Who knew that Hillary Clinton was the great kosherizer?
During a Dec. 8 visit by a delegation from the New York State Assembly to Israel—one of the few places on earth that wasn’t pulling for Barack Obama to win the presidential election—Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was asked what he thought of her nomination as Read More
My dad’s real smart, even if he doesn’t agree with me on my Middle East politics, and a couple weeks ago he said something that stuck. He was saying that Jimmy Carter’s book is a sign of rising anti-Semitism (something I disagree with), a sign we’re entering a new phase for Jewish power in the Read More
A book about Jewishness by the playwright David Mamet, you might expect it to be personal, even confessional. Here’s a statement from page 134: “To me, real life consists in belonging.” That is direct and sincere.
It’s the only time. The rest of the book, the author is behind a curtain. He does not speak Read More
Giuliani and Santorum
Rudy Giuliani is ramping up his web presence – ostensibly for the benefit of the raft of Republican candidates he’s supporting in this year’s congressional elections.
From a recent “Dear Friend” email calling attention to the launch of his new site:
I am pleased to tell you that my new web Read More
Playwright Zellnik, and actor Glenn Fleshler
A couple weeks back a guy named David Zellnik emailed me, asking me to come see a reading of his play: “Ariel Sharon Stands at the Temple Mount and Dreams of Theodor Herzl.” What a title! So crazily, breathtakingly ambitious—I knew I had to go.
Ariel Sharon pauses at the gate of life and death. Is there such a thing as Sharonism that will outlast him? Do leaders make history, or are they made by the flow of events?
No one in Israeli politics seemed less like the blunt general than Shimon Peres, dove for all seasons. Yet when Mr. Read More
Write your own Thomas Friedman column!
1. Choose your title to intrigue the reader through its internal conflict:
a. War and Peas
b. Osama, Boulevardier
c. Big Problems, Little Women
2. Include a dateline from a remote location, preferably dangerous, unmistakably Muslim:
a. Mecca, Saudi Arabia
b. Islamabad, Pakistan
c. Mohammedville, Trinidad Read More
At this moment, the revived Middle East peace process is already colliding with what are politely called “difficulties.” Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian prime minister, announced that he would delay meeting his Israeli counterpart, Ariel Sharon, supposedly due to “scheduling problems,” but probably because of dissension within his own shaky government. There will be far worse Read More
In Jewish political life, there are little Jews and big Jews. Little Jews might be college presidents or retired accountants, but they vote (for Democrats mainly), write letters and give money. Big Jews head Jewish organizations. They are the leaders and fund-raisers of the Israel lobby, which lately would appear to be a monolith supporting Read More
On a recent afternoon, the telephone rang in Oriana Fallaci’s Manhattan townhouse. The tiny, blue-eyed 72-year-old writer put down her cigarette and picked up the receiver.
“Oh, it is you!” she said. She assured the caller she was all right, then thanked him and hung up.
“He calls to see if I’m alive,” she Read More
