once it was god order .the problem is no one follow god orders becouse of its values as they do not evaluate the good things becouse it is good but becouse of the benifits or the response of america or as someone say --whatever we did we would be the problem of the world so why not to kill and steal and ..... -they evaluate the power only to help ...i think once god was beside the people in passover but now god is not beside the people who are not asking his help evaluated its orders but their power and others support

damn it youre sooooo goooood, you are truely a good writer!!! this is what we are realy suffering from the 10 plagues

Dear Dave, Please go ahead and make aliyah. Yes, what Mr. Lapid said is true, but life is still great here! It's NOT TOO LATE! Israel has overcome much more than this - and we will get our act together in these ways, too. Make aliyah - it'll be the best hting you ever did!

The Exodus story is metaphorical on many levels. The ten plagues idea has relevance to today's world. G-d is currently sending many messages to us regarding the current state of the world and what needs to happen.

Gideon Levy, Amira Hass, Haaretz, Khaled Mashaal, Ismail Haniyeh, Mahmoud Abbas, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Paul Larudee, and last but not least, this year's (and every year's) coward award goes to...Benjamin Netanyahu

Don't confuse "the Israelis" for "the Jews". Judaism and those informed by Mishpat Ivri are familiar with concepts as 'zeh neheneh, ze lo chaser', arbitration preferable to ajdudication, and in finance, there is no all risk/all benefit position. It is the ignorance of the true Jewish "culture" and scholarship that makes this a vulgar society. Nature abhors a vaccum, and the products of cultural vaccum is abhorrent. And this addresses just plague #1.

It's sold by American company, and we are won't join any sanctions against Israel, whatever Obama may wish :) Likewise, Amazon and other major sites ( almost all US owned), will continue taking Israel cards. Don't worry about missing latest toy due to sanctions by Eurocrats. Tough luck with your Euro friends, though:)

Im half American, half israeli- grew up on and off in both countries(proud of both), experienced both people and both education systems and had careers in both countries. This article is simply BS!!! 1. Its the AMERICANS who like to see when a celebrity/successful person falls...Lindsey Lohan...Martha Stewart...exposing Mark Zuckerburg in the social network!!! PLEASE! to say that Israeli are like that is ludicrous...Israelis know the only way to succeed is to improve on existing ideas and technologies- its what they do best and its how this country is thriving today...They dont give a damn if the previous man falls before them, they just want to succeed themselves..the end! 2.Paparazzi are evil in all countries...Israel is not the exception its following the same rules. 3. Although the world does indeed blame Israel for every mishap, israel does not use victimization as a tool when something goes wrong... they just deal with it and move on-thats Israeli psyche 101 to say otherwise is not to understand Israelis or their culture. 3. I would chill with all the hate... you took the extreme stereotype of every 'plague' and generalized it to include the whole population and frankly you do a huge disservice to the people of Israel!

It's interesting that all of the negative comments here consist merely of personal attacks. If you disagree with the ideas expressed in this column, why not refute them logically, point by point? Your use of ad hominem attacks proves Mr. Lapid's point for him.

1st, Yair, give it a rest for a few days. Pesach is a joyous holiday. Right and left, this week we are one people commemorating the Exodus and the giving of the Torah. 2nd, there's plenty of jealousy, backstabbing and superficial behavior in the US. It's human nature. 3rd, I agree about education, but not if it's the let's-observe-Nakba-on-Yom-Ha'atzmaut type - and if there was more teaching of Judaic values, kids would learn not to be jealous, etc. 4th, I don't see the paparazzi situation as "wickedness" but rather as fascination. Where I live, we stand next to movie stars at the supermarket. We look, then yawn. Fifth, unlike some other cultures, Jews don't sit and kvetch about being victims. We're too busy surviving - one reason we've been around for thousands of years. Last, I can't see "sanctions" happening. Obama's approval ratings are sinking (45% today) and he can't afford to lose any more Jewish support for his 2012 re-election bid. I bet he'll also try to stall the UN vote on a Palestinian state until after the election.

And your comments ridiculing her and the Tea Party indicate you're a leftist who "fears" her running for President. She's not even a declared candidate - yet you're shaking in your boots. You know Obama is "toast" in the Jewish community and that many, myself included, would vote for Palin - with great enthusiasm.

Yair is awesome. Calling a spade a spade. Wonderful article to read. The apple in this case has fallen far away from the tree :)

People who write in "talkbacks" in which they deny Yair's total perfection in all things. KEFIRA!

Apropos much of the opprobrium generated in these talkbacks, permit me to share this choice bit of wisdom from the Maharal: "A person should not reject something which is against his own view...especially if it is not presented as an attack on religion but is simply an honest expression of the other person's beliefs. Even if it is against his own religious beliefs and faith, he should not say, "Be quiet and shut your mouth," because there will not be a clarification of that person's religious understanding. In fact, in such cases we should tell a person to speak his mind freely and fully express how he feels, such that he should not feel that he has not been able to fully speak his mind. If sincere questions are silenced, this is indicative that the religion is weak. This attitude is the opposite of what some people think. They mistakenly think that forbidding people from discussing religion strengthens religious faith, but this is not the case. Suppression of dissent and prohibiting people from speaking is a weakening of religion." Maharal, Be'er HaGolah 7 It might be worth considering, in light of the above, that it is not to Mr. Lapid that some of you do a disservice, but to yourselves, your faith, and your society.

"So what are such sanctions like?" Well, considering that Israel's technology is so embedded into most computer technology, telecommunication technology, and medicine these days, whoever boycott's Israel would pretty much be shooting themselves in the foot....