If Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his cronies wanted to undermine America’s democratic faith, they couldn’t have found a better plan than to get themselves arrested and force us to figure out what to do with them. Where to put these guys is one of those questions, like the ancient riddle of the Sphinx, that has no answer and exists only to drive us mad. And it will if we let it.Read More
Life, John Lennon wisely observed, is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. For the latest evidence of that truth, consider the current moment in Middle East diplomacy.Read More
Waves of shock and alarm have been rolling through Israel in the wake of the November 1 arraignment of a West Bank settler, Florida-born Yaacov “Jack” Teitel, on murder, assault and weapons charges stretching back over 12 years. Police and other officials call it the latest case of the elusive malady known as Jewish terrorism.Read More
The first national conference of J Street, the self-described “pro-Israel, pro-peace” lobby, convened October 25 in Washington, D.C., with all the understated reserve of a new iPhone launch or the christening of the Queen Mary. Gathered in a swank hotel a short walk from the White House, some 1,500 activists from across the country sat through hours of speeches by big-shot politicians and diplomats, earnestly debated tactics and philosophy, handed out awards over chicken dinners and jabbered excitedly in the corridors. Outwardly it looked like any other major Jewish organization rallying its troops and flexing its muscles.Read More
Fans of Israeli espionage melodrama are having a hard time digesting the latest episode, the October 19 arrest of scientist Stewart David Nozette on charges of trying to spy for Israel. From what’s known so far, the case seems to defy traditional understandings of Israel as either victim or menace.Read More