Mostly on Israel

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2

Is talking with Hamas good or bad for Israel?
2008-05-17 16:14:00
A group of Israel i politicians and ex-military men has issued a call for Prime-Minister Ehud Olmert to speak with Hamas and reach an agreement for a ceasefire. This is bound to be greeted with the familiar concepts the media has over negotiations: talking is good, boycotting is bad. This is a good principle for personal relations, but things are quite different when addressing policy-making.Since the days of the first Intifada, Israel has done everything in its power to strengthen the extremists, thus making the possibility of reaching an agreement less feasible: under the principle of "divide and rule" it financed Hamas and helped it gain more power on account of the PLO; while negotiation with local Palestinian leadership in Washington, it cut a deal with the terrorist Yasser Arafat, and won him back his power as leader of the Palestinians; it withdrew from the Gaza strip in the Disengagement, despite the warnings that this would be for the benefit of the extremists and then it al...
More About: Talking , Good

An Exemplar of Hypocrisy
2008-04-30 19:21:00
The letter published today in the British Guardian (We’re Not Celebrating Israel’s Anniversary) is an exemplar of hypocrisy. More sadly, it results from a severe inability to live a complex life, with various streams, trends, and moments.Israel is not celebrating the occupation per se. It is not celebrating the Naqbah, either. That it does not commemorate the Naqbah is perhaps an issue to be addressed. However, the celebrations mark an amazing achievement, a significant point in Jewish history and history of humanity. The celebrations also mark achievements of Israel as a state, achievements which are unsurpassed and perhaps even unmatched by any state that was established around the same point as Israel.Marking these achievements does not mean ignoring its problems, nor does it mean accepting the situation or the occupation as they are. All it means is setting them aside for a brief moment, defined and limited, in order to celebrate.Human suffering is as long as humanity. There...
More About: Hypocrisy

Why Peace Cannot Be Imposed
2008-04-17 05:51:00
Sylvain Cypel, senior editor in the French “Le Monde”, came today to Princeton to speak on Israel and its relation to the Palestinians. He opened his talk describing a conversation he had once with minister Tzipi Livni, shortly before she was appointed foreign minister. He asked her about her relation to time and space, and she replied that when she came to the recognition that time is not acting in favor of Israel, that was when she decided she was willing to compromise in regard to space. Cypel stated he believed her then, and believes the sincerity of her intentions today. He added that he believes that premier Olmert, too, is sincere in viewing a final agreement with the Palestinians a strategic goal.This thesis seems appealing, though as the talk continued I found it hard to follow any consistency in it. Only at the end did Cypel state a coherent argument that also set the tone for the discussion that followed in the Q&A. This argument was that Israel will not willfully...
More About: Peace

A break
2008-03-09 22:14:00
Slightly worn out from the attempt to convey my thoughts on Israel in English, finding translations for terms I use regularly without thinking twice about them, and finding links in English for things I originally read in Hebrew – I am taking a break. I am also going back to writing in my Hebrew blog. I think there’s enough in the archive to point out what I think generally. Of course I might go back to English whenever I feel like it.Right now, I prefer to concentrate my translation attempts on my academic work, where it’s badly needed.
More About: Break

Holy Moses
2008-03-04 06:46:00
I should probably not use this blog for anything close to an academic dispute. Why? Because this blog by nature is a listing of my musings and impressions, mostly unedited and poorly researched. And deliberately so. I do not have the time to do a proper historical research on the history of the Israeli-Arab conflict, and yet, like many others, I have my crystallized opinions which I share here.If I have an academic dispute, I should first of all regret it, as I am a very poor combater, and second, I should respond to it in an academic fashion in a different platform - say, one restricted for subscribers… :-)I'm allowing myself a concession this time not because I'm aggravated, but because I'm responding to a report in Haaretz, not to the academic work which is being reported, and because the thing I'm concerned with is the methodology rather than the specific study (which, to reiterate, I haven't read).Haaretz reports (Hebrew Link) of a cognitive psychologist who contends th...
More About: Moses , Holy

Why doesn't anybody tell me anything around here?
2008-03-01 03:05:00
Apparently, King Abdullah II, the King of Jordan, was in Princeton today (unstable link?), giving a public lecture. I only heard of it after the fact. I don't know if this is due to the enmity between Humanities and Social Science lists, or to the enmity between Pro-Jewish/Israeli lists and Pro-Arab/Palestinian lists. I know on which side I am, and which lists I belong to, but I would be happy to have heard attended this event.I doubt that it would have helped clarify things for me (concerning the Jordanian Mystique), but what's the use of going to Grad School at Princeton if you're not going to attend public events with world leaders ? (or any celebrity for that matter – I missed a talk with Meryl Streep last year…).

Janusz Korczak, (Holocaust Martyr and) Children's author
2008-02-25 01:54:00
Haaretz weekend's magazine ran a short report on a bar in Tel Aviv that listed one of its waitresses as Janusz Korczak (Hebrew Link). When the check arrived, the reporter was shocked to see the name of the waitress listed as the author, pedagogue, and pediatrician who was murdered in the Holocaust .When trying to find out the reason, the reporter was told that all the waiters have nicknames in the till, and that Janusz Korczak stands for a waitress named Yanna.A word of explanation: "ush" is a common suffix of endearment in Israel. Yanna turning into Yannush is not uncommon. The pronunciation of Korczak's first name is indeed "Yannush" (the spelling is Polish). So having a waitress called Yanna transform to Yannush and from there to Korczak is not as far-fetched as it seemed at the beginning of the report.But despite this valid explanation, the reporter wrote the item for the magazine, castigating the bar, supposedly for making a mockery of the Holocaust. I think he is in the wrong...
More About: Author , Martyr

Yehoshua Interview
2008-02-24 06:00:00
A.B. Yehoshua, one of Israel’s most prominent authors gave an interview (Hebrew link) last week to Haaretz, addressing issues of Jewish identity, the shape and fate of the Jewish state, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.He voiced a strong opposition to the idea of a bi-national state. His arguments for the significance of two separate national identities are definitely sound. He notes that Palestinians are a nationality that belongs to a larger ethnic group, the Arabs, while the Israelis also belong to a larger ethnic group, the Jews. This is a strong and interesting argument, but before examining it further, it should be noted that this argument does not fit within Yehoshua’s own framework of thought, as it is presented in this interview.First of all, he does not conceive the Jews as an ethnic group, but as a religious people. He argues that he cares only for the ethnic aspect, with no connection to religion, but his examples all return to Judaism as a religion. He stresses ...
More About: Interview

One Trick Channel
2008-02-23 11:21:00
I'll confess that I'm somewhat apprehensive of writing my responses to things I read or watch in Israeli media. I would like to think of this blog as reflecting my original thoughts and not only a platform of talk-backs I haven't written. But even when I do react to specific media items, my assumption is that then also I reflect general values and lines of thought I have, and my target of criticism is merely an example of something larger that is bothering me.Channel 10's main Friday night news edition aired a disgraceful item this weekend, perhaps the worst I have ever seen. I have a link for it, but I don't know how long it will stay there, and besides, it's only in Hebrew: http://news.nana10.co.il/Article/?Article ID=539273&TypeID=1&sid=126The item was a prank the channel played on Israeli members of parliament. They contacted various MKs and offered them to join a seminar in the US on a fictitious Native-American tribe and prepare a 15-20 mins speech / lecture that ...
More About: Trick

English is the New Aramaic
2008-02-23 06:23:00
Another example of the devastating effects the Jewish State has on the Ultra-Orthodox community (another, that is, in relation to a previous post) was published this weekend in Haaretz, regarding the opposition to studying English in Ultra-Orthodox communities. According to Tamar Rotem's report, the has been a rise in demand for English lessons, for practical reasons, but these are mostly done in secret, as this is a source of shame in the Ultra-Orthodox society. The report is informative and illustrative (I couldn't find an English version to link to), but I was missing some arguments that are very obvious to me, and it's sad to see that even the supporters of English from within the community did not voice them:- How can ultra-orthodox Jews allow themselves to say that learning English is a waste of time as it comes on account of studying Torah? How do they account to themselves the fact that thousands of Ultra-Orthodox Jews grow up in English speaking countries, learn English,...

Judeo-Christian (3): Judeo-Christian, but with a Capital C
2008-02-23 05:43:00
Just as I'm thinking about the term "Judeo-Christian " and trying to understand why it bugs me, I hear the news that the Pope overturned Vatican II, and Catholics will once more pray for the salvation of the Jews.My first response is, of course, "Gee, thanks. You really shouldn't have. That's so thoughtful of you."On a more serious note, this is more telling of the fate and the future of any effort for interfaith dialogue. If someone believes that Jesus is the son of God, and that Jesus is God, there is no way he can accept Judaism, Islam or any other religion as fully legitimate practices. And vice versa. If someone believes that Jesus was a false Messiah, the abyss between that someone and a devout Christian is too big. One can respect others' rights for their religious beliefs, but if one is religious, he simply cannot accept the validity of someone else's beliefs. This is because any religion attempts to be the one and only truth.So, next time you hear someone talking about ...
More About: Capital

Judeo-Christian (2): Can One Be Judeo-Christianphile?
2008-02-23 05:10:00
Rumors of John McCain's brother, Joe McCain, having converted to Judaism, led Haaretz's correspondent in the US, Shmuel Rosner, to interview the senator's brother. He found out the rumors were highly exaggerated, as rumors usually are, but that the senator's brother dated once a Jewish girl and is a great Judeophile.Perhaps it is my fault for following the US elections campaign (not only, but also) through Israeli media. Perhaps such nonsense would not have made it to a headline in the US. I don't know.To me, being a Judeophile is just as offensive as being an Antisemite. If someone has an idea of what Jews are as a group, it is racism. Whether he thinks good things or bad things about that group is beside the point. If someone learns that I'm a Jew and decides to treat me favorably because of that, judging me based on my ethnic identity, I have a problem with that. Accepting that favorable judgment, as Rosner's article seems to apply, is asserting the validity of antisemitic...
More About: Christian

Judeo-Christian (1): Who Needs Judeo-Christian Values?
2008-02-23 04:21:00
I've been concerned by the term "Judeo-Christian " for some time now. It seems to oddly hyphen and unite two terms that are not only very distinct, but have a long history of being polarized. Furthermore, both Christianity and Judaism have developed a sense of their identity based on the contrast between them. Not solely, of course. Christianity also defined itself as opposed to paganism and based on philosophical and theological differences with it. Judaism begins its definition as such following the encounter with Hellenism. But still, after the Roman Empire becomes Christian, and with the Muslim conquest stopping at Spain, Europe goes into a long period in which one is either Jewish or Christian – the exact opposite from what "Judeo-Christian" seems to imply.I'm not saying that the term is historically incorrect. Christianity evolved from Judaism. Jesus was a Jew. In order to avoid offering sacrifices to the emperor, new converts to Christianity sometimes preferred remaining r...
More About: Values

Hoenlein on Obama
2008-02-13 05:16:00
Malcolm Hoenlein, the head of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, attacked Barack Obama 's campaign of change, stating that: "All the talk about change, but without defining what that change should be, is an opening for all kind of mischief" (See Haaretz report, as well as the inevitable denial that followed).Here is my assumption: if Hoenlein had not said anything negative or apprehensive of Obama, this would not have been published. Furthermore, if Hoenlein had been completely misrepresented the denial would be clearer on what issues were misrepresented and what was misquoted, other than this general disclaimer. Therefore, until further clarifications come in to light, the assumption is going to be that the report is, overall, correct.Here are my problems with Hoenlein's remarks:1. Above all, Jewish leaders are doing themselves a great disservice by placing Israel as a prominent issue in a presidential campaign. Jewish Americans are first of all A...

"Mr. Olmert, Tear Down This Wall!"
2008-02-11 16:16:00
The terrorist attack in Dimona last week raised once more the discussion of the wall and its necessity along (mutatis mutandi) the Green Line. At first, it was claimed that the terrorist infiltrated Israel following the fall of the wall in Gaza strip. This was quite implausible, considering that the wall that was bombed was between Gaza and Egypt. Even if terrorists had used it to cross to the Egyptian side, they would still have to cross to cross back to Israel, and to make their way from the Israeli-Egyptian border to Dimona. Soon enough, it was found that the terrorists came for the Hebron region, a much more plausible scenario.Shortly after it was found that they came from Hebron, and voices were raised concerning the incompletion of the wall in that area. This was sheer absurdity. The newspapers are going to accept any theory, as long as they can attach to it a lesson concerning the necessity of the wall. So they tried tying it to the break in the wall in Egypt, and since that ...
More About: Tear , Wall , Olmert

A Comment on Ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel
2008-02-11 04:35:00
Another horrifying report of the distorted lives of ultra-orthodox communities in Israel was published this weekend in Haaretz (I couldn't find a link in English, and one wonders whether it was translated). Allegedly, an undercover committee was acting in the ultra-orthodox town of Beitar 'Illit, determining eligibility of families to buy apartments in the town based on their background, their degree of religiosity, and their ethnic affiliation. In fact, calling this committee "secretive" seems to be a misnomer, since according to the report all real-estate ads had no phone numbers on them, the only number given was one that led directly to this committee.That humans have within them a fear of otherness, that develops quite easily into racism and other forms of discrimination is not surprising. It is undeniable. That a democratic state will allow such a status to continue is despicable.One wonders what would be a better punishment: to impose pluralist ideas on an ultra-orthodox co...
More About: Ultra , Jews , Comment

Barak=Peres? No, Ayalon : Barak ~ Peres : Rabin
2008-02-10 00:45:00
In his column this weekend in Haaretz (Hebrew), Yossi Verter tries to portray the Olmert-Barak axis as equivalent to the partnership between Shamir and Peres in the late 1980s. This is an odd observation to make on the week that Barak breathed new life into Olmert's government. Peres did the exact opposite for Shamir, in what later became known as "the dirty trick", the only time in Israeli history that the Knesset brought down a government by a motion of no confidence. By likening Barak to Peres, Verter is supposedly seeking to tarnish Barak, but is actually doing a great service to Peres. Peres would have never gratified a Prime-Minister who brought his political career back on track by showing some loyalty. Not that Barak is blindly and bindingly loyal to Olmert. His choice to stay was a political one, and he did not hide from the start his preference to stay in the government, regardless of the Winograd report.Another interesting feature of mentioning Peres and his quarrels in ...

Two (but actually four) Models of Solution
2008-02-04 16:10:00
My series of posts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is still occupying my thoughts. The main problem I have is with my insolence to offer a solution. This aspect bothers me even more in light of some readings I've done lately. I already mentioned somewhere the Israeli Initiative of Benny Elon, which I hear is being launched as a widespread campaign. More or less around the same time that I read Elon's initiative, I also came across Uri Avneri's blog.I was surprised to find that he strongly opposes the idea of a bi-national state. His arguments are twofold: first of all, he recognizes the two nationalist movements (Zionism and the Palestinians) as established facts. These national aspirations should find an expression in real life. Second of all, considering the irreconcilable socio-economic differences between Israelis and Palestinians, making them into citizens of the same country would cause a disaster, with the Palestinians simply becoming the Proletariat of the new bi-nati...
More About: Models , Solution

Britain's Denial
2008-02-03 02:07:00
A fascinating feature (Hebrew) in Haaretz tells of the British and French struggle over primacy and control in the MiddleEast towards the end of the Second World War. As part of this struggle, and in order to gain control in Syria, the British promised the Syrians to institute a state of "Greater Syria" that will also include the area of Palestine. This was labeled by the author, Meir Zamir (a professor of Near Eastern Studies at Ben Gurion university), as Britain's treachery. The information he provides is vast in detail and quite intricate. I found it hard to follow all the details at times. However, this feature article, which I suppose is part of an even more elaborate and comprehensive study, is significant in contributing further evidence for understanding British politics in the Middle East and sources of the Israel-Arab conflict.That the British government did not want a Jewish state (led by educated Europeans) to interrupt with its imperial efforts in the Middle East, so ...
More About: Denial

Oslo, Disengagement, Annapolis - who is against whom?
2008-02-01 14:30:00
Unfortunately, I don't have time to read the Winograd report at full right now, and don't know when I will. When I read the major testimonies at the committee, rather than relying on reports from them, I learned a great deal, and I'm sure I would find a lot of interesting points overlooked by the media had I read this. From a brief run through the report it seems to be very comprehensive, detailing the facts in a clear and thorough manner. A passage I read seemed to show that Defense Minister Amir Peretz was the one pushing for the last campaign, and the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was more hesitant about it. This surprised me and shows that there are still many things concerning the 2006 war that are not clear or known.The ensuing political affects have nothing to do with the report. Those who don't want a change in power say that the report is not so severe, those who do want change in power say it is too severe for Olmert to continue acting as Prime Minister. These intentions ...
More About: Oslo , Annapolis

The Palestinian Perspective of the 2006 War
2008-01-30 17:09:00
In the previous post, I discussed the motivations and interests of Hizbullah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in the Israel-Lebanon War of summer 2006. In addition to the Lebanon-Syria axis discussed in that post, the war can and should also be perceived from a Palestinian context.Both instances of an abduction of Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah occurred when a far-reaching Prime-Minister was incumbent in Israel, willing for radical concessions in the quest for peace in the region.In 2000, the kidnap of the soldiers followed shortly after the failure of the Camp-David peace talks, while Barak was still in power and had not officially ended peace talks with the Palestinians.In 2006 Olmert rose to power, after announcing his realignment plan. This was the first time in Israeli history that a politician is chosen based on his promise to evacuate most of the West Bank Settlements. The Israeli public had reason to believe Olmert, based on his support and promotion of the disengagement plan in...
More About: Perspective

The Missing Witness of the Winograd Committee
2008-01-30 06:02:00
[written a few weeks ago, and not published due to lack of time]: The recent news that Israel missed a chance (Hebrew link) to return the hostages in Lebanon in the first week of the 2006 war, though incomprehensibly distressing for their families, is not surprising.The analysis offered here for the events of summer 2006 showed that the kidnap was not the reason for the war, and that Olmert was not hasty to end it, regardless of its price, until he achieved his goals.I thought this was a good chance to translate (and abridge) a post I wrote last July, entitled “The Missing Witness of the Winograd Committee ”:Shortly after the war, Hassan Nasrallah confessed that had he known the scale of the Israeli response, he would not have kidnapped the soldiers. This statement does not seem to correlate with Hassan Nasrallah’s actions. Following the kidnap, Israel led an air-strike on Lebanon. Following the strike, Hizbullah launched a number of Katyusha missile attacks towards Israel, foc...

Bolton's Complaint
2008-01-28 17:10:00
John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations, made the headlines in Israel when he said in the Herzliya Conference that the last campaign in the 2006 war had no consequence on the UN resolution. This was a blow to Olmert's version, with a particularly bad timing, very close to the publication of the Winograd Committee report. Following soon after President George W. Bush's visit to the region, with Bush's efforts to support Olmert, the political implications of Ambassador Bolton's remark were certainly intentional.Olmert did not confront Bolton at the time, but the letter that was leaked (Hebrew) to the press today definitely pleases him. It would therefore not be surprising if Olmert himself is responsible for this.The letter mentions last minute changes to the resolution, that would not prove beneficial for Israel. Bolton is said to inform the Israeli delegation that Secretary of State Rice herself approved of these changes, and that "only a conversation between Olm...
More About: Complaint

Memo to an Angry Mob
2008-01-28 00:38:00
Here are things anyone should be able to figure out regardless of the findings of the Winograd Committee. These are things that are mostly overlooked in the heat of discussion (and interests) and should therefore be reminded before the final report is published:Experience: The fallacy of blaming Olmert for his lack of experience is quite evident and includes several aspects. First of all, some say that he lacked the experience to conduct a war. This in itself does not mean that he was not right to open the war. Saying that only people with experience in managing a war have the moral prerogative to begin one, is not tenable in a democracy. In the Israeli context, it should be reminded that most of Israel's wars were run by Prime-Ministers who weren't in office during the previous war. The only exception to this is probably Ben-Gurion in 1956.But, others respond, since Olmert knew he was inexperienced he should have appointed someone else to be the Minister of Defense, or he should ...
More About: Angry , Memo

Between Politics and Values
2007-12-16 06:21:00
The semester has almost reached its end, and not surprisingly, not with a bang but a whimper. In this case, it was the whimper of the time-beggars, scavenging for extra minutes to complete overdue tasks, lost by the squandering of time in preceding months. This is not only an exhausted description of my current status, but also an apology accounting for my relatively long absence of this blog.I was teaching this semester, acting as what is known in Princeton as a "preceptor" and "TA" in many other institutions, for a course on Early Christianity. The course ended with a discussion of Constantine and Augustine, regrettably clampered together for lack of time. Several of my students were interested in Constantine's motives. Was he a true believer or did he create an official religion of the empire for political reasons, believing Christianity would help unify its various components?For me, there is no question. If one does not believe in Christianity, how can one possibly believe tha...
More About: Politics , Values , Politic

Teachers: 1, Government: 1
2007-12-15 06:40:00
The strike of the teachers is over, for the time being. Ran Erez tried to show that he gained many victories, and in doing so, he stressed the fact that the teachers will be compensated for all the days lost. I'm not dismissing the importance of this section, with its financial implications, but of course this cannot be presented as an achievement of the strike. The tautology is clear: you don't go on strike in order to win compensation for the salaries lost during the strike.Other than that what was gained? This is not clear. The compensation for the erosion of wages was due even without the strike, and this is the 8.5% hike guaranteed. The additional raise is under condition of a reform. Now both sides have caught their opponent's bull by the horns. Will the teachers give up the extra 17.5% in order to avoid the reform, or will the government keep demanding for a bigger reform to avoid paying the extra 17.5%? Either way, I think the fact that the strike ends with the expected i...
More About: Government , Teachers

More on the National Intelligence Estimate
2007-12-06 17:19:00
Haaretz published today a fine editorial (English version)by Avner Cohen, a specialist on nuclear weapons. This is the most edifying commentary I've read on the mater since news of the intelligence report came out. I wonder whether the Haaretz – NYT syndication agreement works only for one side, because this would definitely be appropriate for the New York Times.Most of all, Dr. Cohen expresses his hesitance to make any comments on a public report that only 3% of it is indeed public. The information that led to the published conclusions is by and large still confidential, and therefore not much can be said about it.He contends that the aim of the report is to cleanse the American intelligence community of the shame of the reports that led to the war on Iraq. According to Cohen, the intelligence reports on Iraq were not that shameful, but they were exploited for political purposes. For this reason, the community now wishes to express a very clear voice concerning Iran.However, the...
More About: National , Intelligence , National Intelligence Estimate , The Nation , The National

Military Intelligence is a Contradiction in Terms
2007-12-05 07:05:00
What is behind the new American intelligence report according to which Iran has not been developing nuclear weapons since 2003?I can think of three main possible options based on the following assumptions and questions: either the report is true or it is false. If it is true, how come this was not known previously? On what were previous forecasts based, and how does previous data fit in with new data? Who may gain from the publication of the new report?I also keep in mind that many of my questions will not be answered in the near future, since much of the relevant information is confidential, and is released with censorship, distortion or intentional disinformation.If the new report is not true, there are two options. Either the Iranians have successfully misled the American intelligence, or the American intelligence has purposefully changed its assessment. If the report is true, one may wonder how long was this known by US officials before releasing it to the press. Consider, for e...
More About: Military , Intelligence , Terms , Contradiction , Military Intelligence

Missing White Girl
2007-12-04 05:03:00
I haven't had a chance yet to write any comments on the strike in the universities, and already news is coming in regarding Iran's nuclear power scheme. I will postpone my response to that by a day or so, because first I still owe myself a follow-up on a news item of Friday night.I recently read a fascinating article on the "missing white girl syndrome".[1] True, my interest in the topic in itself might be part of the syndrome, but there's no other way to face it and its implications other than verbalizing my thoughts on the subject. Sarah Stillman, a PhD candidate at Oxford (though I believe this paper is a result of her undergrad work at Yale), discusses motivations of the media to focus on cases of missing white girls, and practically ignoring other cases which are obviously just as fascinating. The main purpose of the article is to reconstruct and commemorate a woman murdered and forgotten during a widespread coverage of a missing white girl. This, to her, is performative arc...
More About: White , Girl , Missing , Missi

What is the strike about?
2007-12-03 05:36:00
The teachers strike in Israel is entering its 47th day and the end, though inevitable, is not seen. Ran Erez, chair of the teachers' union, definitely made what would seem to be a tactical mistake when not coordinating his struggle with the union of the elementary school teachers' union. The elementary teachers have more power, because their strikes actually bear direct consequences on parents and thousands of work places. However, I am not familiar enough with the settlement that the elementary union reached. Perhaps the benefits weren't as good. When the strike broke out, many said that Erez will not be able to get more than the elementary union settled for, because that would encourage future strikes. Meanwhile, treasury officials have been quoted to say that if Erez does get a better deal, they will compensate the teachers of the elementary union. It is still early to say, but previous mockings of Erez and his misunderstanding of politics (see for example Shtrasler writing in...
More About: Strike