Alexander Maistrovoy

The Praise of Folly

Not only are they ignorant of themselves, they cannot avoid falling into a ditch or stumbling over a rock in the path (perhaps they are bleary-eyed from studying or just absent-minded); yet they claim to know about abstract ideas, universals, separate forms, primary matter, quiddities, and different modes of being--objects so phantasmal I doubt Lynceus himself could make them out." -- Erasmus, In Praise of Folly (Folly, 56)

The Return of "The Horror of History"

While condemning the actions of Russia in Crimea, John Kerry said that the time of Empires is long gone; we live in the "21st century, and not in the 19th century". After speaking with Putin, Angela Merkel said that he lost touch with reality and that he lives “in another dimension”.

Israel – Arabs: Peace as a Reality

Those who talk about peace between the Arabs and Israel don’t know the half of it. In fact, this peace exists – moreover, in recent years it has become significantly stronger

War as a win-win option

“The people crave destruction of Israel!” These were the slogans thousands of people came with to a massive demonstration in Al-Azhar Mosque - the spiritual bastion of "Muslim Brotherhood" in Egypt. However remarkable this event was, it was left unnoticed in the mass media. It was the first mass demonstration against Israel, organized by the "Muslim Brotherhood", with Mohamed Morsi - the president of Egypt, as its representative.

Green Banner of Batu Khan

Following the prayer in the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, during his visit in February 2010, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal admitted that in the Council of Muftis of Russia it felt like home. While it probably pleased the Russian leaders, in reality these words should have alerted them.

David’s Sling; Is It Broken?

Henry Kissinger’s recent statement, that in 10 years Israel will cease to exist, borders on senile. Although one of his staff members denied it, Cindy Adams from the New York Post insisted: “Reported to me, Henry Kissinger has stated - and I quote the statement word for word: 'In 10 years, there will be no more Israel'”.

Syria does not want Bashar al-Assad. However, does it want ... Hafez al-Assad?

A quarter of a century ago the people of Central Asia and Caucasus also tasted freedom. It was the taste of blood.

The United States of Islam

"A specter is haunting Europe --the specter of Communism." These were the first words of Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto". More than a century later a different specter has appeared on the threshold of the Old World - the Specter of Caliphate.

The Ship of Fools and Admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa

Myth doesn’t need facts. It adjusts the facts to its own paradigm. And ideological mythology is not an exception. Western journalists’ commentaries on Middle East problems, give me a sense of deja vu ́. It feels as though they have undergone the censorship of the Soviet Political Bureau or rather were written by the editor of Soviet "Pravda", and then distributed with slight modifications, when actually these were written in The Washington Post, La Repubblica, Israeli Haaretz and other trustworthy editions.

Palestinians want their own state and vote with their feet

"In a war of ideas, it is people who get killed". (Stanisław Jerzy Lec) History knows many proofs of the famous proverb: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions". High-minded dreams of some result in sweat, tears and the blood of others.

Whose “friendship” is more dangerous?

"Another Tack: Kremlin or Canossa?" is the name of Sarah Honig's article in Jerusalem Post about Binyamin Netanyahu’s visit to Moscow. I agree with Sarah on everything, almost on everything, to be more precise.

Writing that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

In the middle of the 15th century, the waters of the Lausanne lakes were flooded with bloodsuckers that afflicted the population of the city. To stop this misfortune, rich citizens asked for assistance from famous Heidelberg ecclesiastics. A criminal case was initiated against the contemptible creatures. Some of them were even brought to court to listen to the judgment. They were demanded to leave the lakes within three days. Ecclesiastics performed spells and rituals after which the bloodsuckers, as the annals claim, shamefully retired.

One country and three civilizations

Clinton is right: "Russians" in Israel don't really want peace, that kind of peace which Bill Clinton imposed on Serbs in Kosovo

“Samson Option”: choice in absence of choice?

"When people speak about human rights, everyone has in mind his own ones", a German scientist and publicist Wilhelm Schwebel wrote. His words perfectly reflect the issue of "breaking" the Gaza blockade. These actions are as related to human rights as Josef Stalin's "fight for peace".

Iran: Nuclear “Blitzkrieg”

The question is not whether Iran will get a nuclear weapon; it is about where and against whom it will use it Is the civilized community ready to reconcile with the Iranian nuclear bomb? There is only one answer to the question: it is, because it has no other options.

Jews in Holy Land? What Jews?

The Israeli government announced that it would include the Cave of the Patriarchs (Me'arat HaMachpelah) in Hebron and Rachel’s Tomb in Bethlehem as part of a comprehensive plan to preserve Israel’s national heritage and religious sites ("Moreshet"). The reaction of the Arab (and all Islamic) world to the decision has once again showed the real essence of the “Arab-Israeli conflict”, which actually is the holy war that Arabs had proclaimed against the Jews.

Want to crush your enemies? Wish their leaders … Nobel Prizes

I do not envy the country, whose leader becomes a Nobel Laureate. The majority of such leaders brought their peoples nothing, but misfortunes, failures, defeats and humiliations.

A pinnacle of self-destruction

It is difficult to say the clash of which civilizations Samuel Huntington meant. Those who think he wrote about Islamic civilization on the one part and the West on the other part, make a mistake. There is no such conflict, it is inherently impossible. The events of the latest decades show that the civilizations in question are far from clashing. On the contrary, they co-operate and complement one another.