Yossi Melman

Heads of Israel's intelligence apparatus complain that the public campaign to free captive soldier Gilad Shalit has weakened their bargaining position with Hamas.

The IDF's manipulations of the media, which willingly cooperates, may be good for the army, but it's very bad for Israeli democracy.

The IAEA report not only strengthens claims by the American and Israeli intelligence community, it even goes beyond them.

Should Israel accept that its era of nuclear monopoly in the Middle East has ended, and assume a new role as passive witness to a regional arms race?

A champion French swimmer did not manage to repeat her success in Beijing, but French media still embraced her with love. Such is not the case here.

The bitter truth is that all Israeli governments were two-faced, uttering pretentious words like "we will not give in to terrorist extortion" and giving in time after time to terrorist extortion.

Mordechai Vanunu's harassment by the Israel government is unprecedented and represents a distortion of every accepted legal norm.

Drug trafficking is a well-known means used by terror organizations, underground movements, and espionage and governmental agencies.

There is nothing to do but express our outrage at the conduct of the defense establishment, which scorns any expression of independent ideas from outside the system.

As long as things remain quiet and do not appear on the public agenda, the Iranian authorities can come to terms with the situation. When the relationship between Iranian Jews and Iran becomes vociferous and public, they must respond.

The attacks on ElBaradei by ministers and officials do no good to Israel's national interest.

Russia's message to Iran is: You have a right to enrich uranium for civilian needs, but you don't have to do it now. Russia supports you, but you are liable to lose our support if you are too stubborn.

Most of the bike riders in Israel, both those who ride the roads and those who favor terrain, did not need the reminder of the new law that has just come into effect that obliges every bicyclist to wear a helmet.

Since 2000, police say tens of thousands of women have been smuggled into Israel to engage in prostitution. They did not come from Western Europe, but rather from Russia and the CIS.

The toughest sanctions imposed on Iran are those applied by Russia, which for the past five years has refused to supply nuclear fuel for the Bushehr reactor.

The legal authorities, the Israel Defense Forces and the intelligence services must not continue with business as usual after the ruling published last week on the libel suit filed by former Military Intelligence chief Eli Zeira against former Mossad chief Zvi Zamir.

'The fact that he wasn't executed is the mercy that Jonathan Pollard will receive,' said the U.S. ambassador to Israel. In other words, Pollard, his family and the Israeli government, which controlled his espionage, should be thankful for the 'light' sentence he received.

We can only wish for an Israeli Blair, who will know how to rescue the Labor Party so no longer will tears be shed for the loss of social democracy, which focuses on the working man (and woman) and seeks social justice and does not bow before the brutal capitalism hiding just behind the laundered words of free market competition.

In the West, it is hard to understand why the Iranians would need to capture the British sailors and marines, and why they do not quickly release them. After all, with the provocation they generated, they are playing into the hands of the United States.

While Arab states continue to describe a Israel as the source of the threat to regional stability, their decisions to become nuclearized are more influenced by Iran.

Lebanon War II can lead to a political settlement with Lebanon and the renewal of talks with Syria. One can only hope that the government will know how to take advantage of the new opportunity.

Israel's conduct of the war is not due to weakness, but stems from political sagacity based on an understanding of the limits of military power.

A bit more pressure and the cynical gang that sought to reap easy profits and get rich quick at the public's expense will be further broken.