A strong rebuke to the fools, from someone who understands the Arab mind.

The Jews have persevered against the odds throughout the ages. Wisdom dictates: "Do not see the enemy you despise, but the enemy you respect." The Arab world has a grudging respect for your perseverence. However, if the author is talking about how much blood either side is willing to suffer, I'm afraid that a matter of hard, cold numbers.

But the underlying problem is the structure of our dysfunctional political system. I hate to repeat myself so often but so many of our ills are a direct result of this peculiar political system that we seem to be unable to change. I'm not going to write a book on political structure today in a talkback, but suffice it to say, this abnormal system of party politics self-selects the worse elements & puts them in a position of authority. If I can be permitted a pun, the "party" has gone on long enough.

I need HELP. this country is crazy. the corrupt are taking over and it is impossible to live here. I only dream that my children and family leave here as soon as possible.

Israelis is suffering a fatal lack of jewish identity as a consequence of the Ashkenazim leftist rule since Ben-Gurion. they never knew their real identity (european, world' citizens, marxist-leninist, moral superior men, superior race, etc) but unlinked to the real jewish values and to the real indigenous middle east jewish.

but as usual the good dokter does not prescripe the right medicine for his right diagnosis. The only way to survival and overcome the sickness of the soul that has inflicted many here in Israel is doing Tsuvah and live according our Torah given laws. For the people out there with little to none existing historical knowledge , just read our book of judges and other profets and see how many times we got a kick in the butt by not keeping the law handed down at Sinaii . We do not stand a change of survival here without that awareness no matter what. As a people we always have chosen the wrong road leading to an endless amount of suffering and pain. Only once we have to choose right to stop all this.

millions of Israelis, just watching how Israel unravels? Just talking and watching, and watching some more. What about them?

I am not an overly religious Jew. In the past, you have described yourself a secular Jew. Secularism is in large part responsible for the spiritual malaise we see in Israel. This suicidal course is not merely government driven, but people driven. The Jews in Israel have lost thier collective way. Kedar is right. The absence of any religious or firm ideological basis makes of us "a people that is panic-stricken, emotional, prone to tears, corrupt, hedonistic, reckless, and individualistic; a people subscribing to a grab-what-you can mentality, lacking historical roots, lacking ideology, devoid of values, lacking a sense of solidarity, wanting everything now, and willing to pay any price without taking into account the results of its reckless behavior." Blame the dysfunctional political system all you like. You are missing the forest for the trees Terry.

Kedar did a good job staunchly defending the Jewish people's right to build anywhere in Jerusalem. Yet when it came to territorial compromise outside of Jerusalem, he gave way on al-Jazeera: Kedar said: "So far, there are already two Palestinian states....a state in Gaza, and a state which -- God willing will be in the West Bank." God willing, there will be NO Palestinian state in the Holy Land.

If you don't want to be here, nobody is making you stay. Pick youself up and leave - instead of whining how bad it is and "dreaming" of leaving, it you think life would be so wonderful elsewhere. I suspect you'd be unhappy anywhere though, since you are the kind of person who apparently sits on your ass expecting others to help you.

it's a matter of putting it all together. Add to that memory of history too. I only hope that Israel learns the hard lessons that came about during the Olmert period. The sooner we can learn from mistakes, the sooner we'll get back to where we should be.

what we need to do toi survive in the Middle east is to do what all the other nations in the Middle East do: Ruthlessly destroy our enemies without guilt.

...to solve them. First of all, the strength of the individual, comes from the inside - not from the outside. Self knowledge, self esteem, self respect, backbone, a feeling of dignity and untouchable and sacred individual integrity and legitimacy, liberty and freedom and knowing what skills, abilities, traits, gifts and talents uniquely define you as a person, give you all the necessary keys and tools to know yourself as a person, what you want to achieve in life, what is the purpose to your life, what you stand for and what you represent and what values you hold. Second, Israeli patriotism should shift from narrow minded childish mudslinging across political partylines based on despair, panic and lack of vision and angry sudden outbursts of "hate", to a steadfast, stable, intelligent, thoughtful, mature and patient dedication of your lifetime to the well being of your country. Israel must enter philosophical deepening. Israel must reconnect with its ancient history and it must become mandatory for all schools in Israel to teach 4000 years of Jewish history. It is a must and must happen here and now. It cannot wait. No debates and compromises. It must happen, and it is undemocratic of the political elite of Israel to deny its people knowledge of its own history. Israel must renew its determination, its courage and its strength, and Israel must renew its faith and its hope. We have every right to dream heroic dreams. And we have every right to claim lordship over every single grain of sand of Israel and force our enemy to leave our country. Israel must slim the state, lower the taxes, increase privatization, establish a Presidential Democracy where the President is both Head of State and Head of Government, Israel must have a Constitution, laws keeping corrupt, uneducated and stupid politicians out and a system and a set of laws punishing politicians for treason, neglect, stupidity and fatal mistakes. All affairs of politicians must be made public - including their salary. There must be fixed dates for elections, the treshold for entering Knesset mus be 10% or higher. Israel must have tough penalties for murder, rape, treason and terrorism. The Israeli state must be a light onto ourselves, must stand for moral clarity and inspire the best in all of us, in the same way as the American Republic inspires hope in many Americans. We must become a country of future dreams and visions, ambition, optimism, belief in ourselves as individuals and as a nation and we must step forward, face and defeat every enemy and every hostile regime to let the Children of Israel breathe the air of faith, hope, optimism, belief in a better future, future dreams and visions, and legitimacy, morality, strength, safety, security, liberty, freedom and success and we must step forward in the name of our forefathers.

Well said

Israel's water is flouridated and that takes away your will to resist... Prozac is 97% Flouride. Have a nice day M

What have people like you been doing for the past 60 years? I'm sure there have been lots of Jews of good moral standing but they allowed the left to maintain a grip on the country: Knesset, judiciary, education, everything. Didn't they see this coming? At this point your plan has zero chance of being implemented. At this point, my friend, you can't wait to educate the masses... Your country is teetering at the edge of a catastrophe. The only thing that can save Israel is for its best leaders, those still untouched by corruption (there must be a few) to gather in a patriotic alliance to execute the changes you propose from the top down. A few good men, supported by the IDF. Only after that you can implement what needs to be done to save Israel as a Jewish state. The wolves are baying at your door. You've got to take drastic measures to save your country. Time is running out!

And not just a return to Torah but to the God that gave it.

we do not make idiology but idiology do .it is like the religion .when i believe something i will run to know evrything about it . but disbelieve make any one not to care .i think elbert einshtine said something like this point . he believed some thoughts worked for it but never cared about jewish state

Andrew, apathy, lack of involvement, & ultimately, cynicism & lack of committment, come from a lack of leadership, a disconnect between politics & life, & a feeling of helplessness, the "what I do doesn't matter, I can't change anything" syndrome. The total lack of accountability in our system creates this feeling & at the same time cannot produce valid leaders. Steve, I'm not a fan of ideologies of any kind. This doesn't mean I have no firm beliefs. But you can't motivate people, you can't instill values, you can't give people a sense of solidarity, without leadership, role models, people to whom we look as an example for our own behavior. As the expression goes, "the rot starts at the top." And our political elite is rotten, the product of a rotten system.

An excellent study with great insight is, "The Arab Mind" by Raphael Patai. It's well worth reading if you want to really understand Arab culture.

Many TB's I enjoy your analytical abilities. But there is no solution to this problem by changing the political system. The state of Israel is based on Herzelism which is anti religious and pro secular Hedonism. So after 60 years we can see the results. You might not like it but we as a people do not stand a change without the Torah and its laws. I know you will mention $has , but not everyone wearing a kippah is a religious person and behaves accordingly. We have lost our land repeatedly to our nemies over the past 3000 years. We just keep on being a stiff necked people, not understanding our mission here. So we can use all our intellect but that will not help us in the long term. For many "modern people" it is scary but only our return to our G'd given laws will help us to remain here. Our moral decline is all related to our lack of connection to the Torah.

THX Steve I know but many times Ynet does not publish anything in relationship towards Hashem. So I was already pleasantly surprised they allowed this TB. There is a state and media sponsored anti religious sentiment here that finds its roots in our socialist atheist founding fathers of modern day Israel.

This expression, "The rot starts at the top," is an ideological one. Of course rot can, and often starts at the top but rot can start anywhere. As a nurseryman, I know rot can start at the top of a plant or it can begin in the stem or more often it starts at the root of the plant; in the soil. The prophet wrote, "The whole head is sick (which appears to substatiate your theory), and the whole heart is faint. From the SOLE OF THE FOOT even to the head." I would submit to you, the whole heart is faint here in the U.S., from the sole of the foot even to the head. And thus it is in Israel. German citizens brought the Nazi party to power at the ballot box. Nazis then proceeded to brainwash the people with lies. Ultimately the allies firebombed German cities, incinerating hundreds of thousands of German citizens for the crimes of their leaders whom they served. The allies bombed Germany to rubble. Were the German people innocent? We Americans brought this criminal in the White House to power. American conservatives adore him in spite of what he has done and is doing to Israel; in spite of his love affair with our Saudi enemies and our Palestinian Muslim enemies. Are we, the American people, innocent? I submit to you, in as much as your system needs reforming, you have the government you deserve in Israel. When 80% of Israel's Jews are willing to concede land to our mortal enemies while at the same time requiring that I maintain my silence, what am I to conclude other than you have the government you deserve?

Keep the media away from mourning family members. Punish any soldier who cries on t.v. with a six month jail sentence. Cry in private not in public. Finally enough with all the experts and their opinions. Most of the time they are wrong.

Terry is right. Israel's political system is at root the main obstacle to development here on several spheres and is currently on the verge of patronage politics akin to a third-world country like Thailand (read Gaydamak is Sinawatra). Israel needs a bi-cameral system. One chamber based on regions and its representatives elected on a first past the post system and a proportional chamber where the threshold for entry is high and it can be according to party lists. The regional chamber would have supremacy over the second chamber. That would nicely sqare away most of Israel's problems since there will finally be an accountable political system and it will finally invest certain minorities into the system. As for Terry's ideas about strong leadership... that's hogwash. Israel needs stable democracy not fascism.

David, everyone is not religious & unlikely to become so. But, unobservant as I am, I never said there was no place for Torah. Few would disagree with me that without Judaism, why are we here? The Torah is part of our culture, our civilization whether we are religious or not. Without Torah, what are we, just some cheap imitation vaguely Western country geographically misplaced? Steve, I don't think 80% of Israelis are willing to cede land to anyone under current circumstances. And I don't think we deserve the gov't. we have - our crappy system is an historical development gone wrong but don't think for a moment that it's easy to change. It requires a massive campaign to educate & make aware a substantial percentage of the population, perhaps the formation of a political party whose only goal is political reform. Smith, this is about the fourth time you tell me for once I'm right. I don't think a bicameral system is worthwhile here - we have enough politicians & the gov't is certainly already way too big. And when I say strong leadership, I do not mean a "strongman" or a dictator. I'm only a warmonger, not a fascist.