Yoel Marcus

When Netanyahu says sanctions against Iran are not effective, reality shows he is talking nonsense. How is it that he doesn't understand that such scornful talk endangers cooperation with America?

Tom Cruise defeats the bad guys in all his films and remains a big star. Lapid only has one chance. The question is whether in addition to being the country's darling he has what a strong leader needs these days.

Israel is dependent on the U.S. in every sphere. There is reason to fear that the present government will think that in a year when Obama is a lame duck, it can do as it pleases.

There's no question the day will come when the secular community gets tired of the ultra-Orthodox extremists and deals them a devastating blow. At least in New York the Hasidim are loyal to their country.

David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister, had a bureau with only four aides. Bibi's bureau, with its plethora of officials and advisers, looks like the backstage of a concert hall.

Is it possible Israeli security agencies could reach terrorist leaders in Dubai and in Damascus - at least according to foreign sources - but can't reach the Jewish terror leaders in the West Bank?

Although there is criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu's failures on the issues of peace and his frightening plans against Iran, there is no potential replacement in view. He is building himself up as the one and only leader of the people.

Is the reason Barak's fear that, with his poor excuse for a party, he will remain outside the government if the elections are moved up, and - worst of all, as far as he's concerned - he will lose the defense portfolio?

It is hard to believe we are getting close to a situation in which nonreligious people don't even have the right to be caustic.

Israel's situation is more dangerous than ever and the question is what more needs to happen for those same tens of thousands of demonstrators to come out for the struggle for a peace agreement and secure borders.

When Netanyahu is trying to recruit a majority in his forum of eight senior ministers for an attack on nuclear installations in Iran, this is not just a scandal but also a macabre fantasy.

By nursing insults or threatening resignation, Abbas only makes it easier for extremists to scuttle any peace deal.

Bibi did not break. He cut a coupon to strengthen his political and personal status. It's a lot easier for him to release Shalit than to give up on territories for the sake of a peace agreement.

If our brains were working, Israel would have fought the U.S. Congress' proposal to cut back PA funds. We have no interest in a situation whereby the PA does not have money to pay its security services.

Even Bibi's most brilliant speech won't change the bitter fact that he is trying to fool everyone, yet the country he rules is still on the ropes.

Labor was doomed to be a tiny political entity under Amir Peretz, who didn't know that good hair and a mustache are not sufficient for being defense minister.

Bibi is getting on the nerves of the entire world. And that's because of four words: They don't believe him ... Israel is marching to the UN General Assembly weak and hated, under very difficult negotiating conditions.

Slowly but surely there is an increasing sense that terror is returning, accompanied by claims around the world that we didn't take advantage of the time to reach an agreement with the Palestinians.

No security incident will divert the government from its obligation to address the problems of the middle class, as proven by one small sign that stood out among the sea of signs on Rothschild Boulevard: 'September interests my rear end.'

The demonstrators would do well to fold their tents at the height of their success. In other words, now, before the suspense declines and the Palestinian issue overshadows the domestic revolt.

The larger the number of protesters, the clearer it becomes that the goal is not a rebellion, but a cry from the heart in the name of the entire nation.

Netanyahu quickly understood that this is a new type of uprising. It's not a sign of weakness that he's listening to the voice of the people. But what did he do to solve the problem in time?

The public is uneasy because we're not going anywhere; we don't see the light at the end of the tunnel on any issue.

Where are the people - who know how to rise up when it comes to their pockets - when for the first time doubts are being heard around the world about the justice of our very existence as a Jewish state?

Bibi succeeded in obliterating Obama's mistakes on the peace issue because his own were more serious. He created a situation of appearing to be excessively unwilling to stop the settlements.