Entries by Dr. Martin Sherman

A Tale of Two Narratives

Since the Zionist narrative has demonstrable validity over the irreconcilable, mutually-exclusive counter-narrative of the Palestinian-Arabs, it is the Zionist narrative that must prevail. At the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies a clash of two narratives. On the one hand the stirring, fact-based Zionist narrative, on the other, the openly conceded fabricated “Palestinian” narrative—which as […]

The Perils of Palestine: A Multi-Dimensional Menace to Israel

Little analytical acumen is needed to grasp that a Palestinian state will comprise a multi-dimensional threat to Israel. Whether one considers height, width, length, or depth, such a state would entail existential dangers for Israel. “It is difficult to imagine any other issue for which the international media have been so successfully exploited—from the point […]

Israel’s Pernicious Paradox: Tactical Brilliance vs Strategic Imbecility

Israel must forgo the forlorn hope of winning Arab amitié and pursue different strategic goals. The most it can hope for is to be grudgingly accepted; the least it must achieve is to be greatly feared. The IDF looks for every possible way to maintain peace even if the very heavy cost is the complete loss […]

No One Will Come

International agreements involving the abdication of strategic assets in exchange for vague ‘assurances’ of future support are not worth the paper they are written on. We have no eternal allies, and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and those interests it is our duty to follow – Lord Palmerston in the […]

The Fatal Flaw in Israeli Strategic Thinking

One of the reasons that the conflict with the Palestinian-Arabs has dragged on for years, is that Israel has failed to conceptualize the conflict correctly. Failed comprehension has brought failed policy. Poll: 23% of Arab Israelis would support Arab invasion in Israel– i24NEWS Headline, May 15, 2022. Paradoxically, perhaps an incident that most vividly illustrates […]

2020 IN RETROSPECT: Not entirely impossible, but extremely implausible

As the Biden administration continues to bring executive incompetence to yet unplumbed depths, any fair-minded person must feel increasingly compelled to question the authenticity of the 2020 poll. “Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.” – Oscar Wilde, “Intentions”, 1891. As the Biden incumbency drags excruciatingly on, one thing is […]

Conflict on the Nile -The implications for Israel

The simmering conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia over the construction of a massive dam on the Blue Nile could have grave ramifications for Israel. …no one can take a drop from Egypt’s water, and if it happens, there will be inconceivable instability in the region. – Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Aljazeera, March 30, 2021. …we […]

Liberman—Clueless Clutz or Cosa Nostra Capo?

There are only two possibilities regarding Finance Minister Liberman’s involvement in what has become known as the “Yisrael Beiteinu affair”; neither bodes well for Israel. Power doesn’t corrupt people; people corrupt power.” – William Gaddis (1922-1998). Much has been aired about the glaring defects of the current Israeli government—about how it rewards deceit, how it […]

You couldn’t make this up!

There may well be things more depraved than an Israeli government minister soliciting funds for a self-declared mortal foe, but none come readily to mind “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.” —Anonymous ancient dictum—misattributed to Euripides. Israel is a country of many paradoxes and colliding opposites—many of which make it […]

Arab Violence – Root Causes and Red Herrings

If difficult socioeconomic conditions in the ultra-Orthodox community have not produced the rampant crime that afflicts Arab society, why should this be assumed to be the case among Israeli Arabs? The homicide rate in Israel generally is low by international standards, but what has emerged in Israel’s Arab streets is an alternate universe of lawlessness, […]

Tyrants, Tax-Havens and Territory

Israel must prepare for a daunting situation, in which, along its eastern frontier, it could face a huge expanse of hostile territory, controlled by radical Islamist warlords, stretching from the fringes of Greater Tel Aviv to the border of Iraq — and beyond.  “…the only certainty is that there is nothing certain”.–Gaius Plinius Secundus (“Pliny the […]

Lapid On Gaza – Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Lapid’s recent Gaza policy proposal is just one more display in an appalling catalogue of his imbecility-cum-ignorance, which, in light of his electoral success, is—in itself—a grave indictment of the Israeli voter Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe—attributed to Albert Einstein. I used to have […]