The Headlines: The Dollar declines, Israeli politics sink even lower > The dollar has sharply declined throughout the world. In Israel, the national bank has been trying to stop this development (which would hurt exports and economic growth) by buying huge amounts of foreign currency. Predictably, it is failing to exclude Israel from the global trend. This is an interesting and important story, but let us put it in perspective: the exchange rate is right now about 5-6% below what it was most of the year, and other currencies (and export markets) are unaffected by this trend. > Defense Minister…

“Right there, beyond those trees, is the Green Line,” our tour guide said, as he pointed to a valley on our right. I was a junior-high student in Haifa, and we were on a field trip on the way to Jerusalem. As our old bus slowly crawled up one of the roads winding through the foothills of Judea, I looked outside the window to where our guide directed us.I was looking exactly where he pointed, and I indeed saw trees - but nothing else. There was no border, no fence. I remember being very puzzled by this. Even back then…

I have a new piece in Foreign Policy, discussing the relations between Jewish and Arab MKs and their perspective on the one state solution. Interviewed are Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin (Likud), Deputy-Speaker Ahmed Tibi (Raam-Taal), and MK Hanin Zoabi (of Balad and of the Gaza flotilla fame).  Naturally, I don't think they're all talking about the same "one state" solution; but if we get to a situation where the main argument is about which kind of a one state is most desirable, this will be after tremendous shift in Israeli and regional politics. For now, the fact they are talking…

Haaretz published my report on the growing support for what seems like a one-state solution in the Israeli Right. “The prospects of the negotiations with Mahmoud Abbas do not look promising. President Obama undoubtedly thinks otherwise, but if Abbas speaks for anyone, it’s barely half the Palestinians. The chances of anything good coming of this are not great. Another possibility is Jordan. If Jordan were ready to absorb both more territories and more people, things would be much easier and more natural. But Jordan does not agree to this. Therefore, I say that we can look at another option: for…