Starting off with raping a chicken, and then on to testerone. Futile macho words from a delicate soul. It only detracts from anything useful that he had to say. I searched hard, but couldn't find anything worthwhile that should have been printed. important. He could have gone to see and then write a review of the new Denzil Washington movie instead, if he wanted to write something useful about machoism.

This writer obviously has no idea of what a hudna really means... it is ONLY for the Islamists to gain enough strength to try to destroy their "infidel" enemies. Mr Shalev is still addicted to the delusionary idea that you can make peace with people who want to slit your throat and that of your child... this is not my opinion of Hamas, this is written clearly in black and white in their formal Charter, their aim to destroy ALL of Israel and to commit genocide. Perhaps Mr. Shalev would have preached making a truce with the Nazis in the 1940's to allow them more time to buld more gas chambers? Asking for peace with these murderers is taken by them as ONLY a sign of weakness, and actually stimlutates MORE terrorism. The only things that have reduced Jewish victims of terror is killing terrorists and erecting defensive barriers. When one day their own people get rid of them, we can talk peace and tear down walls. Until then, Mr. Shalev should descend from his ivory tower and see what the reality is on the ground.

I must ask the writer to read Muslim history and the Koran. A Hudna is a cease fire to serve a particular purpose: Allow the declarer to rearm, so they can continue the holy battlle over the infidels. Grow up.

There was a need for law enforcement to fight thugs terrorists and criminals. The Sheriff didn't retire his badge and go home to farm after the bad guys were shot or hanged. The entire United States has ample law enforcement and a military to this day to fight the terrorists and criminals. The western was the realization that law enforcement was needed for the good of the entire community at large. And law enforcement officers as well as military men and women will and do put their lives at risk every day, protecting the community. To Protect and Serve. It doesn't say give up and run home because you might get killed serving and protecting. We all know we might get killed serving in the military or police force. Killing the Hitlers of the world, before they have armies to slaughter millions of people through preemptive assassinations, makes perfect sense. Bacterial infections get treated by antbiotics. No one in their right mind tells the doctor to let the antbiotic and the bacteria have a truce, while the bacteria decimate the host which is you. We have antibiotics to kill the bacteria which is killing you if left untreated. We have law enforcement and armies to kill people who believe that Allah gives them the right to kill anyone they please in his name. It's funny how Liberals have all of a sudden decided how many people get to die duriing these little conflicts, before they raise their hands and give up. We don't get to give up and hope for peace, expecting Santa Claus to save the day. The only person that is going to save you is yourself and your countrymen. And some of you are going to die doing this. That was the lesson of the western. As far as acceptable casualties for a war. There are no limitations to casualties. Everyone fights to the last man. That's what the Liberals aren't going to tell you. Freedom isn't free.....people die for it every day. Get used to it and quit whining about the cost every day. If you can't stomach the cost...then you had better start speaking another language and worshiping their religion instead of yours.

The "hudna" you are so keen on deligitimizing as a trick is in fact no different than any other ceasefire or armistice between enemies. No-one is pretending it's a peace treaty. You are ascribing illusions to others that don't exist and tacking on personal insults that have no place in an adult discussion. Ceasefires, whether they are called "hudnas" or anything else, are always breaks in the fighting taken to allow for recovery time. Do you not think that during the First World War that both sides replenished their arms and supplies during the break, took the opportunity to bring in food to their hungry soldiers and helped their wounded etc? It is purely a matter of policy for Israel to decided whether now is the appropriate time for a ceasfire or not. Do you think that if Israel agrees to a ceasfire that it won't be done for the purpose of gathering more information on Hamas in order to destroy it later? Do you think that Israel would agree to it without taking the opportunity to gain some advantage? To throw your own words back at you, you really need to adopt a more sensible way of analyzing these things, instead of the hysterical "hudna is a trick to destroy us" line. It's very immature.

What a defeatist loser - Did you ever think that winning was a good strategy? Defeating the enemy is the name of the game, giving them a bloody nose is very nice for a change. Does winning make you feel guilty like the rest of your bleeding heart liberal leftist cronies? You should be absolutely ashamed to write an article like this.

testosterone raping chiken I am ,just a man... PrimitiveJoy it this article on Sodom and Amorah Thank G-d the IDF is clean from all these kind of organised rape crimes like other wartone zones..Definately not promoting organised crime of rape put Israel with better etnic relations.

Neville Chamberlain brought "peace in our time" and boasted that many lives would be saved by averting a war. By doing nothing to stop Hitler but using diplomacy, he gave Hitler the time he needed to prepare his war machine and kill over 20 million people including 6 million Jews. The idiots on the left have still not learned

While Israel's first "Palestinian" Prime Minister is actively undermining the nation's legitimate interests, the IDF is doing its job - making difficult the lives of those who wish to destroy the Jewish state. Perhaps Shalev is just ashamed to be proud of the IDF. To me, a different popular image comes to mind: that of a struggle where the good guy has the bad guy down, but then feels sympathy for him and lets down his guard. The bad guy then takes out the hero or someone he cares about. That's what the "huda" is about. Hamas and IJ are feeling the heat and suffering losses. Shalev would have Israel show sympathy, let down its guard while the enemy strengthens and rearms to fight on. I'd rather see Israel keep up the pressure until the enemy is destroyed or surrenders.

David, the armistices and/or ceasefires indeed happened, but only when BOTH sides were exhausted. In the case of Hamas attacks on Southern Isral, we have one side suddenly fearing a threat to its very existence, whereas the other side is obsessed with legal, international and domestic ramifications from continueing the pressure. The History knows no examples of a peace treaty concluded between the parties unless one side loses definitively or both are exhausted. None of these conditions applies in the current situation, thus the pressing of Hamas must continue until one of the two parties blinks.

Steiner hit it head on! Hamas is begging for a hunda solely because of the effectiveness of the IDF's attacks against it. The leftist morons still don't get it. Doing nothing against terrorist attacks encourages the terrorists to increase them, not stop them. The left's capitulation for 'peace' that was Oslo brought two intifadas. The Israeli left obviously wants to bring about another one.

Then his leftist indoctrination kicked in and took over what had been rational thinking for seven seconds.

never mind the testosterone in the night, in the cold hard light of day, haniyah's "hudna" is a clear admission that at least hamas would like a little time to reorganize before it resumes its attacks. this is called "victory", and it is customary, first of all, to keep doing whatever it was that brought this success, because that is how wars are fought. and secondly, it is customary for the victors, and not the vanquished, to dictate the terms of surrender. in this case, "unconditional surrender" seems to be the customary wording. that is how wars are won. to keep agreeing to ceasefires that only enable your opponents to regroup is suicidal madness that only serves to prolong wars and multiply casualties (on both sides). people doing these foolish things should be removed from the decision-making process, and their intake of opiates closely monitored.

In a military conflict the parties do not offer a truce after a very brief offensive has proven effective. The fact that the enemy has been compromised does not mean that the OBJECTIVE has been met and allowing the enemy to recover and regroup after an offensive is simply not sound military doctrine.No time outs, this is not a football game.

Like the rest of Israel's pitiful leftist celebrities, all of Shalev's stories end the same: the tiny remnant of the Jewish survival instinct remaining in Israel is still too much.

its amazing to hear such people justifying and believing you can make peace with such people.. an even suggesting that killing such people is bad... there is no consistent message... the Arabs feel you are weak!! no wonder there wont be an Israel in the next 20 years!!! such smart yet stupid people!! well you will be yearning for zion once more!!!

Dear Meir Shalev, As a rightist, I am not closed minded... I first want to tell you how much I loved your book "Blue mountain" and as much as I love your fiction, and that of David Grossman... there is a thick line seperation fact from fantasy. You yourself say: "A temporary ceasefire may spare human lives. It may free residents of the southern town of Sderot and other Gaza-region communities from the grip of constant pressure, ongoing risk, and the grinding reality they are facing at this time. " My dear Meir, then what? Perhaps like Liberson selling the bad cow to the Kibbutz, life goes on? Meir, Meir, what we face is not a stalking hyena... we face not a swarm of queen wasps... We face a mortal enemy out to kill us, a reality I live with every single day. Meir, I too want peace, I long for the day I can walk home Friday night without the fear of being killed. I long for the day the holy sites here will not be vandalized... And as racist as I am painted, I do not hate my Arab neighbors... I long for the day that we Jews may build as the Arabs do, buy property without being evicted... Meir, I am from America, Americans are notorious with paying off 1 credit card with the next. While clearing one debt you incur another and yet more interest. Meir, I have had numerous tumors, I could simply just enjoy life peacefully and pain free and die young... instead I get painful operations to remove the disease... I had spinal fusion surgery to fix my scoliosis... THAT was painful... yet if I hadn’t it would have snapped my spine and paralyzed me g-d forbid. Meir, there is a thick line separating the pain of a surgeon's scalpel out to heal you... and the eventual pain of ignoring a growing tumor. We ran from Gaza and got rockets on sedorot...We are hidding from Judea and Samaria and will have rodckets on the mainland... Remember what pinnes the teacher told the kids when they killed the wasp bees: "It isn’t easy for me to ask you to kill a hornet queen; it's not our way to kill living things. But the field mouse, the hornet, the viper, and all tree pests are our mortal enemies" The hyena only attacks a weak person... Meir, read again what you write, for as a writer I admire you to no end! Please, if you are going mix fact and fantasy. Take the advice of your fantasy characters. We are merely yakov mirkin's out to dry up the swamp and build our homeland... Sadly we are left with nothing but his grandson busy burying the dead and hoarding the money. Remember, it’s not the centipede under the cabin; we cannot merely block him off for he will attack us from under...

Thats insane, Hamas has been around for years.. the rockets have been landing on us for years.. they are a bunch of terrorists and we are one of the best army's in the world. Right! Israel needs to gather more intelligance.. IQ wise.. maybe they better stop releasing prisonors ? In fact I bet they need to find out precise info on which harmless places they can bomb unless g-d forbid they actualy injure someone.. A hudna is to buy olmert time, its a surrender gesture... a plea for mercy.. a hudna for the arabs is a chance to replenish their weapons.. This aint WW1... And I dont recall britan asking germany for a ceasefire as London was being bombed. Please stay in LA, if you want to speak up.. kindly do some research..

Is there anything the Left won't justify or rationalize when their Progressive sensibilities are offended? Time to grow a backbone, Mr. Shalev. more dead militants = healthier reality

Shalev's POV is the dominant POV in Israel and his policies are the dominant policies. It's important that Shalev and his comrades continue their successes so they reach their logical conclusion. Only then will Israelis be presented with an honest choice they will not be able to avoid: live as Jews or die as leftists.

I am begining to suspect in Shalev's case it is autobiographical. Apologies to Ute Lemper

I am trying to recall a period when Hamas stopped trying to kill Jews even during their own self declared Hudnas and I can't recall such a period ever. Hudnas do not work because Hamas itself never stops acts of terrorism. The problem is not leadership high on testosterone. The problem is leadership wio9uth the balls to hit Hamas so hard and so often that Hamas comes begging for mercy and will to do anything to make peace.

what exactly is he saying? what is hsi position? what is primitive and what is sophisticated? and what is the sophisticated to deal with primitive murderers? to surrender, or run away? this writer thought he had something to say, but either he forgot what it was, or fell asleep, and sent the article anyway.

think like a fundamentalist , like a Hamasnik. And then, only then, you will understand what a Hudna is for Hamas. As an intellectual you are used to Western Logic. No such logic exists in the Koran where there are Muslems and there are Infidels. Book writing suits you better.

Only a small percentage of humanity has freedom and liberty. The select few earned liberty by killing the enemy, those who want to take that liberty. After the destruction of the Second Temple the Jews were forced to accept an existence as slaves until the revical of Israel, not by meek acceptance but by fighting. Meir Shalev wants to go back to the old days. Instead of babbling, Meir Shalev should move to some place like Germany where he can live as a meek little slave and does not have to dirty himself to earn liberty.