Before the 1967 lines retire, too

The death of Israeli democracy and the advent of the Israeli Theocracy

Thank you Akiva for being a voice of reason and good character - representing the sanity within our society. We hope you will continue to write and express your views even though your illustrious era with Haaretz has come to an end. Behatzlacha.

If you want to keep Judea & Samaria, what do you propose we do with the millions of Palestinians living there? You never seem to have an answer. The best option is to remove ourselves from the position of ruling over the lives of the Palestinians. This can be done through either negotiating a two-state solution, or disengaging from the West Bank in way that ensures our security but gets us out of the Palestinians' hair. Barring this, the only enlightened option is to annex the territories and its Palestinian population, granting them full citizenship rights in the State of Israel. This would mean in the next election, we would have a Knesset that is half Arab, or more. Who knows, maybe even a joint Jewish- Arab party would win the majority, and the next Israeli government will be led by a Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Defense Minister who are Jews and Arabs alike. Then this Knesset will annul the Law of Return, remove the Star of David from the flag, rewrite the national anthem. Or, we could annex the territories but not the people, keeping millions of Palestinians disenfranchised and we will have a de jure apartheid state. This will lead to our political and diplomatic and economic isolation. Or we could annex the territories and expel the Palestinians, an entirely immoral option that would lead to our complete diplomatic isolation and eventual implosion as the state would collapse upon itself. What I see in the pro-settler position are the seeds of self-destruction, not unlike the Zealots of old who brought upon Judea and Jerusalem utter ruin when their God-intoxicated madness forced an unnecessary and self-destructive rebellion against Rome, which led to the great Exile that we have finally ended. Your actions will lead to the next great Exile, only this one will be forever. That is the true chronic blindness, dear Yuval Zaliouk. Fools! Forgive them, dear God, for they know not what they are doing.

Some day you will be a Palestinian citizen instead of an Israeli citizen as your state is unsustainable and will come to past....

Well not only have you made such invaluable contributions to Haaretz, the peace movements and the Jewish-community-at-large, but you've really demonstrated the voice of a compassionate and a courageous Israeli. Your columns expressed the mindset of Israelis who understood that coexistence meant respecting and working together towards achieiving peace with neighbouring Palestinians and Arabs. Hopefully you'll continue to do so and surprise us with more encouraging news. B'hazlacha, and we'll all continue your efforts here on Haaretz. Very much appreciated your years of wisdom Mr. Eldar. From Smadar (Chutz L'Aretz)

Thank you for your humanity and giving witness. You'll be missed.

The good ones are leaving. What remains are abject comments are some posted here. After 35 years dedicated to promote peace and understand, it is sad to see Eldar's departure. But even sadder is to read comments like the previous ones. People like this are not the decent Israelis Eldar referred too. They are people there are offering nothing to the future other than hate and wars. Eldar will be missed. A great Israeli. A menschen, in the best Jewish tradition. Thank you.

It makes total sense to me that the Jews would deprive Arabs of land since that is what Arabs tried to do to Jews in Ottoman Palestine. Despite the premise that the Arabs were their first, that's not legally the principal that drove early Zionists who legally purchased the land from under Arabs Ottoman law. Then the Arabs tried to kick them off the land, so now the Jews having the upper hand are doing the same to the Arabs. It's just human nature. Had the Arabs had a vision on what to do with the Jews rather than throwing them all into the sea, their would have been a lot more "understanding." Instead, the Arabs keep trying to throw the Jews out of everywhere, first Palestine, then Israel, then the Arab states, and now out of the West Bank. So who really possesses the legal premise on which to win his case?

I was saddened - not for the first time - by the crassly ignorant comments made on both sides:Samsoul who must think that the Jewish people had a fun time in the Diaspora, and that Israelis have never experienced the grief of seeing loved ones bombed to hell; and Leon, who cannot distinguish between those who can love Israel and criticise some of its actions, and those who are genuinely anti-Israel.

Mr Akiva Eldar, please continue the enlightenment process .Peace only will come when the Israelis know the truth or it is pushed upon them for conscientious action . From a Palestinian who is struggling with the constant indigestion of injustice ,I thank you.

Dear Mr. Eldar, You will be sorely missed also by the many readers outside Israel who count on the Jewish voices of reason and decency to prevail. We strongly hope you will continue to make your convincing voice heard in different ways from now on.

When I read this morning that Akiva Eldar has retired I started crying. I am devastated that I won't be able to read anymore of his articles - in my opinion he is one of the BEST journalists in Israel - brilliant insight and analysis of Israel's situation, a decent and sensitive human being- he will be sorely missed. I wish him the best of luck in the future and BEG him - Please continue to write...

Enjoy the next part of you life. Hope to read you in another active context.

B4: you want that WE go back to what year to save Jews with whome? A)1966 the year Dodo and Ana Clara died: they died poor and in black B)1968 the year Clive Berg was born2die2black+alread@Y in black@! C)1968 the year I was born and their only grandson Jew on both sides D)1969 the year Joan was born2their only grandma impoSSibly a Jew E)ABCD A year: anyway I AM THE ONLY REAL ONE JEW to choose.

this is the same re-written articel over and over and over again.

Read this Guy Bechor article and understand why Akiva Eldar is a blind commentator who cannot read the political map of the Middle East: http://www.gplanet.co.il/prodetailsamewin.asp?pro_id=1880 I for one am happy to see him go.

The two state solution will become feasable (and desirable) once the Palestinian side adopts reasonable negotiating positions (ie, not "right of return" and refusal to negotiate, combined with rockets and hatred campaign, like now). Akiva's contribution can be summarized as having contributed to the hatred campaign. And I am sure that, like Yossi Sarid and many others who have "retired", he will keep on haranguing us and fueling the anti-israel campaign for many more years.

I'm sorry to hear this is your last column. You have always offered a powerful argument for peace and justice and your voice has been consistently valuable in keeping the injustices of the occupation and the need for a just solution in the public mind. I hope this won't be the last we hear from you.

Mr. Eldar, thank you for all you have done. Your courageous writing will be missed.

I'm sure that your work has helped people stay focussed and informed . Many Europeans see Israelis as soldier and violent settlers, and thanks to you (and Haaretz) we were also able to notice a sane part of Israeli society. I wish you a happy and healthy retirement with many visits to Amsterdam and the rest of the world. We sure need to read about your stories. Good luck.