Posts Tagged‘Words of the Week’
Words of the Week: Erika Dreifus
Words of the Week: Franklin Foer
Even if his father was right about anti-Semitism being an unshakable fact of Jewish existence, diagnosing that condition shouldn’t require acceding to it. Netanyahu has governed as if there were nothing he could do to prevent his country from becoming a pariah or to combat the rising hatred directed at the diaspora. He learned nothing from the example of Ukraine’s Volodmyr Zelensky, who supplied the playbook for how an invaded country cultivates international sympathy. Every gesture that might have plausibly improved Israel’s case—the dismissal of a minister, a plan for Gaza, a show of openness to Palestinian statehood—would have threatened his governing coalition and put him in legal jeopardy. He always chose himself.
Source: Franklin Foer, “How Netanyahu Lost America” (The Atlantic)
Words of the Week: Nachum Kaplan
Nadia shook her head.
“This is why these conversations are impossible. You keep retreating into facts.”
I stared at her.
It remains one of the finest accusations ever made against me.
From a remarkable, must-read piece that’s been (justifiably) making the rounds since it was published one week ago. As one of the people I’ve seen amplifying it wrote in introduction, “I fear many who should read this will be turned off by the sub headline, as I was. But please read it anyway.”
To which I add: Please.
Source: Nachum Kaplan, “The People Who Know Nothing Know Everything” (Moral Clarity)
Words of the Week: Nicholas Lemann
I’ve mentioned Nicholas Lemann—both in a previous “Words of the Week” entry and more recently with multiple references to his latest book, Returning: A Search for Home Across Three Centuries—several times. Since the month of June was essentially lost to me reading-wise, it took me longer to finish reading Returning than it should have. It’s simply superb; I suspect that I will be recommending it for a long time to come.
For a taste of what you will find there, you can also read Lemann’s new essay, published yesterday on the website of The New York Times (gift link provided).