Anxiety and the Postmodern Condition

Oslo, December 10, 1994 Your Majesties, Esteemed Chairman and Members of the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee, The Honorable Prime Minister of Norway, My Fellow Laureates, Chairman Arafat and the Foreign Minister of Israel Shimon Peres, Distinguished Guests, Since I don't believe that there was any precedent that one person got the Nobel Prize twice, allow me on this opportunity to attach to this prestigious award, a personal touch. At an age when most youngsters are struggling to unravel the secrets of mathematics and the mysteries of the Bible; at an age when first love blooms; at the tender age of sixteen, I was handed a rifle so that I could defend myself. That was not my dream. I wanted to be a water engineer. I studied in an agricultural school and I thought being a water engineer was an important profession in the parched Middle East. I still think so today. However, I was compelled to resort to the gun. I served in the military for decades. Under my...

The Hero and His Shadow  Psychopolitical Aspects of Myth and Reality in Israel now available on Kindle  ($9.99) The Six Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan broke out on June 5, 1967, after Egypt had mobilized along the Israeli border, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, and Israel was threatened by invasion of Arab forces. After a sweeping victory, Israel came to occupy large neighboring areas, but has since withdrawn from Sinai, Gaza and 40% of the West Bank. However, as victorious as Israel was, relieving the deadly threat, led by then Chief-of Staff Yitzhak Rabin, the prolonged occupation of territory in Judea and Samaria/the West Bank, is detrimental not only to the Palestinians, but to Israeli society as well. The release of tension resulted in years of denial and inflation, as for instance expressed in the infamous words of General Shmuel Gonen (Gorodish), “We looked Death straight in the eye, and Death lowered its gaze,...

Op-ed published on Y-net : It is right and proper that the Israeli national anthem be sung at graduations from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; however, the panicked reaction to its possible exclusion doesn’t gel with the undeniable success story of the Zionist venture and the regional power that the State of Israel has become. Yoram Yovell  | Published:  19.05.17 , 23:37 Let me start with the bottom line: In the past, I studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and I currently teach there, and in my opinion, it is appropriate that  at its graduation ceremonies , "Hatikvah" be sung. Follow Ynetnews on  Facebook   and  Twitter   I also think that the tendency of many of the Arab students—in universities across Israel—to remain seated while the national anthem is sung at official ceremonies is disrespectful. No one in his right mind would insist that somebody who isn't Jewish enthusiastically sing...

The Jubilee Paradox: 50 years since the Six Day War, 50 years of occupation Jubilee: a special anniversary; especially a 50th anniversary. Originally from the Hebrew  yovel , the jubilee was a year of emancipation and restoration, celebrated every fiftieth year, with the emancipation of slaves. The jubilee year was proclaimed by the sounding of the shofar, the ram’s horn, the yovel (originally meaning ‘bellwether’), which also has lent its name to Yoval, “father of all who handle the harp and pipe” (Genesis 4:21), i.e., the Biblical father of music. The Jubilee Paradox is that the victorious Six Day War led Israel to occupy millions of Palestinians. Already in 1968 Ben Gurion said he preferred peace to occupation. June 5-10, 2017 will mark fifty years since the Six Day War, in which Israel in a sweeping surprise victory defeated Egypt (UAR), Jordan and Syria, after Egypt had mobilized along the Israeli border, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli ships, and Israel was...