who were expelled from the homes He gave them, and reprimanded those behind this cruelty midah keneged midah – by expelling the latter from his position and the former to suffering. Sharon got his Heavenly punishment and now Olmert got it EXACTLY 3 years later. Hashem's hand is quite obvious here.

took and took and took from all of us. He is a shameful man.

he will only pay back part of the price if he rots in jail. the dead are dead, the missing are missing - why should he even be allowed to watch TV. he is a sick criminal.

Ariela Ringel-Hoffman, since you are so smart to criticize Olmert's decision to go to war, what would you have done instead?? If he did not go to war, he would have been called "Weak" and coward, and when he did go to war, you guys call him weak and coward, and a failure as well. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE INSTEAD?? Negotiate with Hizbollah? or wipe out the entire Lebanese population so that the patriotic Israelis love you and call you a true leader?

To MK: I am an American born (proud) Jew and an ardent Zionist. I want Israel to thrive AND survive. I agree totally with you. What would the author have done, in the face of the UN's cease fire? Israel, to avoid Bush's criticism, didn't use bunker busters. It fought with almost both hands tied. UNIFIL and the LAF now control the Litani area, NOT Israel. Keeping 8,000 Jews in the Strip was a mistake...those settlements were a bad idea. Israel's religious have too much power..over money, education, etc. (Israel is a state of the Jews, NOT a minority Jewish state (Haredi)., with their pompous attitudes. Some Jews in Israel think they own the country (and the US), they don't. Israel's barbed tongue is destroying the Jewish experiment, without the US, would have been history. We control the purse strings..and we therefore make the decisions. It's all about oil, the Arabs have it, we don't. And oil dictates, not Livni, or Mofaz or Bibi. Nothing will change..it's not about Hashem, it's all about power, and Israel lacks it (Miriam)., bravado notwithstanding.

Leb II took Israel by surprise , the IDF unprerpared ...it was a time when exceptional people ..even an adept PM... could contribute strategy , thinking . mediocre olmert failed ...ignorant min-i-ster stair of dee-fence, peretz was no better ...30 days without any plan as to how to respond to hiz rocket atatcks.. At last Israel is rid of olmert ...caught in a mess of criminal investigations...he had NO choice but to resign. Now the people should remember: the Knesset politicos that backed him...the kadima party that backed him afterwards. Where should we remember ? ..at the polls ...DON'T vote kadima in Fool me once shame on you...fool me twice shame on ME. moshe

Hi, Dave. No offense intended. I appreciate that you reminded everyone that you are "a (proud) Jew and an ardent Zionist." Never would have guessed by your comment about how Jews and Israelis control America. And I'm glad you didn't mention that you also were a historian. Israel would not have existed without US aid? Yeah right. Like the aid in '48. Or how about in 56 when the US almost sent troops to the Middle East to fight with the Egyptians against Israel, France and UK? And let's not forget that up to 1967, the US provided Israel with little in the way of either economic or military assistance.

money. What's all this, "we lost a war," horsemanure? Maybe Israel should lose this whining author. When attacked you protect your country. You don't write stupid articles about some politician you dislike, blaming his governments toppling on your misperception about who won a war. Israel worries about 160 lives being lost to war? America worries about 4500 lives being lost to a war? The United States kills 4700 babies every working day in America. How many does Israel kill in abortion clinics? The United States loses over 1000 military men every year in automobile accidents on the highways of the United States. 4000 men would of died on highways rather than Iraq anyways. Suicides were happening at alarming rates over the last 30 years. Now the United States newsmedia acts like this is because of the Iraq war. Give me a break. The only time the newsmedia ever talks about military deaths is when the country is at war. Other than that...they don't give a crap about the military. They use military deaths to shape public opinion and push their rhetoric. And the media's rhetoric is always anti war. Even when you are being invaded and losing your freedom. If human life is so important to this author. If losing soldiers lives is so important to this author. Then how about protecting the unborn "children",soldiers lives. How about reporting soldiers deaths throughout the last three decades. The suicides, auto accidents, and so forth and so on. Don't wait for a war, and use the deaths, which were already occuring right in front of everyones eyes to begin with, to justify the loss of your leader. Lebanon got their butt spanked. I don't see how you really believe you lost the war. A good portion of Lebanon was destroyed. What you didn't learn from the experience.....was that Lebanon needed to be crushed. Japan and Germany only stopped when they were crushed militarily. That was the mistake made in your little scirmish into Lebanon. When they have to rebuild their entire country every ten years. They will get a clue. Start caring for all human life, at all times. Just doing the cry for the dead soldier routine to protest a war, leaves out all the others that deserve your time when they needlessly die in abortion clinics. It would be nice if we could support the Lebanese for a change. It seems lives in the muslim countries are second rate, when following a cult religion run by suicidal fanatics. War is the only alternative to stopping them. And soldiers will die. That's what we soldiers are there for. It never stops....you protect your land no matter how old...and how feable. It's the same reason you get antibiotics to kill strep bacteria.

The truth to the matter is that Israel used all of its might during the second Lebanon war and failed. Simply Hezbollah out fought the IDF, you people are having hard time accepting defeat and want to find an excuse for loosing that war. Remember the majority of the government system approved the prisoners exchange and the public had a chance to dispute the decision. No matter whom the PM was on July 2006, the 2 solders would have been killed and the IDF would have still lost because Hezbollah was under estimated due to lack of intelligence.

..and of the others who died? Maybe that is why Israel is continually at war. Continually killing. Because to some Israeli's all the other deaths really don't count and as the author points out...they don't fall into the category of "needless".

They not in same league as the leaders of yesterday. They just in their job for the Shmaltz pot. They are a big disappointment to us all . They are a lost cause pulling the State down . I am VERY disillusioned with most of them .I cant explain it . Isreal exists and progresses in spite of their leadership, not because of their leadership. The capable ones have gone elsewhere than politics .

as he knew what was is "store" for him and he took the spot-light off of him and his family for 2 more years. The man is a sick man. He is only interested in $$$.. The welfare of the country is the last thing that interested him He ruined Jeruslaem as mayor and has RUINED ISRAEL to almost a point of no return. But he has no worries. his $$$$ is secure in places that we will never know. So his wife's "lovely " paintings might bring him a few thousand.........in fact I only know people that want to sell them and NO ONE wants to buy them...He needs to put into jail and simply to rot away. I feel no mercy for him, no pity. I feel sorry for the families that he has ruined for life. His children are out of the country. His money is out of the country. His millionaire "true" friends are out of the country. He needs a mattress in the worst jail here with no visitors.

entire country....that was the mistake they made. This was very achievable. They didn't destroy every city bombing it to the ground. This was very achievable. People only learn to leave others alone when they suffer enormously from starting a war. Israels only mistake was stopping at Lebanon. They should have taken out Syria as well. Syria needs to suffer the consequences of supplying Lebanon. Iran should be on the bombing list also. If Israel would get over worrying about what the idiots in Europe and the United States think about their military responses, and just finish the job, the Arabs wouldn't be screwing with you. They would be spending the next ten years rebuilding the rubble.

Oh Dave, how arrogant can you get? I love those who claim to be "ardent" Zionists yet live elsewhrere!!!!! To tackle your inane statement that without American aid Israel would not exist. You are so ardent that you don't evenknow that Israel is the only country which does not receive direct aid.... just the right to buy and buoy up US industry. I suppose you think that US money brought the Russians too - sorry wrong again. Israelis paid (happily) 95% of the cost of the immigration through taxation - a minimum of 6,000 NIS per annum. What you fail to understand is that there are Jews elsewhere in the world and that they are far more active and involved than US Jewry - and that Israel stands alone - always has always will - alone, proud and capable of fine independence. We defend you, not the other way around!!!!! Even now, you are waiting for us to do your dirty work in Iran, just as we did in Iraq and Syria - denuking for you. If you want ot be a Zionist - come and live here and serve in our army.... then you can talk with erudition.

Last war Israel only used 5% of its firepower, not all its might as you foolishly claim, and look what damage they did. Israel had Hezbollah surrounded after they reached the Litani river, but the coward Olmert pulled them back due to Us and EU pressure. Next war we will use 10% and finish Hezbollah off properly. Bibi wont hold back . Regarding the prisoner release, the public was mainly against it and had no chance to dispute the decision like you claim. Hezbollah was not underestimated as you foolishly claim, Israel intelligence knew exactly what they were up for.....we just had cowardly idiots running our country at the time.....but it will be different next encounter and you wont be foolishly gloating like a baboon anymore.!

only thinks about 2 things. HIMSELF and MONEY. the welfare of the country was the last thing on his mind.

If Israel was to stop worrying about US and EU, then the Jewish Lobby in those 2 unions should stop spending money twisting facts to earn their support. Remember without my tax money Israel would not exist, would it? And please do not tell me Israel is capable of taking over Lebanon Syria and Iran, you are having hard time going into Gaza and that is why your big dog Sharon pulled out.

Let's ignore this lousy party . The few ones there that are worth anything should return to their 'Mother' parties, namely : Likud and Labor. Furthermore : a strong coalition between those two big parties should be created, thus giving us a chance to survive the hard times ahead.

Big bombs level all the buildings. You don't need to go in if you detroy everything. If you do go in....you bypass the bad spots and bomb them from above. You don't bog down your entire military fighting a tunnel war. You entirely underestimate the capabilities of bombs. If clowns who whine about their tax money would shut up for a change in the United States and Europe....this would have been finished a long time ago. Go fill up your tank and support the Muslim cause with your tax money. I'm sure the terrorists are pleased. We wouldn't want a supporter helping out the Jews. There are plenty of Arab lobbyists in Washington buying up your corrupt banks as we speak. You really didn't believe the Jews are the only ones lobbying did you? Those Muslims sure do like taxing you at the pumps for gasoline. But I don't see you complaining much about that.

No, he has to go because he was and is a "disengager".

Without a major rearming in 1973, Israel would have had a disappointing stalemate a la Second Lebanon War. Also at the very end the Russians were threatening to intervene and it was the US that dissuaded them. There is no doubt that militarily Israel is now dependent on the US.

Your "tax dollars" are a couple of percentage points of Israel's GDP and most of them go straight back to the US and never leave your shores. Exactly what facts does the "Jewish Lobby" "twist"?- note the PC phrase is the Zionist/Israel lobby, because of course your issue is with Israeli behaviour not the ethnicity of the people who make up 80% of it..... When did Israel "have a hard time going into Gaza"?