Famed Israeli author Amos Oz has passed away today, aged 79, after a short battle with cancer. Perhaps the most renowned Israeli author, Oz's work has been translated into 45 languages and won dozens of awards, including the prestigious Goethe Prize and the Israel Prize for Literature. Oz was also an activist, repeatedly advocating in favor of the two-state solution and calling for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
In Trump-era Washington, pro-Israel and Jewish conferences can be divided into roughly three categories: those on the left who gather to lament, centrist groups that do their best to avoid any mention of the president, and groups on the conservative end of the spectrum for which the Trump presidency is nothing short of a dream come true.
"It sends a message that Jerusalem is on the table, and that the Arabs can expect to get parts of the Jewish city of Jerusalem, when in fact it’s almost certain they will not."
"As a political historian, I would say that most trips abroad are filled with great hopes and, while they rarely end up in disappointment, they also rarely end up in tremendous achievements."
When you drive the 45 minutes from Haifa to the Goats with the Wind farm in the lower Galilee, neither the brain nor the underbody of your car has much time to adjust.