Category Archives: Unholy War

Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness: hard men make a deal Yes, yes, I know, Northern Ireland and the Middle East are entirely different situation, and things that worked in one place are not going to necessarily work in the other. … Continue reading →

If you think it strange that Ehud Olmert is still prime minister of Israel even after it’s official inquiry into the war found him to be an incompetent shlemiel, that may simply be a sign of the leadership crisis in … Continue reading →

The U.S.S. Nimitz is in the Persian Gulf So, Condi Rice failed to “bump into” her Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki, in Egypt last week, meaning that despite the junior-high flirtation tactics employed by the Administration, there were no direct talks … Continue reading →

Continuing my series on the 50 “rabbis” (teachers) who most influenced my understanding of being Jewish in the world, I offer up three more to coincide with Israel’s Independence Day . 9. Avraham Burg Former Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg was … Continue reading →

Listen to Lillian Thuram Looking at the political choices facing voters in France, today, I’m glad I’m not French — although I guess I would be if the Catholic Church hadn’t driven France’s Jews out in the 14th century, starting … Continue reading →

By way of further preview to my personal “50 Most Influential Rabbis” (i.e. people who taught me something about being Jewish in the world), following Sunday’s salute to Primo Levi, it is timely to introduce Amira Hass, if only because … Continue reading →

I’ve been slowly at work, for weeks now, on a project spawned by Newsweek’s decision idiotic to publicize a rather silly list of America’s 50 most influential rabbis according to a couple of corporate executive types. (Sorry, Gary, but it’s … Continue reading →

The Iran-Britain standoff looks to be over with Iran’s announcement that it will send the 15 captive Britons home. And it’s not surprising that Tehran is claiming victory: It has used the incident to sound a warning to the U.S. … Continue reading →

Not now, Condi, we’re busy I’ve marveled for some time now at the abundance of unmistakable evidence to the contrary, so much of the mainstream media in the U.S. appears to feel dutybound to parrot Condi Rice’s giddy fantasies about … Continue reading →

Update: I wrote the following in a piece earlier today on TIME.com: But the outcome of the standoff may well depend on the strategic calculations of the Iranian leadership. Seizing the British troops a day before the U.N. Security Council … Continue reading →