turn you into a different person.” If the army wants to enlist the ultra-orthodox, he said, “it must adjust itself to accommodate their beliefs.”

I had always thought that agitating against enlisting was illegal. I was evidently wrong. Gaffni is right, “the army will turn you into a different person,” it may even get you killed. According to my beliefs, getting killed is even worse than listening to a woman singing. Therefore, I would advise all young Israelis not to enlist.

And a piece of advice to Mr Ahmadinejad: save yourself a lot of money and as an added bonus, get the support of the Greens. To fight the "Zionist enemy", get rid of of your nuclear weapons, just hire some females to sing at Israel's borders. Remember the walls of Jericho?

Lesungen aus "Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?" Januar – Februar 2012

2012-01-04T15:30:00.002+01:00

Please note the following dates for readings from and discussions about "Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?"

Lesungen aus und Diskussionen über "Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben? werden im Januar und Februar 2012 in den folgenden Städten stattfinden:

Frankfurt 25 Januar

Berlin 26 Januar

Ladenburg 13 Februar

Magdeburg 14 Februar

Halle 15 Februar

Erfurt 16 Februar

Bielefeld 17 Februar

Freiburg 28 Februar

Is Civil War the Only Solution for Israel?

2011-12-13T15:43:00.001+01:00

Israel is deteriorating and it is deteriorating fast. In the past, intransigent Israeli prime ministers such as Golda Meir or Yitzhak Shamir used prevarication as a strategy to put off a compromise with the Arabs. Now this could be the cleverest option for the Palestinians: hold out for a bit longer and the Zionist experiment will implode.

The extreme right has been permitted to thrive under consecutive Israeli administrations ever since 1967 (and that includes much to Israel’s shame, Labour party administrations). Yesterday, yet another peak was reached when right wing settler activists attacked an Israeli army-base in the occupied West Bank. They threw rocks, burned tires and vandalised military vehicles. A senior IDF officer was hit in the head by a rock thrown at him by one of the Jewish terrorists.

Jewish settlers have been terrorising Palestinians for many years. Occasionally, when they feel that they do not get enough support from the army for their outrageous behaviour, they attack the army.

Is it possible that civil war is the only solution that will save Israel? We are unlikely to find out, as the left of centre in Israel will not really go all the way.

France and her Prostitutes

2011-12-11T18:31:00.003+01:00

French parliamentarians have a habit of dealing with the truly important issues: In 1913, they lengthily discussed the colour of their soldiers’ trousers and rejected the suggestion to issue French soldiers with camouflage coloured trousers. No dull colours for French soldiers. They should appear on the battlefield in bright red trousers. “Le pantalon rouge c’est la France” was the explanation given by the War Minister. Now, as Europe is descending into what may become war-like chaos, the French parliament had nothing better to do than pass a decision on what French men should do when they take off their red or other coloured trousers: under a new law, clients of prostitutes are to be criminalised and prosecuted.

With London disconnecting from the Continent again, we could offer frustrated French males some …what’s the French word for massage?

Bernhard Meinhof at the Grand Canyon

2011-11-30T13:06:00.002+01:00

They started a conversation on the shuttle from the park's visitor centre to the top of the trail. It was clear that they had just met on the bus. He was American, she was Russian and he spoke about the "Red Army of Bernhard Meinhof Gang". She had not heard of the Bernhard Meinhof Gang and so he continued: They were Germans and they liked East Germany. Carlos the Jackal was part of it. They attracted mainly supermodel type girls who only wanted to sunbathe when they went to training camps to help the Palestinians.

She was not that interested in his story but she did want her photo taken at almost every rock on the trail. For that purpose, she posed with her hair flung out in various reclining positions in numerous spots overlooking the Canyon. Occasionally she would shriek something that she must have heard in Russian versions of romantic Italian trash.

By the time they reached the first stop, he already had his arm around her. Soon thereafter they were kissing. A few hours later, on the way back, he was vomiting.

Questions:

1. Is bringing up Baader-Meinhof (or his version:Bernhard Meinhoff) a proven chat-up line?

2. Did he play sick to get her to play nurse?

3. Does the Russian girl need an immigration visa?

4. Did she poison him in order to play nurse to prove her long-term value?

F****** on Amtrak

2011-11-30T12:50:00.003+01:00

A couple of months ago, I took a train from Los Angeles to San Juan Capistrano. Two friendly-faced young black men were talking quietly in their seats across the aisle. At some point the not so young white woman who sat in front of me called across the aisle “excuse me, please do not use that word.” And just in case it was not clear, she called out the letters “F-U-C-K”.

The word fuck was not even used as a swear word in their conversation and the black young men looked at her with some bemusement.

"Why do you object to the word?” I asked. “I am an English teacher” was her response. “Yes?” I said. “This is not a nice word” was her explanation. “Fucking is a word for something rather nice, actually” I said “don’t you think?” This was too much for the lady; she got up and said, “I am getting the train supervisor.”

A few minutes later, she returned with the ticket collector who asked the black men to refrain from using blasphemous language on the train. “You must also tell him,” the white moral authority said pointing at me and the ticket collector told me to please behave on the train. Blasphemous language should not be used on the train, I was told, not even in private conversations. I asked about my rights under the First Amendment, and whether they do not allow me to say fuck on the train. But the ticket collector said no, adding that she did have the authority to instruct me.

Thou Shalt Not Kill

2011-11-30T12:41:00.003+01:00

Tickets to the Frankfurt book fair allow entrance (to non exhibitors) from 9:00 onwards. My first appointment was in Hall 8 at 9:00.

Hall 8 is a ten-minute walk from the entrance and I did not want to be late. I tried to explain this to the ticket controller but he would not budge. “I am only following orders”, he explained. There were four or five more people in a similar situation.

I asked to see the supervisor who, after a few minutes and some shouting, agreed to let me in before 9, provide I could show her evidence that I did indeed have a 9 o’clock appointment. Fortunately, I could.

Send the Former IDF Chief Rabbi to jail.

2011-10-20T16:06:00.001+02:00

The man has already earned his place in hell but before that he should go to jail.

In reaction to the prisoner swap in which jailed Palestinian murderers were exchanged to free Gilad Shalit, Rontzki, the former chief rabbi of the Israeli armed forces has said that Israeli soldiers should “kill terrorists in their beds”. This would make such people, who according to this revered rabbi “should just be shot, exterminated”, unavailable for future prisoner swaps. “A lot of cases shouldn’t reach court”, instead this religious moral authority explained that the army should rely on the “wisdom of commanders and fighters.”

Had an Arab called for such action against Israelis, Israel would have him in jail for incitement. Israel seems to have different rules when it comes to Jewish terrorists. They are allowed to roam the country, spread hatred and attack Arabs. The Israeli security service – so successful when it comes to finding Palestinian terrorists – finds it very difficult to find perpetrators of Jewish hate crimes against Arabs.

Brigadier General (Res) Rabbi Avihai Rontzki – is a shame to the Jewish people and a disgrace to the State of Israel - save us from any more of his disgusting hatred spewing mouth.

Gilad Shalit and Israel’s Mass Hysteria

2011-10-20T15:46:00.004+02:00

He is finally back. It has been reported that 79 per cent of Israel’s population approve of the prisoner exchange.

Not all, but many of the 1027 Palestinian prisoners are murderers, men and women with blood on their hands. Many have made it clear that they do not regret their deeds and many of those released are likely to go back to terrorism. Some Palestinian terrorists who have been released in the past, have gone back and killed again. So why has Netanyahu agreed to this deal?

Natanyahu has previously made it clear that he is against such swaps. He attacked previous governments for agreeing similar exchanges and is ideologically opposed to what he has just done. With this deal, Israel has handed Hamas, with its unwillingness to recognise Israel, its call for the Jewish state to be abolished and for the continued armed struggle against Israel, a coup vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority run by Mr Abbas which has chosen the non violent route to achieve statehood. It may be that that Mr. Netanyahu wished to do just that: weaken that Palestinian element that does not fit Israel’s view and propaganda. If Hamas gains power in the West Bank in addition to ruling the Gaza Strip, Israel will be able to claim that there is no Palestinian partner for peace. This would suit Netanyahu and his friends and enable them to continue with building of further Jewish settlement in the Occupied Territories.

However, I believe that what really pushed Netanyahu to act against his deep convictions was the Shalit family campaign. Much has been written in the last few days about solidarity in Israeli society as the driving force that generated the deal. I would call it mass hysteria. Well and professionally orchestrated mass hysteria into which the Shalit family has very successfully propelled Israel’s population. Wherever you went, you could not avoid seeing Gilad’s photo, on big road signs, on car stickers, in electronic media in social networks. Calls for the government to pay whatever price to get Gilad back became part of life in Israel. They set up a camp in front of the Prime Minister’s residence, held marches in which wives of senior cabinet members took part, infiltrated every public debate with their propaganda of “Free Gilad Shalit”. This family managed to force Israel’s President, it’s Prime Minister and his wife meet with them, almost at command. Families whose sons were killed in action do not benefit from such attention. This was an amazing, well-oiled marketing operation.

The willingness of parents to turn the world upside down to get their son back is obvious. Yet, the by-product of Shalit’s release is the message given to the Arab world that Israeli society will pay any price to release a prisoner. In their hysteria they did not consider the almost certainty that Israelis will die as direct result of the release of unrepentant murderers. The next murder will turn the same people hysterically to demand action against Hamas. In such actions Israeli soldiers might get killed. This is why the deal was wrong. Hysteria does not lead to good decision-making. Unfortunately, that is how weak and visionless governments function.

Dates for readings from "Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?"

2011-10-01T18:27:00.003+02:00

Current dates for readings from Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?

4 October Frankfurt

6 October Lübeck

17 October Braunschweig

18 October Hamburg

Mrs Merkel – More Pressure, Please!

2011-10-01T18:17:00.003+02:00

Earlier this week, at the Berlin book launch of my new book, “Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?” I was asked why Israel was stubbornly disregarding the advice of Mrs. Merkel. Indeed, Germany regularly reprimands Israel for building in the Occupied Territories and Israel regularly disregards these lectures.

Two days ago, it was reported that the German Chancellor, Mrs. Merkel, had yet again called Mr Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister and “ expressed anger” over the approval of 1,100 housing units in the Gilo neighbourhood, an area of Jerusalem that Israel annexed in 1967.

According to the Chancellor's office, Merkel told Netanyahu that the new housing permits "raise doubts over the Israeli government's readiness to begin serious negotiation with the Palestinians.”

I could have done my bit to help the German economy and saved the German taxpayer the price of that phone call. There is nothing to doubt. Mr. Netanyahu and his government represent that part of Israel’s population that wants to hold on to territory and are willing to pay the price of no peace.

Israel is likely to continue with this strategy, as it seems to be bearing fruit. Poisoned fruit, some may say.

Mrs Merkel, more pressure, please!

2011-09-20T21:17:00.000+02:00

A Palestinian State?

2011-09-15T22:40:00.002+02:00

Why not?

Israel has been acting energetically to persuade members of the United Nations to vote against the recognition of a Palestinian State. However, I have yet to hear a sensible explanation why the Palestinian Authority should not be granted its wish.

Israel is apparently worried that as a full member, Palestine would be able to take Israeli officials to the International Court in The Hague. Should that disqualify Palestinians from statehood? Incidentally, quite a few countries, including China, Russia, India as well as the USA and Israel who have withdrawn their signature, have either not signed or not ratified their membership of the Court.

Curiously, Israel is complaining about the unilateral aspect of such recognition. Are not Israel’s occupation and settlement of the West Bank somewhat unilateral too?

Anyone who can offer good reasons for a no vote is urged to comment.

9-11

2011-09-15T22:35:00.002+02:00

The Dead We Mourn and the Dead We Don’t:

2,977 - Died and missing September 11, 2001

1,994 - Hurricane Katrina

c. 40,000 - US Traffic fatalities per year

Ist es noch gut, für unser Land zu sterben?

2011-08-22T14:38:00.008+02:00

Some of you have been kind enough not only to notice that I have not written for a while but also to say that they missed reading my blog. The reason for my silence was that I had been busy with the last corrections to my new book that is due out at the end of September.

In case you have always asked yourselves this question, whether it is still good to die for your country, you will soon be able to get my book on the subject.

The book with monologues of 27 young Israelis deals with their attitudes to the military service and possible moral issues connected to their service in the army.

The book, which is published (in German) by Nicolai Verlag, Berlin is coming out just in time for the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Please let me know if you would like to be invited to the book launch that will take place in Berlin on Monday, 26 September.

Bibi and the Hamas

2011-08-21T23:43:00.002+02:00

Recently, Israel too has enjoyed its own version of popular revolt. The most vivid representation of this unrest are the tents set up by the mainly middle class youngsters in Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard to demonstrate the lack of affordable housing in the country.

The continued occupation of the West Bank and the building of Jewish settlements by Israel sadly only produces occasional one-off demonstrations and has no chance of turning out a rebellion with similar stamina.

In the last few days, terror attacks that killed 8 Israelis have brought about Israeli retaliation as well as threatening declarations by Israeli politicians competing with each other in their bravado. Former Labour leader and Bibi Netanyahu’s Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, informed us that those who act against Israel “will have their heads separated from their bodies.” Nice language Mr. Barak.

It may be that deterioration into another round of slaughter will be avoided this time. However, politicians of the extreme right in Israel and their brothers on the Palestinian side will do their utmost to prevent any agreement or compromise. This is the real purpose behind their actions. This time there is an added bonus: the recent round of fire may conveniently get the social demonstrators off Bibi’s back. Instead of sending the air force, he should really have sent the Hamas leaders a thank you note. Flowers perhaps?

Should one buy goods made by Jewish Settlers in the Occupied Territories?

2011-07-12T22:11:00.003+02:00

The new law that was passed by Israel’s parliament prevents me from advocating a "geographically based boycott." Under this law, the party injured in the boycott call could sue me for damages in a civil court.

Whilst not advocating a boycott, I would like to inform my friends that I make a point of not buying goods produced by settlers in their illegal settlements. Moreover, I can well imagine that those buying Israeli goods may wish to know whether what they are about to buy has been produced in Israel or whether it stems from one of the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories.

If, despite Israel’s attempt to shut up free speech, boycott would succeed, thriving companies might wish to reconsider: For example, perhaps the shareholders of Ahava, a company making cosmetics from Dead Sea minerals, will consider moving their plant from the Occupied Territories into the area of the State of Israel?

Murdoch – Back to Australia

2011-07-12T22:06:00.003+02:00

There is an old British tradition of sending criminals from England to Australia. Let's find the old law that arranged for the shipping of unwanted Britons to that country and send Murdoch back to Australia, the country he came from. Now is the time to get rid of him.

With a bit of luck, if the allegations of bribery by Murdoch’s company will be proven, that will also be the end of his US media empire.

The phone hacking scandal could become a blessing if it brings about a change in our rules on media ownership.

Let us have no compromises – Murdochs and their ilk should not be allowed to control the media. We should not let them – just because they successfully seduce us with titillating stories - manipulate our politics and have power over our lives.

Seize the moment.

I Have Finally Made It

2011-07-07T20:03:00.000+02:00

A friend who has come back from China has told me that she tried to read my latest blog during her short trip to China and was unable to access it: The Chinese government has blocked my blog.

No longer disregarded – I have been cut by the censors – I have finally made it.

A Call for Boycott

2011-07-07T19:59:00.002+02:00

Israel’s parliament has recently passed, in its first reading, a law that would punish Israelis who call for boycotts of Israeli institutions. This new law explicitly includes boycotts of goods and services originating in the Jewish settlements of the Occupied Territories.

This outrageous undemocratic law that would try to gag free speech should not be allowed to pass. If it does, it should be disregarded by so many as to make it unenforceable.

Do not buy goods produced in settlements in the Occupied Territories.

Murdoch - Wounded

2011-07-07T19:39:00.005+02:00

Rupert Murdoch owns or controls 20th Century Fox, FOX Broadcasting, BSkyB , FOXTEL, Sky Deutschland, SKY Italia, The New York Post, the Wall Street Journal. In the UK he owns the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun, the News of the World. In Britain, Murdoch owns 37% of the newspaper market whilst in the USA, content of his media organisation reaches 40% of the domestic audience.

Murdoch has not invented such unhealthy and democracy threatening control. Germany’s late Axel Springer and the still alive and kicking, hair dying Silvio Berlusconi are but two famous examples.

Ownership structures of the media do not excite the general public. But the same people who buy sleazy newspapers because of their sleazy content are the first to get worked up by the techniques employed by these papers to acquire such sleaze. The rich and famous, whose phones were hacked by a private detective who had been hired by Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World, were offered compensation. Now it turns out that they also hacked the phones of a disappeared and murdered 13 year-old-girl as well as those of bereaved families of British soldiers and the proverbial shit has hit the fan.

To appease the public, Murdoch has just closed down the News of the World. The 200 staff of the paper will be made redundant, whilst the woman who was the editor of the News of the World when all the phone hacking took place and who is now Murdoch’s CEO is glued to her chair. Doubtlessly, if the closure of the News of the World will not suffice, Rebekah Brooks will also have to go.

Finally there is blood. But this is not enough. Murdoch should now at long last be gotten rid of. People like him should not own any media. We should definitely not allow such concentration of media ownership and not allow a Murdoch to decide who will be the next prime minister.

Other People on MY Plane – II

2011-07-07T19:38:00.001+02:00

My call for more consideration by those entering the public domain managed to anger some readers. However, not one of those who suggested that to avoid being disturbed I should fly first class had offered to buy me first class tickets. It is not that I do not appreciate luxury I simply cannot afford it. I can hardly afford the fares they charge for economy these days, let alone first class.

I know, beggars can’t be choosers but this is not the point. We no longer let people poison us with nicotine exhalation, why should we tolerate other people’s noise or dirt?

Who Needs Lourdes?

2011-06-24T12:25:00.003+02:00

Of the twenty people who arrived in wheelchairs to board a recent flight to Tel Aviv, 19 could miraculously walk again once on board the aircraft.

Fly El Al and we will make you Walk might not be quite the right slogan for an airline but I trust their advertising people to find a suitable alternative.

Other People on My Plane

2011-06-23T15:36:00.006+02:00

Flights to and from Israel are very often a nightmare. Too many ultra-orthodox with too many babies: The babies are constantly crying whilst their fathers are busy taking over the aisles for communal prayers.

Even the non-orthodox seem to constantly move about. Why can’t they remain in their seats during flights?

The man who sat next to me last week, was not orthodox, nor did he have any babies but he chose to fly to London in his polyester pants and a neon green sleeveless vest. Flying in beachwear seems to have become fashionable. A few days later, at Heathrow in London, I saw a man board a flight to Amsterdam in similar attire.

Should there not be some protocol for those entering public space, be it a restaurant or an airplane? Are we not entitled to fly or eat without others imposing their bodies, smells or noises on us?

Bias

2011-06-23T15:33:00.002+02:00

She was black and fat, very fat, actually very very very fat and she came into the waiting room carrying plastic shopping bags in both hands. With her own body weight and the weight she was carrying in her shopping bags, walking did not come easy. She did not sit down, did not even bother to take a number, just chatted to some of the nurses and then entered the department.

Ten minutes later, when my number was displayed on the electronic indicator, the fat black woman stood at the entrance to a cubicle, showed me in and asked me to roll up my sleeve.

She had magic hands and I never even felt the needle go in.

So much for bias.

Overheard in Lucca

2011-05-23T01:25:00.001+02:00

As I was leaving a restaurant, two Bavarian couples walked by and one of the men approached and asked the Albanian waitress: ”wo ist hier das PUCCINI Denkmal?” The hopelessly sad looking waitress pointed at something on the map and the well-fed Bavarian who was not sure that the Albanian understood must have thought that shouting in German might help: “DENKMAL, DENKMAL, JA!”

Drink with a friend of a friend

2011-05-23T01:23:00.001+02:00

One of my friends suggested I meet with a Florentine friend of his. I did.

For the price of a glass of wine, I was told that “Florence is polluted by tourists and that “we really do not like it”. I am not even sure that she liked the wine. She never said. She later sent me an email with a photo that shows her talking with Sarkozy. I imagine that the wine at the Élysée is better. Sorry.

The Brancacci Chapel

2011-05-23T01:20:00.002+02:00

There were two groups at the Brancacci chapel whilst I was there: A group of Germans and a group of Italian 12-year-olds from Ferrara. The kids were neither listening nor looking at the frescoes. Most were busy playing with their mobile phones. I asked their teacher why he had brought his class to the chapel and he told me that kids had actually learned about the chapel and the frescoes at school.

The Germans were very serious and asked questions. Their poor guide, after the third question that she was unable to answer, explained that she had mislaid her papers:“Ich bin ziemlich irritiert da ich meine unterlagen verloren habe. Da verlieren wir halt alle.”

David

2011-05-23T01:06:00.003+02:00

They are all looking for David. Occasionally, I get stopped in the street by tourists who ask me where to find David. The more attractive ones, I tell that they need look no further – that they have found David. However, spoiled by pictorial depictions of Michelangelo’s David they are rarely willing to compromise. Occasionally, to make clear to me what they are looking for, they show me a photo in their guidebooks. “Where is this?’ they want to know.

The lines in front of the Accademia, which houses the original David, are almost always very long but tourists come in droves and prefer the original over the life size copy in the Piazza della Signoria or the bronze copy at Piazalle Michelangelo.

One of those who asked me was Jack, an ex-marine from Indianapolis who was in Florence for just one day. He had to be in Milan for work, had never been to Europe before and decided to “tour” Rome for two days and Florence for one day before going back to the US. Jack asked me what else he should see in Florence. I mentioned the Uffizi but he explained “no, I’ve already done art and stuff at the Vatican." He did, however, want to see the original David and not a copy and was willing to stand in line for that. Before saying goodbye, I had to find out who this Midwest ex-marine ha voted for. "I don't trust Obama", he said and explained "...we have to stop spending so much money." I did not ask but I hardly think that it was the defense budget he wanted the President to cut.

Public Aesthetics

2011-05-23T01:03:00.001+02:00

Fat and ugly men and women walk about in shapeless shorts that make most of them seem even fatter and uglier whereas the young women walk around in slip-shaped tight mini trousers that just about manage to hug their nether region. This mass of unsightliness is especially insulting inside museums – supposedly temples of beauty.

Open Letter to the Directors of the Uffizi, Pitti, Accademia and other Museums

2011-05-23T00:43:00.002+02:00

In the good old days, museums were depositories of art that were open to the general public and to scholars and most visitors were people who were interested in the exhibited works. This is no longer the case. At some point someone came up with the ridiculous idea of herding masses to museums. They have become part of the tour itineraries of mass tourism, just like souvenir shops. Museums are full of groups each following its own coloured rag waiving guide. The guides talk, the people don't listen: Only a small fraction of the tour participants actually listen to their guides: Some chat to each other, others are on their mobile phones or send text messages. The rest just dream away.

This really cannot go on. Dear museum director:

1. Sort out the acoustics. The extremely high noise level, which is due to the acoustics of the museum buildings, to the tendency of Italians to talk loudly, to your allowing so many groups to come into the museums and to a total mismanaged museum-guards workforce, prevents anyone from concentrating on the exhibited works of art.

2. Totally forbid any group of more than five to have guidance without using wireless speaker and earpiece systems.

3. Limit the number of groups you allow at any time.

4. Tighten up your guards: they should wear uniforms and look smart. Take away their mobile phones and their sudoku magazines. At work – they should actually work. Currently, your guards’ only interaction with visitors is to shout “no photo” when they notice a camera flash. Instead, they should be available for information requests and ensure that the rooms be quiet to enable visitors to concentrate on the art.

5. Get professional lighting experts. Many of your lighting systems are just bad! As a result, objects can often not be appreciated.

6. Glass panels – replace the reflective glass panels in front of many of the paintings with non-reflective glass. Currently, one sees oneself and others reflected in the painting one is looking at.

Above all, forget this notion that museums should be judged by the numbers of visitors.

Gypsies

2011-05-23T00:32:00.003+02:00

There was an attractive 30-ish gypsy woman “working” on the train I took from Firenze to Lucca. I was on the phone when she insistently demanded my attention.When I asked her in my broken Italian why she was begging instead of working she responded with words that did not quite sound like a blessing. Nor was it Italian.

Florence is full with working foreigners: Senegalese sell sunglasses, umbrellas and handbags. North Africans sell “art” in the streets, Palestinians are said to be working in the Pizzerie. Thousands of Chinese run an entire economy that is apparently invisible to the Italian authorities. And then there are Gypsies, lots of them everywhere. Their line is begging. Some say that they also steal. According to my Italian teacher, they get free accommodation from the city.

The regular one sitting next to my supermarket sometimes leaves her begging bowl and sits across the street to chat with her co-workers. Every now and then she goes into the supermarket to change the coins that she has collected into € notes.

Why Florence

2011-05-05T00:13:00.002+02:00

I have repeatedly been asked by friends why I have chosen to go to Florence. As if one needed a reason for going to Florence. Some suspect an ulterior motive but you do not need to worry: There will not be a Florence book. The truth is that I fled.

Like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown I had not been invited to the royal wedding in London. Rome was out too because unlike Robert Mugabe, I had not been invited to the beatification ceremony of Pope John Paul II. So I couldn't go to Rome either. Funny people those chefs of protocol.

On the other hand, Buckingham Palace was right not to invite me: I have –after all – not made a secret of my views about Camilla. What bad taste for Camilla to be placed in the first row at this wedding! I wonder what the protocol arrangements would have been had Diana still been alive? Would the divorced mother not have been placed next to her ex-husband? Where the hell is the sensibility of William and Harry? They even made Camilla’s granddaughter a bridesmaid. Their mother would not have been dead had Camilla (and their father) not connived to deliberately corrupt, drain and quash that marriage.

That explains my exclusion. But why exclude Blair and Brown?

My Cleaner and Brunelleschi

2011-05-04T23:41:00.001+02:00

A couple of days ago, on hearing that I was in a hurry for a history of art lesson, the 60 plus year old Italian Signora who cleans “my” apartment wanted to know where my lesson would take place. San Lorenzo, I said and the cleaner immediately instructed me to make sure not to miss the pietra dura and not to forget to also visit the crypt. She continued with more details and promised me that I would enjoy this beautiful church.

She was right. Angela, my art history teacher, was not surprised.

Florence and the stranieri’s Garbage

2011-05-04T23:34:00.002+02:00

Either the Florence municipality is extremely visitor friendly or the foreign visitors are extremely undisciplined with their trash: What other explanation can there be for English language garbage collection instructions on street containers in some parts of Florence?

Italy and EU Flags

2011-05-04T23:30:00.001+02:00

Italy must have done some kind of a deal with the bureaucrats in Brussels by which they get paid for every EU flag they hang. There are too many of them as it is but this week, there are even more of them everywhere in Florence. Some kind of a “Europe in Florence Week”, I was told.

Money well spent no doubt.

Italian Bread

2011-04-24T18:43:00.002+02:00

The Italians may be good cooks but their bread leaves a lot to be desired. This has only one advantage that I can think of which is that one does not overindulge in the pre-meal bread that restaurants serve.

Yet, competition between the many bakeries is evidently tough: to outdo their rivals, my next-door forno offers bread that has already been blessed: pan di ramerino benedetto. Buy your bread here and it will save you having to go to the church to have it blessed. The local priest doing his bit to help local business?

EU (and Italian) Flags

2011-04-24T18:37:00.006+02:00

Every semi-public building flies a flag. Nowadays, they don’t only fly the national flag but always also the EU flag. Why do bureaucrats have to plant their flags everywhere? Who needs flags over the beautiful row of Andrea della Robbia ceramic plaques that decorate the 15^th century spedale degli innocenti.

Instead of planting flags, those public officials should do a better job of keeping the city and its riches in a better state of repair: The fountains in the Piazza Santissima Annunciata are filled with dirt and dry moss. Such dilapidation is not to be seen at the various palazzi that house government departments around town. These seem to always be in a wonderful state of refurbishment.

Pozzo Divino

2011-04-14T22:09:00.006+02:00

I know, pozzo in Italian is not putz in American, however... why am I not surprised that the person who named his shop Pozzo Divino chose to establish himself in canto alle stinche? Where else?

Room with a View

2011-04-14T21:32:00.003+02:00

Who is complaining?

I have three rooms with two views: from my bedroom I see the dome of the Florentine Cathedral, the duomo, and from the two other rooms I have a view onto Fiesole over the garden of the palazzo in which I am staying.

The David Ranan Peace Plan

2011-04-10T21:31:00.003+02:00

A Facebook friend of mine put the following question to his friends:

What is the craziest, non-political, non-violent idea you can think of to get Israelis and Palestinians to come together and make peace?

My response was:

Put the leadership of both sides under curfew: Lock them up in their own countries. Close the rest of the world to the top 5000 on each side. Prevent them from travelling, shopping, investing and accumulating money overseas. They are all so corrupt that they will not hold out: Soon enough, the Israeli as well as the Palestinian leadership will agree a deal.

One will, of course, need international cooperation for such a boycott to work and that is unlikely to be agreed. It is a shame really, because such a travel boycott would most probably deliver peace.

Social Mobility

2011-04-10T21:26:00.002+02:00

In a Radio Four debate on social mobility it was suggested that Britain has become a more meritocratic society, allowing upward mobility, but that this could not go on forever as there might be a limit to available middle class jobs. One of the participants made the point that downward mobility is less traumatic than one might expect: dim middle class men – he said - who in the past became stockbrokers in the City have not been relegated to being dustmen - they have now become estate agents.

Not so Gut

2011-03-14T00:30:00.002+01:00

Not all Germans are like that like that but so many of the ones I met continue with their adoration of former Defence Secretary Karl Theodor Maria Nikolaus Johann Jacob Philipp Franz Joseph Sylvester Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg who was forced to resign after he was found out as a cheat who had deceived his way to a PhD.

Last weekend, I constantly ran into Germans who explained to me that:

1. Everybody cheats at exams.

2. It’s the professors’ fault for not having caught Guttenberg’s plagiarism.

3. It was deplorable that opposition speakers used such strong language in parliament, as they demanded Guttenberg’s dismissal.

Why do they adore that arrogant, über-Catholic aristocrat who thinks that he was born to lead? Why does the man who abused their trust not disgust them? Why do they defend the man who despite all the advantages he was born into had to steal his academic title and who instead of hiding in shame tried to brazenly deny his deeds and then told the country that they he was too busy burying German soldiers who had died in Afghanistan to deal with petty complaints about his PhD.

But above all: How can they tell their sons or daughters that they may not cheat if they are willing to accept a cheat as their leader?

Shimon Peres: “our hearts are …with the entire settlement in these terrible moments."

2011-03-13T23:08:00.002+01:00

Several days ago a family of five was murdered in their home in Itamar, a Jewish Settlement in the Occupied Territories. The people who live in Itamar are orthodox Jews who believe that land that was promised to the Jews by God may not be given up.

Despite international condemnation and despite the fact that most other countries consider Jewish settlements in the territories occupied by Israel in the Six Day War to be illegal, these have mushroomed with the support of Israeli governments over the years and prosper under the protection of the Israeli army and security services. Ideology-driven Orthodox Jews are willing to risk not only their own lives but also the lives of their children. The Israeli government risks the lives of its soldiers to protect them.

Murder is despicable. Murder of innocent children even more so. But settlers’ activities in the Occupied Territories are often also detestable. They very rarely stoop as low as murder but with the backing of the Israeli government they get away with a lot.

In retaliation to the murder in Itamar, the Israeli government has announced that it will allow the building of a further 500 homes in the Occupied Territories.

Will this promote peace or is it a case of "extremists of the world unite"?

Egypt

2011-02-11T09:24:00.002+01:00

From the first day of the troubles in Egypt, western media, spokespeople and the general mood were for the street and against the Mubarak regime.

You could not open the radio or TV without hearing someone talking of how exciting this was and how it reminded him or her of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Reporters forgetting that they are meant to report the news and not salute them, couldn’t hide their glee. None more so than the Independent’s Robert Fisk who climbed onto a tank that had been taken over by an anti government crowd at Tahrir square in Cairo.

Is Mubarak more corrupt than Berlusconi or Putin? Is Putin’s Russia more democratic than Mubarak’s Egypt? Do Egyptians who want to leave get shot at the country’s borders as they used to in Soviet bloc countries?

Does Egypt fund hate preaching mullahs, as does Saudi Arabia? Do they fund terror, as do Iran and Syria? Do they allow extremist Islamic training camps and religious schools to flourish, as does Pakistan?

Why is the West so happy to support a revolution in the most stable and peaceful country in the Middle East? Why compare this uprising to the fall of the Berlin Wall?

PS: In 2009 the US courts had 52 people killed under US justice compared to 5 who were given the death penalty in Egypt.

Plumber: Parts II - V

2011-02-11T09:11:00.003+01:00

Plumber – Part II

Michael the plumber came back from his skiing holiday and finally came to see my hot water boiler. He would email me a price quotation over the weekend, he said.

He didn’t.

I emailed him on Monday. No response. I rang him on Tuesday and he promised to have an email out tonight.

Plumber – Part III

I did not get an email and rang again on Wednesday. Spoke to the plumber’s mother who explained that she was very busy as their accountant was leaving for a holiday in Mauritius… She promised to email the quotation right away.

She did.

Plumber – Part IV

Chasing the plumber was a mistake. The family evidently expects me to personally fund the plumber’s skiing vacation; perhaps even chip in for the accountant's trip to Mauritius. The quotation I was sent allowed for some £900 for a day’s work (not including materials). The notes that came with the quotation added that I would also have to pay for the parking of his car and that he expected half the money upfront. No mention was made of what he expected on his sandwiches or whether I would have to pay for the dry cleaning of his soiled overalls.

I turned him down.

Plumber - Part V

Can anyone recommend a reliable and reasonable plumber (registered to do gas work) in London?

The Pope and Berlusconi

2011-01-27T22:07:00.002+01:00

I find myself in the curious position of empathising with the Catholic Church.

In reference to the latest disclosures about Berlusconi and the young girls he is alleged to have paid to have sex with, Cardinal Bagnasco, the head of the Italian Bishops Conference said, “Whoever accepts a public position must understand the sobriety, personal discipline, sense of measure and honour that come with it.” The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, added that the Roman Catholic Church urged greater “morality” and “legality” in public life.

Should the fact that its own priests and bishops have screwed, raped and abused the vulnerable prevent the Church from preaching to others about their behaviour? True, those Catholic priests rather forgot all about “sobriety, personal discipline, sense of measure and honour” that apparently come with public office. But preaching about morals is the gist of the Church’s business and the Church would have to close shop if prevented from preaching to others. And what then?

I wonder what Latin for Chutzpah is?

On Not Finding a Plumber

2011-01-27T21:52:00.002+01:00

Four or five months ago, I asked a plumber to give me a quote for a new hot water cylinder. He gave me a ballpark figure and promised to get in touch with a detailed offer. After a week, I rang to remind him. He was surprised that I had not received his letter and then remembered that he had forgotten to send it. He promised to send the quote the same day. Nothing came. A few weeks later, I asked another plumber to have a look. Same story.

The third plumber who had done work for my neighbours was very friendly and seemed quite knowledgeable and interested in the job. Whenever I rang to remind him, he was truly apologetic and promised to send me the offer within a day. After the fourth time, I stopped reminding him.

It is not a small job and I would have thought that in the recession we are meant to be in plumbers would be happy to get the work.

Now I am on to the fourth plumber. Michael was recommended by my landlord. I chased him on the phone for about a week. Finally, last Tuesday, I managed to speak to him. He was unable to come before Friday but he would come on Friday to look at the job. He promised to ring later that day to arrange the time for Friday. He didn’t. Nor did he ring on Wednesday or on Thursday. Finally, I managed to speak to him on Friday and I was told that he would not be able to come that day. Moreover, as he was leaving for a skiing vacation, he suggested that I get in touch with him after his return.

Culture and Politics – III

2011-01-13T23:04:00.002+01:00

There is a wonderful Thomas Lawrence exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Go, if you haven’t been. It ends on 23 January.

Various owners, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Tate, as well as the Queen lent paintings to the Portrait Gallery for this exhibition.

I was surprised to see that the only paintings that had a © sign attached and shown in the catalogue are those owned by the Queen. None of the other owners felt the need to secure their copyright over the art they own.

According to the Queen’s own website the art is “held in trust by The Queen for the Nation.” In a country in which most museums are free, the Queen charges a hefty £9 for visits to the Queen’s Gallery. Most of “her” art is never seen by the public.

Should not all this wonderful art be placed in freely accessible public museums instead of being locked up without access at Windsor, Buckingham Palace and other Royal residences?

Culture and Politics - II

2011-01-13T23:02:00.000+01:00

In Freiburg, to celebrate Epiphany, my friend Corinna invited to a cultural soiree: Life and Music at the Pringsheim Residence was the subject of German writer Inge Jens’ lecture. A piano trio played Pringsheim’s music.

Pringsheim, whose residence in Munich was nothing but palatial, emanated from a very wealthy Jewish family. Until 1933, invitations to events at the home of mathematics professor and arts connoisseur Alfred Pringsheim (1850-1941) were highly sought after in the city’s high society. Nowadays, he is known mainly as Thomas Mann’s father-in-law.

Jens depicted the tragedy of this assimilated bourgeois German Jew who like many other educated German Jews had absorbed and integrated into German culture. With Pringsheim, this climaxed in his worship of Richard Wagner. So fascinated was he by Wagner that he not only supported him financially but also composed his own convincingly beautiful piano arrangements for some of Wagner’s music.

Leaving all this was not easy and the Pringsheims left it to the last moment. They did manage to get out of Germany in October 1939. The distressed old man, who by then had lived through six years under Nazi rule, was 89 and perhaps too weak to consider the tragedy and irony of having a joint idol with Adolf Hitler – who had caused his misery and degradation.

Culture and Politics – I

2011-01-13T23:00:00.000+01:00

Spending Christmas in Venice had the added bonus of being able to enjoy the city at it emptiest. The narrow streets were almost spacious and looking at paintings rather than at other visitors at the Accademia was an unusual treat.

I don’t know what financial arrangements enabled French billionaire, Francois Pinault, to get his hands on the iconic Punta della Dogana, having already got hold of Palazzo Grassi on the other side of the Grand Canal. Rather large posters with a photomap create the impression that this whole part of Venice is Pinault-land. Moreover, Pinault seems to think that he owns the artists as well as their work. His posters inform us that the two museums jointly exhibit “Artists from the Francois Pinault Collection”.

Pinault charges a €15 entrance fee. This is more than twice the Accademia’s €6.50. If we allow the rich to create such self-aggrandising projects should they not be made to open them to the public free of charge?

Heathrow

2010-12-20T19:00:00.002+01:00

After three days of Heathrow closure, I rang Putin to ask him how Moscow airports manage to stay open despite Russian winters.

Putin started with a few not very friendly remarks about baby cameron. "You see, this is not a job for Cameron," he said, “we used to have similar problems in Moscow until one year, I sent the army to clear the snow at the airports. Ah, yes, also important, I told army to bury the directors of the airports under the snow.”

I asked him what happened to them “If you lie under more than two thousand tons of snow not much happens anymore.” Those directors were sorted, he explained, and since then, the new directors know better than to work “the English way.”

Drastic as always but he may be right. Unfortunately, all we will get are lots of explanations and no action. They will blame it on the weather, wrong kind of snow, unfriendly wind etc. No one will pay the price. No one will lose their job for screwing things up.

BAA, the owners of Heathrow, should lose their contract. If Cameron, doesn’t sort it – so should he.

Rabbis vs. Rabies

2010-12-17T23:18:00.001+01:00

Many years ago, my mother told me the joke about a man who wrote to a medical help column and asked, “what is rabbis and what can you do against it”, to which the response was “rabbis are a kind of Jewish priests and there is nothing you can do against them.”

Last week several dozen rabbis on the public payroll as municipal rabbis in Israel issued a religious ruling barring Jews from selling or renting homes to non-Jews.

It’s not a joke. A poll has revealed that 55% of Israel’s Jewish population support the rabbis’ position.

Dinner with(out) Julian Assange

2010-12-17T23:05:00.004+01:00

Several days ago, at dinner with friends in London, I was asked what I thought Julian Assange of Wikileaks motivation was.

To me, his motivation is not the issue. There are several players in this story:

22-year-old private Bradley Manning who as an intelligence analyst stationed in Iraq has – it has been reported - managed to access, download and export 250,000 classified State Department documents. He has been incarcerated without trial in apparently inhumane conditions at a US Marine base in Virginia.

Julian Assange who runs Wikileaks and has not been accused of anything other than some unconnected rape charges. Assange’s supporters - and there is a growing number of those - firmly believe that these are trumped up charges. Some even suggest that the Swedish women, who had sex with Assange before going to the police, work for the CIA.

The newspapers that print the leaks and probably increase their circulation and profits as a result are just net gainers. I am glad that it’s the Guardian and not one of the Murdoch papers.

And the real culprits? What interests me is not Assange's motivation but why we have not heard about the imprisonment of the real culprits? Are they in a cell so deep that no one can reach them? Or have they already been secretly executed?

Why was it possible for a junior, very junior soldier stationed in Iraq to have access to so much classified material that in no way could have been relevant to whatever his work was? Why was secret material downloadable? Why is it possible to transfer secret documents to external systems? Who created the programs that were meant to prevent that? What were the specifications? Who was in charge?

I actually believe that civil servants should be able to correspond without thinking that everything they say or write will be available to the general public. It is neither the soldier who stole the documents nor anyone who makes them available that are responsible to ensure the safety of this system. Those whose responsibility it was have betrayed the confidence entrusted to them by their country. These are the people who should be in the solitary confinement cells.

This, of course, will not happen. They are – in all likelihood - all chums and I expect that the Head of the emotionally named Department for Homeland Security, the enormous apparatus that has evidently failed in securing the Homeland continues to play golf with the director of the FBI, the head of computer and system security of the State Department and the CEO of the company that supplies the clever programs that allowed all this happen.

Fires in Israel

2010-12-03T15:40:00.003+01:00

41 people have died, more than 13,000 evacuated from their homes, villages and a kibbutz completely ruined and forests still burning in the Carmel Mountain area of Israel because of a blazing fire that Israel’s evidently bankrupt fire-fighting system does not seem to be able to contain.

Israel on Fire I

Various countries are coming to Israel’s aid, sending fire fighting planes, other equipment and material. Bulgaria has even sent a team of 100 to help.

Lately, Israel is rightly preoccupied with the notion that it is being delegitimized in the world. Israeli politicians should not mistake humanitarian aid for political support.

Israel on Fire II

How would Israel have reacted had the fires in the Carmel been the result of a Hezbollah attack? Fortunately, that is not the case – otherwise we would have had a full-blown war in the Middle East.

How much death and misery would the world have been spared had the attack on the twin towers in New York been just an attack of a madman or the same damage caused by an earthquake? No Iraq war, no Afghanistan war and a weaker Iran and this is just for starters.

Israel on Fire III

Two years ago, ultra-religious Israeli Member of Parliament Mr Benizri explained that an earthquake that had taken place at the time was God's punishment for gay sex.

Now Benizri (like quite a few of the other ultra-orthodox party leaders) is in jail for corruption. I wonder whether his experience in jail has changed his mind about the evils of homosexuality or has he added the fires in the Carmel Mountains to the catalogue of God's wrathful acts?

Timeline of Corruption

2010-12-02T23:13:00.002+01:00

Monday Three days before the football world governing body FIFA meets to decide the venue for the 2018 World Cup, Panorama, the British television programme, airs a report about alleged large scale corruption at FIFA. British Prime Minister David Cameron criticises the BBC for jeopardising British chances of winning the nomination for the 2018 World Cup.

Wednesday Wikileaks documents report that Putin’s Russia is so corrupt that it is in reality a “mafia state”. Putin denies.

Wednesday Putin announces that he will not go to Zurich to attend the FIFA meeting, “as a sign of respect to the Committee’s members. They must have an opportunity to work calmly, without any pressure from anyone.” Now, there's a friendly gesture. All those people saying nasty things about Putin. How unfair.

Thursday FIFA announces that Russia will be the venue for the 2018 World Cup. Of the twenty-two votes in the FIFA Executive Committee only two went for Britain. Having failed in their attempts to lobby FIFA Board members, David Cameron, David Beckham and Prince William return to London with their respective tails between their legs.

Thursday Putin flies out to Zurich to thank the FIFA Board.

Better Late than Never (I)

2010-11-23T23:39:00.000+01:00

In a recent TV interview, Barbara Bush, George W Bush’s mother, when asked what she thought of Sarah Palin, said “I sat next to her once, thought she was very beautiful…and I think she’s very happy in Alaska. And I hope she’ll stay there.”

I, of course, fully agree with Barbara Bush’s wish that the world be spared this Alaskan punishment that super conservative Americans are trying to inflict on us. I just wonder why Mrs Bush lacked this insight in 2000. Why did she not advise her son to stay in Texas?

Capitalism or Shame on Steve Jobs

2010-11-23T23:36:00.001+01:00

I have much admiration for Steve Jobs, the man leading Apple to turn out their beautiful and impressive products. I was even willing to overlook the fact that they come not only with high price tags but also with annoying usage limitations. Fortunately, there are plenty of creative minds to find ways and means of overcoming many of the Apple restrictions.

It has now been announced that Apple is going into a joint venture with the Murdoch media conglomerate to produce a digital only newspaper for its iPad. Successful capitalism can be ugly but even Jobs should know that there are some people you do not go to bed with. Helping the Murdoch empire get even bigger is wrong. Shame on you – Steve Jobs.

Hackers of the World Unite!

Better Late than Never (II)

2010-11-23T23:32:00.002+01:00

There are probably more prostitutes that have read Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church than there are prostitutes who have waited for the papal approval to start using condoms. And yet, better late than never.

The Pope started out by talking of male prostitutes – where contraception is not an issue anyway. The Vatican has widened the approval to include female prostitutes. By talking of prostitutes, the Pope really circumvented the contraception issue but the floodgates have probably been opened now.

Fewer and fewer Catholics in the developed world observed the Church’s teaching on contraception and what the Church was left with were poor people in third world countries dying from AIDS because their bishops told them not to use condoms. At long last, the Pope has understood how scandalous this state of affairs was. Thank God?

Exorcism

2010-11-14T15:35:00.002+01:00

Has it ever occurred to you that during all those years in which the Catholic Church persecuted and burned those she called “witches”, all she did was to set the competition’s stalls ablaze.

Think of Aldi firebombing all Lidl stores or Tesco setting all Sainsbury stores to fire. Exorcism is the brand name of the Catholic Church's own witchcraft product. Nobody else was permitted to compete.

Business, apparently, is booming and this weekend, in Baltimore, the Catholic Church has held a workshop for bishops and priests in the USA to train them as exorcists. To help us recognise those in need of exorcism, Bishop Paprocki, the organiser of the workshop, has described some of the classic signs of possession by a demon, “speaking in a language the person has never learned; extraordinary shows of strength; a sudden aversion to spiritual things like holy water or the name of God; and severe sleeplessness, lack of appetite and cutting, scratching and biting the skin.”

Writing books (or reading them) that call for the dismantling of the Church is evidently no proof of possession by the devil. You can safely order a copy of Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church for your best friends.

Hedonistic Tel Aviv

2010-11-08T19:31:00.001+01:00

During my recent stay in Tel-Aviv, I noticed the rather new phenomenon of tourists who come from Europe for a few days or a long weekend just to enjoy the fun. In the past, non-Jewish tourists mainly came to visit Israel’s historical, archaeological and religious sites and Diaspora Jews came to visit family and the Jewish homeland. Lately, however, Tel-Aviv that has no archaeological or historical significance has become a different kind of a travel destination. Situated on the Mediterranean it enjoys a long and clean beach. With its abundance of good restaurants, bars, clubs and vibrant nightlife, Tel-Aviv seems never to go to sleep. It is in a 24/7 party mode. Rothschild Boulevard is safer, more fun and not as touristy as Barcelona’s Ramblas. People are friendly, approachable and open-minded and are likely to speak your language. The weather (except for the very hot summer months) is good. Theatre is in Hebrew but there is plenty of good classical music on offer.

As an Israeli, I could not avoid thinking about the morality of this hedonistic bubble in a society that sends its sons to police occupied territories. Should not stop you from going there. See for yourself!

Nestbeschmutzer

2010-11-08T19:28:00.001+01:00

At lunch with friends in Tel Aviv, as our argument grew more heated, my host said to me, “I hope that you are not talking like this when you are abroad, causing damage to Israel’s reputation in the UK.” “No”, I was able to reassure him, “there is no need for me to do so; damaging Israel’s reputation is adequately taken care of by the Israeli government.”

Several days later, this time at dinner with friends, I spoke about the possible effect of external pressure on Israel. If one considers Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories to be illegal why not boycott their produce? Or, would not the application of serious financial pressure on Israel make Israelis rethink their support of governments that are trying to widen their hold on the Occupied Territories? The reaction of one of my friends was that for an Israeli to support a boycott of any kind amounts to treason, adding that there were laws dealing with treason.

Most of my friends object to Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Territories and support a withdrawal from the territories within a framework of a peace agreement. They do not support any of the right wing parties that currently rule the country. However, there is a general discomfort with what in German is referred to as Nestbeschmutzer, one who soils his own nest. In today’s global world with open media, internet and travel, the notion of keeping criticism “secret” is rather unrealistic. Yet, even those who criticise their country internally shy away from criticising their country abroad.

I, too, would prefer Israel to act morally out of conviction and driven by its values rather than under external pressure. BUT, if the only way to get Israel to change tracks and get out of the mess it has got itself into since 1967 is for the USA and Europe to apply strong pressure, then such pressure should be applied. Sooner rather than later.

Geld oder Sex

2010-09-30T10:01:00.001+02:00

I recently received the following email from a friend in Germany:

After reading your blogs on Dinners in Germany it occurs to me, that you should invest time in considering whom you will dine with. It amuses me to read about the weirdoes you always seem to run into; it disturbs me to think that your friends may believe you don’t know any at least semi-normal people in Germany.

SO this is what happened at the next dinner: I made the mistake of asking the friend I sat next to whether she read my blogs. Nein, she said and told me that she does not read my blogs because she was “really not interested in either the Vatican or Israel... in fact nobody is interested in Israel.” I should write about Geld oder Sex to get her attention, she said.

The next day, the papers reported that the Italian authorities had sequestered money transfers from the Vatican bank on suspicion of money laundering. I daren’t call this friend to find out whether writing about tthe Vatican bank counts as Vatican or as money.

Date for your Diary - 18 December

2010-09-30T09:58:00.000+02:00

Centre for Inquiry UK and South Place Ethical Society present

The Root Causes of The Holocaust

What caused the Holocaust? What was the role of the Enlightenment? What role did religion play in causing, or trying to halt, the Holocaust?

Prof. A.C. Grayling

Prof. Jonathan Glover (King’s College)

Dr David Ranan (author of Double Cross)

11am-2pm, Sat. December 18th, 2010

Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL

10.30-11.00 Registration

11.00-12.00 Jonathan Glover

12.00-1.00 David Ranan

1.00-2.00 A.C. Grayling

Tickets: £10 on the door. To book in advance go to www.cfiuk.org, hit button “support cfiuk” and follow instructions. Credit and debit cards welcome. Include names of those coming, phone number, return address, etc.

Israeli politicians in Their Morass

2010-09-17T01:20:00.002+02:00

A former Israeli Minister of Justice, and currently chairman of the Israeli parliament’s Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, Tzachi Hanegbi, was convicted of perjury by an Israeli court. The prosecution failed to convince the court that Hengbi was guilty of nepotism and cronyism. In a bid to improve his standing in the party, when he was serving as environment minister, he allegedly appointed 50 Likud Central Committee members or their relatives to civil service jobs.

In passing Hanegbi’s sentence the court will have to decide whether this offence of perjury involves moral turpitude. The court’s decision is critical, as moral turpitude would bar Hanegbi from future ministerial posts. Indeed, so worried is Hangebi that he has arranged for an unheard of line of character witnesses. They include Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Defence Barak, Head of the Mossad Dagan, former President Navon, the current Speaker of the Knesset as well as two previous speakers of Israel’s parliament. Hanegbi’s lawyers have also produced letters from a couple of writers, a couple of generals and Israel’s ambassador to the UN. This veritable who’s who is THE club everyone seems to want to belong to.

Let us hope that the court will disregard this unappetising swamp.

The Pope’s Latest non-Confession

2010-09-16T23:54:00.003+02:00

On the plane from Rome to Edinburgh, the Pope today referred to the sexual abuse of minors.

As usual, popes speak of other people’s sins and occasionally – such as in this case - of mistakes made by the Church. The Pope has yet again, failed to confess to the Church’s crime: the crime of systematically covering up sexual abuse. This cover up operation lasted many many years and was only uncovered by external pressure and against the will of a shouting and kicking Catholic Church.

Here is what the Pope said:

Paedophilia was an "illness" whose sufferers had lost their free will. "It is difficult to understand how this perversion of the priestly mission was possible". He had learnt of the recent cases with sadness: "Sadness also that the church authorities were not sufficiently vigilant and insufficiently speedy and decisive in taking the necessary measures".

The first priority was to help the victims recover from the trauma they had undergone "and rediscover too their faith in the message of Christ".

Was Marx Right?

2010-09-13T21:16:00.004+02:00

Florida Pastor Terry Jones repeatedly told journalists that he was willing to meet the Iman [sic]. In response to the question whether he thought that Jesus Christ would have told him to burn the Qur’an, Jones confirmed: “Absolutely, I think, Jesus would not run around burning books but I think he would burn this one.” The Imam did not want to meet Pastor Jones who had flown to New York especially.

An American Christian preacher held the world to ransom and in the name of freedom of religion - of which the USA is so proud - they were all shitting in their pants. The American President - aware of the fact that one out every five Americans believed him to be a clandestine Muslim –tread on eggs instead of sending his FBI to stop this farce. The world’s media went along for the ride or better said, they were the producers of this show.

Could anyone but the devil have invented religion?

Israel’s Foremost Writer Has to Assure Israelis of His Allegiance

2010-09-13T21:11:00.003+02:00

In his interview with the BBC, Israeli author David Grossman was asked whether he had ever considered leaving Israel. The question was asked in the context of Grossman’s book To the End of the Land. His response was: “I considered it and there are always temptations for it and I know when I will leave Israel – this is when Israel will stop being a democracy.”

Asked whether that was possible, Grossman said “It’s possible everywhere and as long as we are stuck in this war situation, it is a growing temptation for fundamentalism, fanaticism, and all the bad things that can bring about the stopping of democracy. But, I hope that I will stay in Israel because I deeply believe that for a Jewish person Israel is the most significant place to be and to implement our culture and our history and I think that part of the tragedy of the Jewish individual and the Jewish collective is that we have never really felt at home in the world and now we have Israel for 62 years and yet it is not the home it was meant to be. I want a home, I want Israel as a home, I want to have something, …a solidity of existence, we never felt the solidity of existence.”

It did not take long and Israel’s foremost writer had to defend himself on Israeli television. Grossman found himself explaining that he had been quoted out of context and that leaving Israel is anathema to everything he believes in.

The Pope and I

2010-09-07T10:48:00.001+02:00

The Pope is coming to Britain and I have been asked (alas, not by him) to give a talk about Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church.

My talk will take place on Thursday, 16 September 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Conway Hall, 25 Red Lon Square, London WC1R 4RL

David Grossman’s To the End of the Land Now Available in English

2010-09-07T10:43:00.001+02:00

A year ago, I recommended David Grossman’s To the End of the Land. At the time it had not yet come out in English. The English translation has finally arrived and I urge you to get it and read it.

Make War, Not Love – Catholic Church Style

2010-08-25T10:15:00.004+02:00

Fondling choirboys was not Father Chesney’s poison, he evidently needed stronger stuff.

It has been reported that this Roman Catholic priest was no less than “ the IRA's director of operations in South Derry and was alleged to have been directly involved in the bombings and other terrorist incidents”. It happened in 1972 and Chesney is conveniently dead.

Note the collusion of Church and State in this outrage. Father Chesney was quickly moved to a new parish, conveniently near his old hometown, but across the border, in the Republic of Ireland, safely outside the jurisdiction of Northern Ireland.

The British Government may have been right in defusing this matter at a time of great tension between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. However, the Church that did not punish Chsesney and allowed him to continue as a parish priest elsewhere has proven yet again that it should not be trusted.

Who is Obama Praying to? or Why is Obama Praying?

2010-08-20T10:49:00.003+02:00

In a bid to quell rumours about Obama’s being a Muslim (18% of All Americans believe that) the White House has issued a press release according to which Obama “prays daily, sometimes in person or over the telephone with a small circle of Christian pastors.” Moreover, we have been reminded by the White House of Obama’s Easter prayer breakfast where he “offered a very personal and candid reflection of what the Resurrection means to him. ”

This is not all: 27% of all Americans have not convinced by the repeated presentation of Obama’s birth certificate and continue to believe that he was not born in the USA. According to the American Constitution someone who was not born in the USA is not eligible to become President. Those 27% clearly believe that Mr Obama has cheated his way into the Presidency. Or, … they could just be plain racists.

Praying to Jesus (or to anyone else), Mr Obama, cannot save these people or anyone else. I sincerely hope that you – our great hope – have more effective means than prayers to govern your country.

Die (katholische) Kirche, die Juden und der Tod

2010-08-17T12:17:00.003+02:00

I will talk about the Catholic Church and the Jews at a day of Jewish learning Limmud in Frankfurt, on Sunday, 29 August, at 10:30.

The lecture will be held in German and you can register through Limmud's website if you are interested.

It’s not Nazi Germany but it is McCarthyism

2010-08-17T12:12:00.002+02:00

In 1933, Hitler appointed Bernhard Rust as Education Minister. Soon, teachers who were critical of the regime were dismissed, all university professors were required to become members of the Nazi teachers organisation and university lecturers with left wing views were fired.

Israel’s current Minister of Education, Gideon Sa’ar is not a Bernhard Rust but he recently gave his blessing to Im Tirtzu, an Israeli right-wing watchdog that is now threatening Israeli universities with boycott unless they change their “anti-Zionist” curricula.

Already, Ben-Gurion University finds itself defending its status by stating that it “also teaches air force cadets, who would not come if anyone thought we were preaching anti-Zionism here.”

Perhaps someone at the University’s physics department should write a paper about downward spirals.

Paradise or the Girl from Hell

2010-08-17T11:12:00.004+02:00

When Mr and Mrs Abergil named their daughter Eden they probably did not consider the meaning of the name. Eden in Hebrew means something refined, delicate. The Garden of Eden is paradise.

This is Eden Abergil's version of paradise. A Paradise that does not ' see anything wrong with Facebook images of Palestinian detainees.'

Unworthy of her name – Let her go to hell.

Just a Dinner Party in Germany

2010-07-20T16:29:00.002+02:00

Out of the blue, a friend of mine said that he was uncomfortable with the fact that Israel was patrolling the Persian Gulf with two U-boats that Germany had given to Israel as a present and which Israel had armed with nuclear weapons.

My friend continued and explained that the whole world knows how in 1981, Israel had “started a war with Iraq” to bomb its nuclear reactor and that it was now planning to do the same with 17 nuclear sites in Iran. He added that the Iranians were not stupid and that they had buried their sites deep in the earth and that Israel was mad with its plans to attack Iran with those two small U-Boats.

I blew up. But he was adamant, yes, he said, he knew that those were Israel’s plans and this would not be Israel’s first mistake. Israel, after all had gone into that war in Gaza and a couple of years ago in Lebanon. I explained that I had no idea what Israel’s plans were and that I doubted very much that my friend had any inside information from the depth of Israel’s – probably non-existent – strategic planning. However, I reminded the flabbergasted dinner table – flabbergasted because of my reaction – that unlike Germany or any other country in the world, Israel had enemies that made clear their wish to annihilate it. Iran is one such enemy and that country has now been allowed to become nuclear.

Before Israel allows Iran or anyone else to annihilate it, it will strike. I have no moral qualms about that. My German friend does. Israel is not considering the other six billion inhabitants of the earth, he said. Some Germans are rightly uncomfortable with the fact that Germany had started two world wars. My friend is taking this discomfort a step further: he is terrified by the idea that German U-Boats – be they in Israeli hands- could trigger a third world war. This would be a third world war that could be laid at Germany’s door.

Israel’s irresponsible and immoral conduct vis-à-vis the Palestinians produces more and more anti-Israel sentiment. The willingness to accept a serious threat to Israel’ existence is where such sentiment should not be allowed to go.

2^nd Dinner

Two days later, at a different dinner party in Germany, I was lectured to by a German lawyer. This man explained to me how well Israel had done in the last twenty years. Every year – he told me – Israel enlarges the territory that it populates; every year it cultivates more land. To top it all, Israel manages this without waging war.

Choosing who to dine with is an art.

The F.. French, Eggs and Nurses.

2010-07-20T16:15:00.002+02:00

The other day, in a small town in the Alsace, I entered a Leclerc store, one of those enormous French hypermarkets, when the cashier called after me to tell me that I had entered the wrong way. It was forbidden to enter by the tills, she said and insisted and made me go back and re-enter through the special entrance aisle.

I wanted to know why and was told “c’est le règle”, this is the rule. I asked why it was the rule and her explanation was “par c’est que”, because.

The cashier may have been just a stupid French girl but her thinking seems to shed light on what is wrong in the European Union. When the precursor to the EU, the European Economic Community, was created, the two main players were France and Germany. France that had twice failed to fight the Germans was afraid that Germany might at some point want to start another war. It wanted to hug Germany into a collaborative structure. Germany, at the time still a pariah, was grateful for anyone who was willing to partner with it. Germany a federative state, allowed France a super-centralised state, to structure the European institutions as it wished.

The result of this marriage of Mr Guilt and Mrs Fear, are bloated and wasteful EU institutions and a constant downpour of directives with which the administration of the European Union makes our lives a misery. Recently, UK hospitals were instructed that they were not permitted to test foreign nurses from European countries to ensure that their standard equals that of British nurses. Would it not be terrible if one such untested nurse would mistakenly poison the originators of this directive? The latest idiocy is a European directive that sets the number of eggs to a carton throughout Europe at ten. Sell twelve eggs in a carton and the EU will fine you.

Israeli Soldiers Rock the Casbah

2010-07-10T14:16:00.002+02:00

A short video clip that was aired in YouTube last week has caused much controversy in Israel. The clip shows six Israeli soldiers doing a dance routine in an empty street in Hebron. It was prepared by the soldiers for their farewell celebration at the end of their stint in Hebron. The Israeli army is considering punitive action against the soldiers who participated in the making of the video.

This short video is just innocent fun. The only scandal is the fact that Israeli parents continue to send their sons to secure the illegal and immoral Jewish settlement of Hebron and the ultra right-wing settlers who were allowed to move into Arab Hebron after the Six-Day War.

British Ambassador to Lebanon: Cow – not Pig

2010-07-10T13:22:00.002+02:00

The British ambassador to Lebanon, a woman named Frances Guy, referred to the late Ayatollah Hussein Fadlallah, a staunchly anti-American cleric who was mentor to the militant Hezbollah in Lebanon as a decent man whose death was sad news, adding, "the world needs more men like him".

An Israeli spokesman diplomatically responded, "Sheikh Fadlallah was behind hostage-taking, suicide bombings and other sorts of wanton violence, but Ambassador Guy said he was a man of peace, and Ambassador Guy is an honourable woman."

Not being bound by diplomatic niceties, I would have said that she is a pig but that would have made her unacceptable to her Hezbollah friends, and we would not want that. Cow?

Foreign Secretary Hague should fire her without delay.

Can They Talk Without Guns?

2010-06-24T16:24:00.002+02:00

According to the Israeli press: Israel will not hesitate to use force to protect its gas fields from being claimed by Lebanon, Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau warned this week in an interview with Bloomberg News.

Is Israeli cabinet members’ version of “penis envy” “gun envy”?

What next? Will Israel’s Minister of Health threaten to send the Israeli army to countries that sue Teva (the Israeli generic drug manufacturer) for infringement of patent rights?

When will they ever learn?

The Pope’s Latest Non Apology

2010-06-11T15:29:00.002+02:00

Earlier today, the Pope has come out with yet another expression of regret on the subject of sexual abuse.

Has he finally managed to get it right?

Again, the Pope spoke of “… sins of priests came to light — particularly the abuse of the little ones,” adding that “in admitting men to priestly ministry and in their formation we will do everything we can to weigh the authenticity of their vocation…”

The Pope has still not accepted that he is answerable for the COVER UP by the Church, popes, cardinals and bishops. He continues to go on about the wrong kind of priests who found their way into the Church.

Will he ever? I do not think so.

King Cameron's Gold

2010-06-11T15:07:00.006+02:00

On his first visit to Afghanistan, David Cameron, the new British Prime Minister arrived with money for his troops. Just like kings used to in the old days, Cameron came to the front to hand out coin-filled purses to the warriors.

Just in case they had not understood who their benefactor was, King Cameron clarified that the soldiers’ pay rise would be backdated to – surprise surprise -the day on which he was elected. Cameron’s advisers will doubtlessly remind the soldiers and their families of this benevolent act of our new king in five years’ time, before the next elections.

Until then, the happy soldiers will be expected to fight with greater enthusiasm.

Sissinghurst and the Vatican

2010-06-06T11:46:00.003+02:00

Visiting Vita Sackville-West's Sissinghurst to enjoy the flowers in the magnificent gardens is like visiting the Vatican museum in order to enjoy the art.

In both places what you see is mainly hordes of people.

Should all those people not be somewhere else? working perhaps?

Shipwrecked

2010-06-06T11:35:00.002+02:00

More about Israel, the Turkish boat and Gaza:

The whole world has turned against Israel following its seizing of a Turkish boat heading for Gaza. Israel itself is divided between those who are angry with the government for the failed operation and those who think a biased world should not be permitted to dictate to Israel in matters of national security.

1. My heart does not bleed for the death of knife wielding men on a Turkish boat who attacked Israeli soldiers. They were nasty men who knew what they were getting themselves into.

2. The international media that describes a Turkish boat with men armed with knives and whips, as a “peace convoy” either does not know what it is saying or is just plain biased.

3. The Western world has a growing problem with an ever more fundamentalist Turkey. Fortunately, Europe did not succumb to the pressure and grant them EU membership.

HOWEVER, Israeli public opinion that cries out against a hostile world believing that the problem lies only in Israel’s poor public relations suggests pure blindness.

Contributing to this blindness is the fact that for 43 years, ever since the 1967 War, the international community let Israel get away with its land-grabbing policies. Most Israelis were either born or immigrated to the country after 1967. They take the Occupied Territories for granted. They even take occupation for granted. Changing their states of mind will be hard.

Ship of Fools - But Who Are the Fools?

2010-06-01T11:22:00.002+02:00

In attacking the boats that were trying to make their way to Gaza, Israel has managed to be morally wrong as well as a bungling failure.

I am intrigued by the fact that very few voices - if any - to stop Israel from this folly, were heard before it all went pear- shaped. Especially in Israel, where everyone now seems – rightly – to attack the government for “Operation Sky Winds”, the sane minority was not really heard in this matter.

One reason for this lack of opposition is that Israel’s sane minority is rather small. Any opposition to the right-wing majority’s militancy is dubbed as “leftist” in a country in which “leftist” has become a dirty word. A country in which those who have the courage and energy to stand up against the government agenda are referred to as “anarchists”, “traitors” and “fifth column”. Most succumb and have retreated to live in their “bubble”.

A second reason is that many of Israel’s “left wingers” themselves are too busy with “right or wrong my country” whilst forgetting the need to ensure the first part of the well known saying “my country, may it always be right”.

If Israel does not want to lose more important battles, its sane minority must save it from continued acts of immorality and folly. Immorality does not always equate to recklessness but with time it very often leads to it. That is where you lose your battles. In this battle, Israel lost on the public opinion front. The nasty and evil Hamas won with their wits without even having to fire a shot. Israel must choose its battles more wisely – it cannot afford to lose the important ones.

Cosmetics Do Not Cure Cancer

2010-05-08T12:53:00.002+02:00

Israel is like a person who has cancer who – instead of going for treatment to try and get rid of his tumour – goes for a facial and a haircut and expects everyone to admire his beauty. He then gets annoyed when his friends suggest that he should see a doctor.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that Bibi Natanyahu’s best friend and supporter in the USA is cosmetics heir Ron Lauder.

Israel - The Problem and The Solution

2010-05-07T18:09:00.004+02:00

The Problem

The BBC and a Japanese newspaper recently conducted a joint opinion poll to establish which countries are considered to be a positive influence in the world. 30,000 respondents in 33 countries were polled.

Germany, Japan, the European Union got the top marks.

The country that was most negatively viewed was Iran at 56 percent, followed by Pakistan at 51 percent and Israel at 50 percent.

The Solution

“Israel, Not What the World Thinks” is the motto of a Hebrew pamphlet that I was handed as I was leaving Tel Aviv airport several weeks ago. Israel’s Ministry of Propaganda is eager to change the general perception of the country. To this end, Israelis are instructed to “first listen, then talk” and to “keep eye contact - your counterparts will notice that you are attentive to them.” Not only humour which "always helps” but photos and maps and personal stories to illustrate one’s case should also be used.

Having mastered these techniques, we are given the ammunition: A list of key moments in Israel's history. Israel - as seen by this government pamphlet - is a cocktail of wars mixed with winning the Eurovision Song Contest and occasional Nobel prizes. These are topped up by the information that “Windows XP”, the Disk-on-Key as well as Cherry tomatoes were invented in Israel.

Can illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories be made good by Israeli professors winning Nobel prizes?

Will people change their minds about Israeli occupation and settlement of Arab territories occupied in 1967 because Dana International won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1998 or because an Arab Israeli, Rana Raslan, was made Miss Israel in 1999?

Printing pamphlets is easy.

The Vatican – The Legionaries of Christ – and I

2010-05-01T22:16:00.003+02:00

The Vatican has just announced that the Pope has appointed an envoy to take over and reform the Legionaries of Christ, the conservative order that has been discredited by revelations that its founder, Father Maciel, sexually abused boys and fathered at least one child.

I came across Maciel’s name when I was researching for Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church. Indeed some of Maciel’s “activities” are mentioned in the book.

The following is an excerpt from my diary, May 2007 during my stay in Rome:

At the Piazza delle Cinque Lune, just in front of the Opus Dei university, I approached what at first I thought were two Jesuits; it turned out that they weren’t Jesuits. They were members of The Legionaries of Christ; training to become priests; one was Mexican and the other Brazilian. They were 33 years old, “Just like Jesus”, the Brazilian said. “Try not to die at 33”, I replied. “Yes, there is so much more to do”, was his response.

Wasn’t there some kind of a problem with their founder, Father Maciel, sometime ago, I asked? Surprised that I had heard about it, they responded that it was all untrue. They know, they knew Maciel personally and had lived with him in the same house and "no way could he have done any of the things which are said about him… it is people who object to the Order that he founded who are behind all this.”

I wanted more and suggested we go for a coffee. The Brazilian who did most of the talking told me that they had to return to their house, adding that he would “pray for me”. He gave me his phone number but when I rang he said that he was unable to meet me.

Iranian Erections

2010-04-30T15:14:00.003+02:00

This is not s spelling mistake. The Iranian Elections are over. Now it is erections that worry the Iranian rulers.

Earlier this week, Ayatollah Kazim Sadighi, a leading Iranian cleric, warned that women who dressed immodestly disturbed young men and the consequent agitation caused earthquakes.

Those young Iranians evidently enjoy the most powerful orgasms.

Indeed, the Teheran Chief of Police has followed the cleric’s warning with an announcement that too many suntanned women and girls who look like walking mannequins can be seen in Tehran. He added "We are not going to tolerate this situation and will first warn those found in this manner and then arrest and imprison them."

Anyone with personal experience of Iranian sex is invited to comment. If necessary you may choose the anonymous option.

Don't Fire the Pope

2010-04-03T16:24:00.004+02:00

The following is from an interview I gave several days ago to an American radio station:

The recent media hype surrounding the Catholic Church includes calls for Pope Benedict to resign. Should he? There are currently two known cases that connect Benedict personally to abuse. As Archbishop of Munich and Freising, he did not prevent the reassignment of a paedophile priest and as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith he acquiesced to the request of an abusive priest and thwarted his defrocking.

Up to now, nothing has come to light that would suggest that Benedict had ever abused anyone or that he knowingly allowed abuse to take place. Indeed, no malice can be ascribed to either Benedict or to most other senior Church figures.

Instead of evil, what we have is total blindness: Blindness to what is important and what is not. In other words, their values were corrupted. Sadly, the brutal end result is the same as if they had been evil.

There is no doubt that Benedict is guilty. He is guilty of being not only part of the machine but also an important, significant and formative part the Catholic Church machine: A machine that had systematically allowed abuse to take place under its auspices. A machine that has a history of acting evilly in other spheres of life too. But Benedict is not guilty of abuse; it is the Catholic Church that is guilty. Therefore it is not a personal resignation that we need but rather a total change in the way this institution operates.

We should ask ourselves what had enabled such corrupt values to thrive in an institution that is all about love and hope, an institution that considers itself to be a lighthouse to humanity. The Pope’s resignation would cause an earthquake within the Catholic Church. Such an earthquake could be helpful. Yet, it might not necessarily produce the change we need. Let there be no doubt, society would have closed this institution had it been secular. Those who run the Catholic Church should be aware of the risk in not making the necessary changes.

Does Netanyahu Have the Balls (for Peace)?

2010-03-27T13:41:00.003+01:00

For the first time in many years the US administration is giving Israel a hard time. Even the American friends have grown tired of Israel’s lies.

Will Netanyahu seize this as his opportunity to go down in history as the man who brought peace with the Palestinians?

Nobody likes to give in to pressure, least-of-all extremists and faith-driven right-wingers. Netanyahu’s bloated right-wing cabinet and the coterie surrounding him cannot make one very optimistic. Netanyahu’s brother-in-law is on record with an accusation that Obama is an anti-Semite. Others surrounding Netanyahu say so off-the-record. Even more outrageous to them are Jews in the American administration – such as the two senior Obama advisors, David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel - who do not toe the Israeli line. Are the two on the Mossad’s list? Perhaps for some dirt that could be fed to opponents?

Israel’s moral situation is fast deteriorating and for its own good it needs to be forced by the outside world. The alternative is frightful. Let the external force that will lead to change be the US and Europe and not war.

The Israel lobby in the US must be working overtime these days. Netanyahu will be pulling all the levers he can and calling all the favours he is able to. In the past, this has always worked and US Presidents have succumbed to the pressure.

Please, Mr President, do not falter.

The Pope’s Latest Troubles

2010-03-14T21:32:00.002+01:00

Many of my friends in Germany are getting worked as the press publishes daily reports about cover up of sexual abuse by the Catholic Church. The great excitement is whether any dirt would stick to the Pope personally. They have already reached his brother, a regular priest, who has admitted to slapping choirboys. (Not that way) The brother denies having indulged in any spaß with the Spatzen of the renowned Regensburg choir.

Those who have read Double Cross: The Code of the Catholic Church should not have been surprised. In the conclusion to the chapter on sexual abuse, I wrote:

The unfolding of the sexual abuse culture of the Catholic Church has exposed her as dangerous institution which runs sophisticated cover-up operations to defend the criminal activities of her priests. This secret and authoritarian institution and its hierarchy have, by their conscious policy of hushing up and covering up, become accessories to sexual crimes perpetrated by their clergy.

SO, if you have not yet got the book, GO and BUY it. The easiest way is to order the book through Amazon.

If you already have the book, buy another copy and give it to a friend: The ideal present for Good Friday.

Thank You America

2010-03-14T14:25:00.002+01:00

It has taken the US a long time, a very very long time. Left-of-centre Israelis have been praying for US intervention for years. Instead, the USA has permitted Israel to run wild with its settlements in the Occupied Territories. Finally, the Obama administration has told Israel to fuck off.

Israel had gotten used to pissing on its dwindling number of friends with impunity. Announcing new building plans in East Jerusalem during Jo Biden’s Israel visit last week was one outrage too many. Worse even was Israel’s subsequent explanation that they were sorry about the timing of the announcement. They were not sorry about the actual building plans.

Will Netanyahu finally go for peace? Will he bring in new coalition partners instead of his present land grabbing lot? I believe that - like so many others - Israel only understands the language of power. The time has come for the US to use its power.

Jewish Genius

2010-03-11T16:28:00.002+01:00

At dinner last night a friend suggested that I should be proud of the very high number of Jews amongst Nobel Prize laureates. Apparently more than twenty per cent of all laureates are Jews. I was not quite sure why I should get brownie points for their achievements. Nevertheless, I went home with a smile and spent a proud night in bed.

My pride did not last long. This morning, I came across the following item in today’s Ha’aretz: Poll: Half of Israeli high schoolers oppose equal rights for Arabs.

So I have forgotten all about my pride and now I am just full of shame. After all, I cannot really see that I have done anything to produce all those Jewish Nobel Prize laureates. But I am responsible for the education of the young generation in my society, in the country that likes to refer to itself as “the only democracy in the Middle East”.

As a further slap in my face, Gavriel Avital, the Chief Scientist of Israel’s Ministry of Education has recently come out with a statement that "If textbooks state explicitly that human beings' origins are to be found with monkeys, I would want students to pursue and grapple with other opinions. There are many people who don't believe the evolutionary account is correct.

Is the problem simply that Avital was once a monkey or is this the way that Israel hopes to produce more geniuses for the Nobel Prize?

Lufthansa

2010-03-11T15:02:00.004+01:00

Two months ago, on 10 January, I wrote to Wolfgang Mayrhuber, the Chairman of Lufthansa, with a serious complaint. I am still waiting for his response.

Do you know the man? Do you know someone who knows Mayrhuber? I would like to get his fax number or his email address.

Please let me know if you can help.

I don’t just want to give in to this Lufthansa policy of throwing complaints to the bin. Lufthansa should not get away with it.

Praying for Mubarak's Health

2010-03-06T20:40:00.003+01:00

Mubarak’s gall bladder operation, earlier today, is likely to heighten the talk about a possible successor. Egypt’s President is said to favour his eldest son for the job. But recently, Mohamed El-Baradei, under whose auspices as head of the IAEA, Iran was able to develop its nuclear capability, has come forward as a potential contestant.

Judging by the increase in the number of veiled women in Egypt over the last fifteen years, the country is becoming more religious-conservative and less secular. El-Baradei says that his ultimate goal is to set Egypt down the path of democratic reform. Is one of El-Baradei's partners in his plans to challenge the present regime the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood?

If so, what kind of an Egypt after such “democratisation”?

Does Size Matter?

2010-03-04T12:14:00.007+01:00

Jewish students in Canada have decided to do their bit to promote Israel.

Have a look at the following Link

Learning from Experience or Egyptian Entrepreneurship

2010-02-28T11:08:00.002+01:00

1. A well-dressed and friendly man approached J and me as we were walking towards the entrance of Cairo’s Egyptian Museum. He introduced himself as a director of the museum, Dr. A, and we chatted for a few minutes. Unfortunately, he said, during prayer time, some tills were unmanned and the museum was now and for another 45 minutes open to groups only. We could walk about in the surrounding streets, he suggested. There was much to see, he said. He recommended a visit to the “government bazaar” that was right opposite the museum. Both his wife and his mother, he added, liked to shop there.

I knew that there was no way out once J heard the word bazaar. The friendly Egyptian showed us where we should cross the very busy road. I actually enjoy negotiating the crazy Cairo traffic but our friend insisted on crossing the road with us. We were, by now, accustomed to the friendliness of the Egyptians although I became somewhat suspicious as he continued to the point of handing us over to the man at the entrance of the shop. The “government bazaar” turned out to be an ordinary souvenir shop that like all such shops in Egypt has a government license.

An hour later, as we made our way to the museum, I suggested to J that not only had this been a ploy to divert us to the store but that there was actually no break in the opening hours of the museum. I was right; J was full of admiration for Egyptian entrepreneurship.

2. A couple of days later, as we were walking towards the Sultan Hassan and Refa’i mosques, another man approached us. The mosques, he said, were closed to non-prayers in the coming hour. He suggested that we might want to visit another mosque just around the corner. He was a music teacher, he said and was neither a tourist guide nor did he expect us to tip him. He simply enjoyed practicing his English and would gladly accompany us to “his” mosque.

We thanked him for the information but decided not to accompany him. Instead, we continued on our way to the “closed” mosques. The mosques were open to visitors and – not to our surprise - had no prayer breaks at all.

Sins of the Fathers

2010-02-10T17:39:00.002+01:00

It has recently been revealed that Bettina, Hermann Goering’s great-niece had herself sterilised so as 'not to pass on the blood of a monster'. This, I believe, is unusual. Many descendants of senior Nazis did not seem to feel uncomfortable enough about their heritage to prevent them from procreating.

Should they have?

Moreover, genetically untainted spouses were found who were not worried about this genetic input. They may even have gotten a kick out of marrying the son or daughter of a Nazi perpetrator.

Are all judges "honourable"?

2010-02-10T17:16:00.001+01:00

A man from Gaza who needs surgery that is not available in Gaza has applied to enter Israel in order to be operated in a hospital in East Jerusalem. An Israeli expert has confirmed that surgery is crucial and that the man might suffer irreversible damage unless operated on. Israel denied the man’s request. Israel is worried that the man might use this as an opportunity to join his wife and four children who live in the West Bank.

A senior Israeli judge, Mrs Rachel Barkai, first took time to address the court, the world and posterity and call their attention to Israel’s medical aid effort in Haiti, pointing out that Israel was one of the few countries in the world to grant medical aid to foreign citizens.

The judge then explained "In balancing the values on both sides of the scales - on one hand, the need for medical treatment, and on the other hand, the concern that he will take advantage of his entry permit in order to relocate, the respondents' refusal to permit the petitioner's entry to the territory of the State of Israel does not justify judicial intervention."

Judges have this wonderful arrangement that demands we all refer to them as “honourable”. Has the law allowed for a situation in which a judge is not so honourable? Or is it enough to deny Mrs Rachel Barakai medical assistance should she need it some day?