Daniella Peled's blog



Waiting for Gilad

By Daniella Peled, March 9, 2009

Gilad Shalit's family have set up a protest tent outside the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem. This is a time-honoured method of Israeli dissent. The spot has been previously occupied by bereaved parents, single mothers, Holocaust survivors and a whole host of others who have felt disenfranchised or ignored by the Israeli leadership.

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Hapless in Jerusalem

By Daniella Peled, March 5, 2009

This morning, a bulldozer went on the rampage in Jerusalem, the third such attack in a year. Luckily, this time no-one was killed or badly injured; the Palestinian driver was shot dead by police. No motive has yet been discovered, no organisation has yet taken responsibility.
But it was pretty traumatic, nonetheless. And it meant that Nir Barkat, the new mayor of Jerusalem, had to deal with the first terror attack on his beat. How did he do?
Well, he arrived on the scene within half an hour (as he should).
And what did he say?

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Freedom for plasticine!

By Daniella Peled, March 4, 2009

Political comment with a sense of humour AND a retro 1980s flavour...

 

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Daily Mail-o-matic

By Daniella Peled, March 3, 2009

I spent two hours yesterday evening helpless with laughter at this website.
Only trouble is, people in glass houses and all that...I dread to think what a JC version might look like...

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Sabra-style celebrity

By Daniella Peled, March 2, 2009

Depressed by the ongoing efforts to boycott Israel as rogue and militaristic nation? Don't be. Proof has arrived this week that cements the Jewish state as one of the family of liberal and progressive Western nations.

Yup, Israel now has its own very Celebrity Big Brother. Gushingly launched last night on Channel Two, the predictable fanfare of grade D slebs included singers, models, the obligatory lesbian/gay - and Maariv's literary critic, who entered the house brandishing a bible.

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While Gilad Shalit suffers...

By Daniella Peled, February 26, 2009

What on earth was this broiges all about?
Gilad Shalit has been sitting in some godforsaken Hamas dungeon since June 2006, enduring a horrific captivity in no doubt inhumane conditions and with no access to the Red Cross.
Meanwhile, in Israel, just when the deal to free him seems to be close, an almighty hissy fit erupts in the political echelons.
Amos Gilad, Israel's envoy in the Shalit negotiations, says something rude about Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's handling of the situation.

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With friends like Lieberman...

By Daniella Peled, February 19, 2009

So Netanyahu has got what he wanted - or has he? Lieberman has endorsed him, guaranteeing Bibi an imminent return to the seat of power he vacated 10 years ago.

Without even trying, Netanyahu can form a bloc of 65 seats, taking in the Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Habayit Hayehudi and National Union parties.

Bibi must be cracking open the Golan Heights Blanc de Blanc fizz - except he isn't.

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Mossad strikes again!

By Daniella Peled, February 17, 2009

The Daily Telegraph reports that Israel is using hitmen to bump off Iranian scientists - part of a strategy to delay Iran's nuclear programme.

One of the victims is thought to be top Iranian scientist Ardeshire Hassanpour, who died mysteriously from "gas poisoning" in 2007. The Israeli plan also reportedly includes the use of double agents and front companies to supply Iran with faulty components and intelligence.

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One Israeli, two opinions - at least

By Daniella Peled, February 16, 2009

That old saying, "two Jews, three opinion" applies equally to Israelis, except more so. In their case, it's more like "one Israeli, two opinions".
Israelis seem to be eternally confused. They consistently support a two-state solution - yet vote in parties with little interest in bringing it about.
They favour a centrist national unity government - but 13 per cent voted for the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu.

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The strategic vote is a losing game

By Daniella Peled, February 11, 2009

Israelis, unlike us repressed Brits, are usually quite happy to discuss their voting plans.

Throughout the day yesterday I got updates from one of my friends who was torn between Meretz, as the best fit in terms of social policy and peace manifesto, and Kadima as the best option to lead a centrist coalition in government. In the end, Meretz won out (but still only managed a tragic four seats).

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Dr Evil, I presume?

By Daniella Peled, February 10, 2009

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Racism or apathy?

By Daniella Peled, February 10, 2009

One occasionally sees the phrase "Death to Arabs" scrawled on walls and bus stops around Israel. It's a common enough graffiti, the catchphrase of the long-outlawed Kach party.

But I recall once seeing the ugly phrase daubed on a wall in Ramat Aviv, a leafy middle-class suburb and the sort of place where everyone votes Meretz, practices yoga and only buys fair-trade produce.

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The path of darkness or the path of light

By Daniella Peled, February 5, 2009

Dr Ezzeldeen Abu al-Aish's bereavement was broadcast live on Israeli TV.

The Palestinian gynecologist, who had worked in Israeli hospitals, called his friend Shlomi Eldar, Channel 10 correspondent, in the middle of a news broadcast on January 16. A shell had just hit the father-of-eight's Gaza home, killing three of his daughters and his niece. He was sobbing, desperate for help for the dying and wounded.

The IDF investigated and yesterday produced their results: it was a mistake.

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No, it's not just Israel

By Daniella Peled, February 3, 2009

So the Chinese premier's three-day visit to London has been disrupted by pro-Tibet rallies, demonstrators, and even a shoe-thrower.

Take note, those who gripe that do-gooders protest against Israeli human rights abuses but not those of China, Sudan, or Zimbabwe.

Seems that, actually, they do.

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A challenge for Bibi

By Daniella Peled, February 2, 2009

With barely a week to go before the Israeli elections, it already seems like a done deal: Binyamin Netanyahu looks set to win.

But Bibi is unlikely to be breaking open the champagne just yet. He may be on the verge of returning to the spot he vacated a decade ago, but he has a hard task ahead when it comes to forming a coalition, even by Israeli standards.

Netanyahu is faced with three main choices when it comes to forming a government, each aimed at suiting a diplomatic, a financial or a political purpose.

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Not glamorous, but good

By Daniella Peled, January 22, 2009

Earlier this week I heard a delicious rumour. The reason that the new US Middle East envoy had not been announced, my friend suggested, was that it was actually going to be Bill Clinton.

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Just what has Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert got against journalists?

By Daniella Peled, January 20, 2009

Haaretz reports that the misguided decision to bar all journalists from Gaza during Operation Cast Lead was down to the edict of the Prime Minister’s Office. The High Court itself ruled against the ban; by last week both the IDF and the Defence Ministry said that journalists could be allowed in. But the PMO stood firm.

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Payers not Players

By Daniella Peled, January 19, 2009

You’ve got to feel sorry for those poor Europeans. They funnel vast sums of money into building the infrastructure of Gaza, only to have it destroyed by the Israelis.

“We don’t want to go on to reconstruct Gaza every I-don't-know-how-many-years,” said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner this week. “This is not what we want. What we would like to see is a clear sustainable peace."”

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When good friends go bad

By Daniella Peled, January 14, 2009

It’s never nice when old friends fall out. But it’s hard to imagine a more high-profile spat than that between the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of the US.

In an exceptionally rare statement, the White House insisted that Ehud Olmert’s account of a 3am phone call to George Bush to persuade Condoleezza Rice to abstain from a UN ceasefire vote as “100 per cent, totally, completely not true”.

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Ceasefire now

By Daniella Peled, January 8, 2009

We need a ceasefire in Gaza now. We need massive amounts of humanitarian aid to be allowed into the Strip. And we have to find a longer-term, more durable way to prevent a repeat of this horrific situation.

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