Purim: When Bad History Makes Bad Policy

Is it really a good idea for a US President to look to a biblical novella (especially one whose “happy ending” is the death of tens of thousands of people), or to any religious text, as his guidebook on foreign affairs? Continue Reading →

The Leveretts, The Tea Party and Iran

The Leveretts have a piece up reacting to Sarah Palin’s USA Today op-ed. It’s a thoughtful accounting, deeply (and rightfully) scornful of Palin’s belligerence, but lacks in terms of context and framing. The Leveretts, while shrewd geo-strategists, may be engaged in… Continue Reading →

The Theopolitics of Disaster: Sex, the Sabbath and the Occupation

When a Shiite prayer leader blames earthquakes in Iran on immodestly dressed and promiscuous women, neocons like Michael Ledeen snicker.

When a prominent ultra-orthodox Jewish spiritual and political leader–and former Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel–agrees with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that the fire that’s been destroying Israel’s Carmel Forest is a punishment from God, there’s stunned silence. Continue Reading →