Haim Watzman


The Bright Side of Israel’s Dark Oscar Nominees

By Haim Watzman

The Bright Side of Israel’s Dark Oscar Nominees
When I was an adolescent growing up in America in the early 1970s, I knew of only two Israeli films. There was the soldier movie — that was Yosef Milo’s “He Walked Through the Fields.” And there was the one about Jaffa’s underclass — that was Menachem Golan’s “Kazablan.”Read More

First Sheikh Jarrah, Then Baka?

By Haim Watzman

First Sheikh Jarrah, Then Baka?
Mike Huckabee recently made a virulently anti-Zionist remark — and the Jews who accompanied him on his tour of East Jerusalem cheered.Read More

Gilad Shalit’s Plight, and Israel’s Dilemma

By Haim Watzman

There are many beautiful theories about how to bring Gilad Shalit home, but it’s an ugly fact that he now has been a captive for three years. And it’s an ugly fact that a series of Israeli governments have been unable to free him. Both diplomatic and military means have failed so far. Shalit’s family and friends blame the government for not doing enough, as do many Israelis. Others, including army officers, diplomats and the families of terror victims, argue that not every price is worth paying. Gilad, they say, does not stand alone; his life is not worth more than the lives of others.Read More

Bad War, Good Soldiers

By Haim Watzman

I recently bumped into a mild-mannered, bookish paratrooper I know. He had come home to Jerusalem for a short weekend after spending two weeks in Gaza. I didn’t know what to expect when I asked him what he thought of the war.Read More

Profaning a Holy City

By Haim Watzman

Profaning a Holy City
Hebron this month resembled nothing so much as Jerusalem in the summer of 70 C.E. Then, as now, Jewish extremists battled the duly constituted leadership of the people, taking the law into their own hands and throwing morality to the wind. When Jewish hatred desecrated Jerusalem that fateful summer 1,938 years ago, the Jewish people lost their Temple and were exiled from their capital for centuries.Read More



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