the definite article 69
an interview with the ambassador, excellent article about the somali community in the US by DJ Volodzko, and, well, a piece on the philosophy of sex
“Obama veterans never understood the Middle East, and they never will.” That’s the sub-title to this peace, and truer words have never been said, unless one is motivated to say that Ben Rhodes is an arrogant ignorant piece of desiccated camel turd 0 but I’d never use language like that, unless I were trying to make money on this site. Which I am not. (But hey, if you feel the urge to send money, I am not above accepting it). The only aspect of absurdity that this take-down misses is that of the NYT to print such trash. But, as Arlo Guthrie noted as he marveled on the amazing popularity of his “Motorcycle Song,” that’s America. Or at least, the the readership of the NYT.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
WSJ interviews Yehiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to the US, in a very hpeful and interesting interview.
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-israeli-case-for-optimism-about-america-778c3f5b?st=Kaycf4
This is a very interesting video essay ably read by Zoe Booth and written by Benny Morris about the historic antecedents of today’s antisemitism.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
An article from Real Clear Politics on the situation of Jews in Britain, which reminds one of the metaphor of how to cook a frog. I’m sure you’re familiar with the story. In a sentence: it’s never too late until it is too late. Rod Dreher reports a conversation with a British friend: I have long believed that the situation for Jews in any country is a bellwether. UK-born Eylon Levy, who no longer lives there, recently went back for a short visit, and is horrified by what he saw. Excerpt:
I heard of a Jewish-owned coffee shop whose suppliers were bombarded with demands to “stop supplying Zionists.” A Jewish doctor who took her name off her office door. A Jewish lawyer whose firm refused to post condolences after the Manchester synagogue attack “because people will be upset we didn’t say anything about Gaza.” A Jewish school telling students to remove their blazers on public transport. A Jewish student too scared to join her own Jewish society. A Jewish teacher hiding her identity because she has no idea what parents are telling their kids at home. A Jewish charity worker who’d rather say he’s unemployed. A young professional told not to mention she was visiting Israel or her leave wouldn’t be approved.
All this from a couple of hours of small talk.
Y’know - the water is uncomfortable hot, but we’ll get used to it.
===============================
Another review of Ken Burn’s series on the American Revolutionary War. I remember reading Yoram Hazony’s book The Jewish State, where he said that a nation is not the territory, not the government but rather an idea. If you lose the idea of what your nation is, why it exists, what it stands for, then you lose the nation. Think of the USSR in the late ’80’s. America needs a diet of crises to remind itself of what it is and why it is. That’s not a good situation. We do need politicians and public figures who can articulate clearly why America exists and what it stands for.
https://www.civitasinstitute.org/research/ken-burns-and-the-egregious-omission
#########################
Are Jews right to worry about JD Vance? Well, I am. There’s a lot to like about him: his humble origins, his own bootstraps success, his Indian wife. Intelligent,, well-spoken, even wields a certain charisma. I supported his take down of European squeamishness about l=living according to Enlightenment values that underlie democratic norms. But as a Jew and Zionist - there is what to be concern about. He did not react strongly against Carlson’s interviews of Fuentes. His support of Israel has been luke-warm. He Christian activism speaks to only one slice of America. I was recently in touch with a fellow who sees himself as a Friend of DJ, and is himself a bit concerned about Vance’s reticence in criticizing Tucker. So there is what to be worried about, I think.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-879715
This is the piece to read this week. David Josef Volodzko continues to be my favorite Substack writer, and this piece is a good reason why. He seems as if he is going to give a blanket pass to the Somali refugee community in America - and especially in Minneapolis - but he writes a piece that is both critical of immigration policy, open-eyes about the societies that some of the immigrants come from, and forth-rightly against racism and inaccurate generalizations. Don’t mis this piece!
Ah, I have friends who would say, y’ know Reuven, you can’t really afford to link to pieces that talk about sex or relationships. Well, ok. Marilyn Simon is kosher because she is really mostly writing about Shakespeare and only incidentally about sex. OK, that’s a lie I tell myself as I read her articles. But I do love her writing.
