Writer/journalist. Books include Brilliant Orange; Those Feet; Al Dente; Dennis Bergkamp: Stillness & Speed; and Waarschijnlijk onsterfelijk (probably immortal)

Joined June 2009
The only sane political/cultural reaction to this terrifying heat emergency is to realise we really are now on the brink of the abyss - and to move to a kind of "war economy" to haul ourselves back from destruction. Politicians, cultural figures, ordinary people must react
The heatwave scorching western Europe is the most severe and widespread ever and is only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists have said. Almost half of Europe’s 850 largest cities are also enduring their worst ever heat stress, a combination of temperature and humidity, they found. Muggier conditions mean sweating is less effective at cooling the body, making heatwaves even more dangerous. The analysis comes as the UK recorded its hottest ever June temperature on Thursday, 36.7C (98.06F) in Somerset, and much of western Europe recorded a sharp rise in medical emergencies, including some deaths. In summer 2022, more than 60,000 people died due to heat in Europe. The statistical analysis needed to assess the impact of the current heatwave will take time to complete. Nonetheless, the heatwave is certain to exact a heavy toll and is also disrupting lives and livelihoods, with schools closed, hospitals struggling and rail and air journeys cancelled across the continent. The new analysis by scientists from the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium shows how rapidly extreme heat is worsening as carbon pollution continues to pile up in the atmosphere. As recently as 2003, a heatwave like the current one in Europe would have been 2C cooler due to the lower level of global heating at the time. In 1976, another famous heatwave year, it would have been 3.5C cooler.
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Yes, Mr Lapid. And it’s up to you to step up to the plate and turn that defeat into a victory for your camp; by working with your fellow Israeli citizens who voted for Arab-led parties, to form a governing majority. I remember your speech at the UN when you were last PM. It had an inkling of a different future of peace for your country and our region. Find the courage to make it happen
שלא יבלבלו אתכם: גוש נתניהו ספג תבוסה קשה. זו קריסה גמורה והציבור אמר להם לעוף הביתה.
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David Winner retweeted
“The reason Arab voters turned out in such extraordinary numbers was not primarily Gaza or Palestinian statehood- issues that alway dominated the local Arab discourse. It was their rights as citizens of Israel, a deep sense of discrimination by the far-right Netanyahu government”
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David Winner retweeted
30 years after Israelis went to sleep with Shimon Peres and were surprised to wake up beside Benjamin Netanyahu, they went to sleep with Gadi Eisenkot and are likely to find Bibi cuddled up beside them once again. Despite early predictions of an opposition plurality, Netanyahu’s bloc stands at 52 seats to the change bloc’s 49: a lead, but nine seats short of a majority. It appears that seven years after the question was first asked in earnest, Israelis have not changed their answer to “Bibi or no Bibi?” Half instantly answer yes, the other half an emphatic no. Despite October 7, two still-inconclusive wars with Iran and Haredi riots, the man who has stood astride Israeli politics since 2009 has not lost his footing. open.substack.com/pub/amitse…
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💥The latest, updated, exit polls show a dead heat between Israel's two main political blocs at a dead tie, 51 - 51. Netanyahu still has no way to form a government, which requires 61 Knesset seats. We will have to wait for real ballot results. The count has started.
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David Winner retweeted
Eisenkot offers Likud a National Unity Government without Netanyahu. Likud doesn’t have a history of devouring its own. So no go. Eisenkot would have some cover to move toward a minority government. Cruel reality: can’t see ANY outcome not leading to elections within a year.
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David Winner retweeted
Another dramatic update: Netanyahu: 53 Eisenkot: 49 Arab parties: 18
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David Winner retweeted
Deservedly scathing op-ed by the NYT: “If Democrats retake both houses of Congress, and more state governments than they now control, it will tell the world that Mr. Trump does not represent most Americans. It will demonstrate that a country that starts to slide toward autocracy can move back to normalcy, as happened in Hungary this spring. Most important, it will create a desperately needed check on Mr. Trump during his final two years in office. … In a 21-month span, he has done more harm to democracy and the rule of law than any other president in the modern era and perhaps longer than that. He has broken his oath to defend the Constitution by trying to rewrite it on his own. He has refused to honor Congress’s power of the purse and misused national security laws for political ends. He has defied federal court orders on Medicaid funding, deportation orders and more. He has dismantled the Justice Department’s legacy as an impartial enforcer of federal law, turning it into an instrument of retribution against his adversaries while canceling investigations into his allies. He has appointed inept sycophants to oversee crucial government functions, including law enforcement, national defense and public health. He has sought to disenfranchise large numbers of voters, claiming fraud that cannot be found, and championed an extreme new approach to partisan gerrymandering. He has physically besmirched the White House by demolishing the East Wing and financing a garish renovation with donations from wealthy allies.” nytimes.com/2026/10/27/opini…
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David Winner retweeted
🚨 PRAY FOR IRAN'S ATHLETES 🚨 According to Human Rights for Sport, at least six more Iranian athletes are facing EXECUTION for joining the protests against the regime. The group also reports that 217 Iranian athletes were killed by direct gunfire during the January 2026 protests, and another 100 were arrested. These are their faces: Ali Pishevarzadeh, swimming champion Ehsan Hosseinpour, footballer Taraneh Rahimi, equestrian Ehsan Khodadadi, wrestling champion Benyamin Naqdi, kickboxing champion Maryam Hadavand, mountaineer Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, boxer And Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest, was hanged on October 14.😥 They trained their whole lives to make Iran proud. Their only "crime" was standing with their people for freedom. Don't let the world forget their names. Share their faces. Pray for them and their families, and pray for the day Iran is free again under Reza Pahlavi. 🦁☀️ "Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man." Psalm 140:1 It is hard for us here in America to believe that this is actually happening in this world, but it is friends, it is. #FreeIran #IranRevolution
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David Winner retweeted
Eisenkot takes the podium to deliver a speech: “Holding another election would be a mistake. I will do everything to fulfill the will of the people. Netanyahu should retire from political life.”
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David Winner retweeted
Eisenkot to the heads of the security establishment: “Bibi is a prime minister without legitimacy. Stand firm; you have my backing.”
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David Winner retweeted
Celebrations erupt in the Arab town of Hura as Arab parties reach an unprecedented achievement in the elections Follow Haaretz's election updates here: haaretz.com/israel-news/elec…
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מבחינתי אזרחי ישראל שווים ולכן גוש נתניהו הפסיד 70-50. אבל למי שמתעקש להתגזען: גוש נתניהו הפסיד בקרב היהודים 53-50 גוש נתניהו הפסיד בקרב המשרתים 53-37
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David Winner retweeted
Israel has handed Netanyahu a humiliating defeat. But there's only one way the anti-Netanyahu bloc can ensure victory and avert his still-lurking danger: By lifting its Arab boycott | My analysis @haaretzcom haaretz.com/israel-news/haar…
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💥Election victors are @ListJoint & @MnsourAbbas' Raam party & voter turnout monster org ajyal.org.il, that achieved the unthinkable: higher voter turnout in Arab communities than in majority Jewish. 100% of eligible voters voted by 8 PM in city of Majd al Krum.
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גדי אייזנקוט, בשיתוף פעולה הדוק עם בנט, ליברמן ויאיר גולן, חייב לנהוג באסרטיביות מוחלטת, לא לראות בעיניים, בדיוק כפי שנתניהו היה נוהג, להקים ממשלה בכל מחיר. אם זו תהיה ממשלת מיעוט, אז להתחיל בממשלת מיעוט ולפעול להרחבתה בהמשך. להדיח בישיבת הכנסת הראשונה את אמיר אוחנה מתפקיד יו״ר הכנסת, לחוקק חוק הקמת ועדת חקירה ממלכתית לטבח השבעה באוקטובר ובמקביל כאמור להקים ממשלה ולהיפרד מנתניהו כראש ממשלה. בכל מחיר. אסור לו להשתאות. אם גדי אייזנקוט יגמגם הוא יגמור כמו בני גנץ
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David Winner retweeted
In his first remarks after the polls closed, Democrats chairman Yair Golan hinted that Israel's opposition should include the Arab parties in its efforts to form a coalition in order to oust Netanyahu: "Every Knesset member elected in the democratic, legal process is a legitimate part of our political system. If there is a democratic majority to replace the government of destruction - we must actualize it," he said. @Yair_Foldes shorturl.at/jdzW2
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The true ballot results are beginning to come in. It will be a very long night, and we may need to change some of our observations. Channel 13 is now updating its forecast and promises a dramatic shift. It ain’t over till the blonde lady leaves the Prime Minister’s residence.
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David Winner retweeted
The current Bibi-led government has 68 mandates.Tonight they got 50. 70 are against this government. This is a massive repudiation of the current Israeli government by the Israeli public. Israelis, Arab and Jewish, voted for change, with Arabs believing their vote mattered.
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نتیجه خیره کننده «لیست متحد عرب» در انتخابات اسرائیل، حزبی با پیشینه اسلام گرا که این بار یکی از رهبرانش‌ یهودی بود و حمایت بسیاری شهروندان یهودی را هم جلب کرد. این حزب یهودی بودن دولت اسرائیل را به رسمیت می شناسد
Celebrations in the Ra’am campaign after receiving 7 seats in the exit polls. The cheers grew louder upon showing the low results of the right wing parties headed by Ben Gvir and Smotrich.
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