It began with a letter from the Superintendent of the Teaneck school district, André D. Spencer, to the parents and students, characterizing Hamas’ October 7th attack not as terrorism, or even as something bad perpetrated by Hamas, but as “the latest incidents in the cycle of violence in the Middle East.” At the next Board of Education meeting, Jewish parents stood to address this failing. Board Vice President Victoria Fisher was having none of it.

The Board, however, repeatedly cut off commenters who described Hamas’s actions to
underscore why they thought Superintendent Spencer should have issued a stronger statement condemning the attack: Continue reading →

For all the calls to do the untenable, fight Hamas without disproportionately (whatever that means) harming Gazans in the process, no one has yet come up with an actual way to accomplish this. It sounds great in platitudes, but can’t be done on, or below, the street. Is there any other way Israel can eradicate terrorists dedicated to its destruction and thrilled to rape, kidnap and murder its people, to salvage its reputation among the unduly passionate and those who rely on their votes?

Michael L. Gross, a professor of political science at the University of Haifa, offers a way out.

Israel insists that it is doing all it can to protect civilians, given the complex urban environment it is fighting in, the embedding of Hamas in the civilian population and persistent missile strikes. Continue reading →

It’s bad enough that McWhorter has a point when it comes to the way language develops going forward.

It’s a principle in linguistics that things that settle in for good tend to start with young people, and the new “they” is used most by people under 35. (It has a mixed reception among people between 35 and 55 and is often outright dismissed by people past 55, according to a 2019 survey.)

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As the four-day Israel-Hamas ceasefire enters its fifth day, the question remains: What happens when the hostage release comes to an end?

The tenuous truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold for a fifth day on Tuesday, an act of continued cooperation that could allow for additional aid to flow into Gaza and the release of more hostages, prisoners and detainees than initially expected.

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If anyone other than the government had sat on its dirty hands for 61 years, they would be laughed out of court. But when it’s the government, there’s no court and medical doctor Siavash Sobhani isn’t doing any laughing. Having been born here, and living here his entire life, and becoming a doctor, a taxpayer and a member of the community, he was informed by the United States that he was no longer a citizen. Dr. (was he still allowed to practice as a doctor?) Siavash Sobhani was stateless.

As he tells it, when he sent in an application for a new passport in February, he had no reason to expect he’d face any difficulties. He had renewed his passport several times previously without problems. This time, it was set to expire in June, and he wanted to make sure he had a valid one in hand before his family took a trip in July. Continue reading →

They weren’t college students in Portland or elite liberal arts students in Massachusetts. They were students at Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens. And they wanted to be part of the action, to feel just as entitled to attack.

“I doubt half of them know how to spell Palestine,” a senior said.

“They just wanted to make drama about it,” a sophomore said of the teacher’s pro-Israel stance.

“Just, like, chaos. They thought of it as fun.”

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A few years back, my old pal Bennett announced on the twitters that it was going to be the year of attention. This struck a chord with me, as I consider my time and attention to be precious. I may give it to you, but I don’t owe it to you and you can’t demand it of me. It’s mine to use as I choose.

The ability to focus, to pay attention to one, and only one, thing so that you can get below the surface and do the hard labor of thinking deeply, was never a human strength. But the claim of the moment is that attention spans are at 47 seconds and students’ ability to pay attention is worse, in a different way, than it’s ever been. Continue reading →

Deputy Ernesto Miranda saw a lot in his law enforcement career. From his time as a DEA agent to his current post at the Mud Lick Sheriff’s Department, the veteran cop thought he’d come across just about every unusual encounter possible.

Nothing compared to what was happening in the Driftwood County Circuit Courtroom right in front of his eyes.

He was a witness for the District Attorney’s office on a case, patiently waiting for the call to the witness stand. The case currently before Judge Daniel Spaulding was bizarre in its own right. Continue reading →

Even though it can be read as a bit too self-promotional, Yvon Chouinard isn’t wrong. As we enter the season of buying, we can choose to buy the newest, shiniest cool thing which will last until either next season, when it’s no longer new or shiny, or until it breaks, as it was meant to do. Or not.

When I moved to Casa de SJ, nestled among the old guard, I learned a valuable lesson from one of my neighbors. He was an old man with even older money, but he had a certain humility that gave his advice gravitas. Buy, he explained, the best quality you can find and afford. It might be the trendy thing, but you will only have to buy it once and it will serve you long and well. Chouinard makes the point with the boots theory. Continue reading →

While there is much happening in the world that causes so many to feel that there is nothing to be thankful for, I refuse to let misery be my guide. Every day brings a new opportunity for things to be better. I am grateful for so many things, especially you, dear readers, for spending your precious time here.

We can choose to wallow in the problems of the world or to work for a better world. What that better world will be may differ for each of us, but if we lose hope that it can and will be better, then we’ve given up. I will not give up.

Happy Thanksgiving. May we enjoy the day with our friends and loved ones and hope it will be joyous for everyone.