About Jeffrey Goldberg
The Philo-Semite Twenty-Five
I know, I promised fifty, but this is hard. The list might very well grow to fifty — keep your suggestions coming — but for now, here are twenty-five top philo-Semites. A couple of notes: I did not include Kabbalah … Read More
George Tenet, Drunk in Bandar’s Pool, Screaming about Jews
I just picked up Patrick Tyler’s forthcoming book, A World of Trouble, about America’s tortured relations with the Middle East, and the prologue contains this whopper of a scene, one that is quite devastating, if true: An enraged George Tenet, … Read More
A Pogrom in Hebron
A hero of mine is the Ha’aretz reporter Avi Issacharoff, who, with other journalists, stopped a Jewish pogrom against innocent Palestinians in Hebron. His harrowing report is here, and Dion Nissenbaum has more detail. I’ve written about these Hebron settlers … Read More
The Philo-Semite 50: Cyrus, Maurice Blanchot and Madonna?
The nominations for the Philo-Semite 50 keep pouring over the transom, and the Sanhedrin is compiling the list. But I’ll post some particularly interesting nominations as they come in. I suggested last week that readers stop proposing both Jon Voight … Read More
Spare a Thought for Chabad
I’m not the greatest fan of Chabad in the world, in particular its Christological, maybe-the-Rebbe’s-not-dead streak, and its general fundamentalist, women-marginalizing outlook, but this is a group that does, in fact, try to spread a kind of happiness wherever it … Read More
Malcolm Gladwell’s Top 50 Philo-Semites
So, as you have undoubtedly heard, the Forward has chosen me as one of its 50 most influential American Jews. Me, Rahm Emanuel, Sarah Silverman, and Lipa Schmeltzer, among others. This honor has changed my life, especially the magnificent gift … Read More
Daniel Levy On Obama, Netanyahu and the Settlements
Daniel Levy, the director of the Middle East Initiative at the New America Foundation (which is run by a blogger, it should be noted) and the director of the Prospects for Peace initiative at the Century Foundation, is one of … Read More
Rahm Emanuel and Israel
The news that Rahm Emanuel has accepted Barack Obama’s request to be his chief of staff is fascinating on many levels, not least of which is Rahm’s deep Israel credentials. First, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ve known Rahm … Read More