Abbas and his gangs supported attack on United States in 2001. It was a huge holiday for them. Some small countries are afraid of their gangs and bombings.. I said before and now we had to get rid of the terrorist. As to this guy Friedman -- he is worried for the is pay day from Saudi king, which means we will be OK. So many of "our so-called friends are worried" for us:)

Sadat said: we can not cross the river before we first reach its bridge.

Obviously, loong time Israel/AIPAC-type behaviours have led to the predicted inevitable disasters which are becoming irreversible. Not smart to continue to shoot the messengers based on clearly wrong worldviews & associated bad behaviours who are clearly demonstrably correct.

It's rare that one encounters one so consistently wrong, yet still taken seriously. Regarding the Middle East, Friedman is a "one trick pony". Whatever is going wrong, somehow Israel is at fault. Only months ago he was castigating Israel for not enthusiastically embracing the "Arab Spring". In retrospect, Israel's restraint and skepticism were proven correct. Has Friedman retracted or apologized? He has not. To be a famous "public intellectual" means never having to say you were wrong. He still has his highly paid position, still commands high speaking fees, and he still has the President's ear.

friedman just says what all the lefties believe .. and in case you are wondering if he realizes that the arabas are out for israels destruction, friedman like the other self hating jews and european anti semites ..dont believe hamas or abbas .. they ae so arrangant they believe that if israel gives in the arabs will respond and cooperate. that is the real insanity of freidman, the times and his liberal buddies ...the belief that the arabs would actually make peasce and agree to a 2 state solution ... what chutzpah

This government is the most inept Israel ever had and at this very crucial times for Israels future one can't just say, well, we'll have better luck with our next government. Time is on the Palestinians side, no matter how much a handfull of extreme-rights in this thread may rant. IsraeI will hit the wall anytime soon, if the steering wheel isn't turned away from looming abyss anytime very soo. Today ! I wish, I were wrong, guys, for Israels sake, but I fear I'm not.

How can you consider yourself a Zionist and write this post. "Confusing settlements with "pro-Israel"is a serious flaw".? No wonder you defending friedman, Yitzhak.."Less then thoughtful responses"? The guy was sitting in WB with the heads of the terror groups,knowing they whant nothing less, then the total innihilation of the Jewish State. And with them he was ordering Israel's unconditional withdrawals from WB and Gaza, while the daily kassams and terror against Israel's soveregnity never ceased. The only way for Israel to win, is not to give up land anymore(WB) and not to devide Jerusalem. Withdrawals never brought victory to Israel, but only more wars and showed weakness to our enemies. If we do not believe in our right and duty to own our land, then why wouldn't our enemies try to destroy us? We must learn our history again, which we seem to have forgotten, Yitzhak...

Those in the Middle East and the world who believe the lies against Israel that have been perpetrated for generations have had their humanity clouded by evil. Ultimately, there will be a reckoning. When the truth is spoken listen closely, it's your only hope.

Your exactly right, even though Friedman states: "I have great sympathy for Israel’s strategic dilemma and no illusions about its enemies," and HERE: "Netanyahu, Friedman asserts, is not to blame for the changes in the Middle East and the deteriorating relations with Turkey and Egypt, (but he is responsible") I put those last four words in parenthesis for a reason. He states he under "no illusions" and that "Netanyahu isn't at fault" for the breakdown in the Egyptian and Turkish relationship. But still, he blames Israel and BiBi? Why? Because they can't solve the problem? That is the most convoluted logic I've read in quite a while.

I have been following Thomas Friedman since his days in Beirut. His articles and ideas were always great support and ammunition for the PLO and the Arab leaders in thier fight against Israel in the political arena. TF is just egomaniac like most of the Arab Leaders. Ynet should not give him a platform. Israel is lucky to have Bibi as PM in time like this.

To ignore thomas friedman and say 'who cares' is a big mistake. The Times IS well-read and his type of column is typical of his past columns ... "well, I'm Jewish and really care about Israel" but... He has always taken this tack and will continue to do so.

Friedman's disappearance from The J'm Post was cause for celebration but like the Hollywood creation for a horror movie, "HE'S BACK!" Friedman's pedigree, of course: The New York Times. I thought he, his paper and other NY Times Israel-bashers such as Nicholas Kristof, Roger Cohen, et. al. had long ago lost all credibility on the subject of Israel. As was easily foretold, the editors of the paper urge the US to vote "Yes" on Palestinian statehood. Friedman's statement that he is "worried" about Israel brings to mind the infamous summation of a US soldier during the Vietnam War: "In order to save the [Vietnamese] village we had to destroy it."

Listen to me carefully Friedman and try to understand this once for all: No matter what Israel will do, the Arabs hate us and want to get rid of us. This is their blood, in their religion and is a fact of life and we in Israel have been aware of this since the pogroms of last century. So stop being a self hating Jew and stop blaming us and Bibi for all the wrongs in this area. And one more thing, your continuous obsession with us is infuriating, go deal with Somalia, Sudan, Iran, Korea, Zimbabwe and other such places where you might be able to do some real good. And yes, we are not adrift at sea rudderless, we strive and try to survive in a hostile neighborhood. The fact that you are Jewish does not grant you a carte blanche to criticize us from your little ivory tower.

I have friends who read NYT religiously and to them Friedman is the only voice they hear. So, as unfortunate as it may be, but Friedman is still important. He is so important that he does not even need to care to be right.

This Friedman should learn from Melanie Phillips about Journalism & stop Bashing Israel.

about you. poor lost soul it must hurt but i guess only if you are aware.

no thanks to over educated wizards of smart like friedman--they worry but contribute the wind

that puts Israel at risk. Friedman is a huge liberal appeaser. Appeasement is weakness and that is when the islamist-liberal cabal seeks to strike out at Israel.

Friedman is just a dump.

No future for Israel in this generation...

Well, if the hysterical reaction to Mr Friedman's article is anything to go by, the old Jewish tradition of civilised debate is dead. No calm, measured response to the man, just a torrent of abuse. I don't have to agree with him to feel you all should be ashamed of yourselves. you would get a more rational debate in Damascus!

From the safety of his mansion in the Virginia horse country Mr. Friedman demands that Israel take risks. He will not be sharing the risk of course. Mr. Friedman has zero military experience and has spent his life writing about things that he has never done. He should be ignored.

Obama a "friend" of Israel! In what alternate universe does Friedman live? Obama demonstrates by his disgusting words and actions that he is the most hostile U.S. President Israel has ever faced. Friedman is equally wrong about everything else. He wants Israel to follow the disastrous path of appeasement, which together with retreat, is the source of virtually all Israel's most serious problems.

He admits that he has no illusions about israels enemies yet he wants israel to commit suidide at the altar of the soros, obama, friedmann, bin talal axis

Mr. Friedman said “One can only hope that the Israeli people will recognize this before this government plunges Israel into deeper global isolation and drags America along with it." How do you measure deeper global isolation Mr. Friedman? Personally, I don’t see Israel is isolated to start with. Israel in the coming months might have a minor temporary political isolation and that is all. Give it a few weeks the Israel ambassadors to Jordan and Egypt will be back to stations, and within few months the relationship with Turkey will be stronger. A notion with more Nobel Prize (some are with duel citizen) than any other nation on earth is capable of isolating the world and not the other way around. Direct talk between the two parties is the only way out even if it takes another 100 years. The Palestine will lose by going to the UN.

Friedman (the A.H) should worry about Israel. It people like him and the other jerk at NY Times (Roger Cohen) that are doing their best to besmirch and delegitimize Israel.