Epstein Secrets

igence and a sardonic sense of humor. Both had tested the patience of our teachers to breaking point. Ido had been sent off to a vocational school in Netanya. Moshe was moved to Mikveh Israel, a school which focused mostly on agriculture. On Friday evenings and Saturdays in the kibbutz, however, they fille

e, Bibi Netanyahu. Much of what I say in this book about war and peace, security and Israel’s future challenges, will make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minis

ures and chart a way forward. So what is that way? It begins with the mindset. On more than one occasion in the past few years, after Prime Minister Netanyahu had warned our country of a nuclear Iran or the spread of Al Qaeda-style hatred and violence, as if prophesying the coming of Armageddon, I would say

g prayer — at the Friday-night meal in the dining hall. I have always cherished being able to play. Sitting down at the piano and immersing myself in Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Schubert or Mozart never ceases to bring me a sense of calm, freedom and, especially nowadays, when I have finally worked to master a par

ow on his childhood. Every Saturday morning, we would listen to a classical music concert on my parents’ radio. One day, as the beautiful melodies of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto in D came through the radio, I was struck by the almost trancelike look that came over my father’s face. He seemed to be in another

igence and a sardonic sense of humor. Both had tested the patience of our teachers to breaking point. Ido had been sent off to a vocational school in Netanya. Moshe was moved to Mikveh Israel, a school which focused mostly on agriculture. On Friday evenings and Saturdays in the kibbutz, however, they fille

e, Bibi Netanyahu. Much of what I say in this book about war and peace, security and Israel’s future challenges, will make uncomfortable reading for Bibi. But very little of it will surprise him, or his own Likud rivals further to the right, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and the Economy Minis

ures and chart a way forward. So what is that way? It begins with the mindset. On more than one occasion in the past few years, after Prime Minister Netanyahu had warned our country of a nuclear Iran or the spread of Al Qaeda-style hatred and violence, as if prophesying the coming of Armageddon, I would say

g prayer — at the Friday-night meal in the dining hall. I have always cherished being able to play. Sitting down at the piano and immersing myself in Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Schubert or Mozart never ceases to bring me a sense of calm, freedom and, especially nowadays, when I have finally worked to master a par

ow on his childhood. Every Saturday morning, we would listen to a classical music concert on my parents’ radio. One day, as the beautiful melodies of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto in D came through the radio, I was struck by the almost trancelike look that came over my father’s face. He seemed to be in another

since Biblical times, when they lived as minorities in the lands of Egypt and Persia.'° After much discussion and arm twisting, I finally persuaded Netanyahu that if I accepted the position, it might be good for me, but it would not be good for American Jews or for Israel. So I declined, after promising th

: 191694 Israel Philharmonic 362 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017449 4.2.12 WC: 191694 Nevins 363 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_017450 4.2.12 WC: 191694 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Among the public figures I have counseled is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I had met Bibi when he was a student in Cambridge in the ea

.12 WC: 191694 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Among the public figures I have counseled is Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I had met Bibi when he was a student in Cambridge in the early 1970’s. We got to know each other when he served in New York as Israel’s representative to the United

that time and it was illegal to smuggle out tapes. But he had managed to get his hand on a primitive cassette recorder and he brought me a copy of a Tchaikovsky tape that was being sold in the Soviet Union. In order to prevent re-recording over the tape, certain changes had been made in the cassette. My Sovie

the measures necessary to preserve it. A cult of toughness developed among Israel's political elite, which has taken full flower in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partners. But Peres remained outside the tough-guy circle. He spoke openly, perpetually, about his yearning for peace. Peres's g

cal wedding, never quite achieving the status of some of his contemporaries. But he outlasted them all, and as Americans began to wonder during the Netanyahu years whether Israel was really committed to a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem, Peres was a reassuring affirmation. The optimistic s

you feel as if you are all- powerful and complete." This is reminiscent of what creative geniuses throughout history have said. For instance, here's Tchaikovsky, the composer, writing in the mid-19th century: It would be vain to try to put into words that immeasurable sense of bliss which comes over me dir