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Principle vs. Love and Devotion in Israel’s Prisoner Exchange

July 18th, 2008 · 6 Comments · Politics and Policy

Haim Watzman
In principle, I oppose uneven prisoner exchanges, but that’s not why I wasn’t able to watch the television coverage of Wednesday’s exchange of Lebanese terrorists for dead Israeli soldiers. My wife had the television on but I couldn’t handle it. I didn’t have a way of dealing with my conflicting emotions and fears; my [...]

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Update: Bush and Lebanon; Obama, Israel and Islam

May 15th, 2008 · 8 Comments · Judaism and Religion, Politics and Policy

As I mentioned earlier , the Bush administration’s obstruction of peace talks between Israel and Syria has helped Hezbollah and Iran push for control of Lebanon. My new piece on the subject is now up at the American Prospect :
The time, according to Hilal Khashan, was ten minutes past the ceasefire. That was another way [...]

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Obama. What’s Complicated Here?

May 13th, 2008 · 7 Comments · Politics and Policy

Gershom Gorenberg
Dan Kurtzer, the former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and an Orthodox Jew, is in Jerusalem for the 60th anniversary celebrations. This morning my wife heard him being interviewed on Israeli Radio, in Hebrew, about the U.S. election. Kurtzer explained that he’s backing Barack Obama.
This was not exactly a revelation. Kurtzer has explained his reasons [...]

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