Timothy Snyder wrote an excellent essay about the "new conservatism," in which he compared a more principled traditional form of it (think moderate Republicans of the Old School) to the modern iteration à la Trump. He noted a strange contradiction which has puzzled me as well. The old conservatives were nationalists, rather than internationalists. The new … [Read more...]
When Israel Becomes an Anti-Semitic State
NEWS: Thanks to Shir Hever for interviewing me at Real News Network about my writings on the Israeli medical scandal concerning Yemenite children. I'd be grateful if you'd watch (below) and pass it on to others via social media and e-mail. Thanks as well to Dr. Alice Rothschild, who wrote an excellent post on the same subject, adding her important … [Read more...]
Trump, Netanyahu Distract Public from Failure by Overseas Travel
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every pol facing a scandal or massive decline in popularity needs a change of scenery to revive his prospects. That's why world leaders who either seek to cement their legacies or save their careers from immolation travel to foreign shores. In the latter category, they believe that a change of scenery may lead … [Read more...]
Western Wall: Nexus for Gender and Religious-Nationalist Conflict
This week, Israel's far-right government acceded to its ultra-Orthodox coalition partners and torpedoed a compromise years in the making, which had been intended to offer Israeli women a means of worshipping at the Western Wall in an egalitarian manner. Women of the Wall have long protested the segregation and second-class status of women who choose to pray … [Read more...]