In a recent trawl through my Facebook feed, I came across a meme quoting Benjamin Franklin: "Life's biggest tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late." First thing I was reminded of was that documentary film about the five former Shin Bet chiefs, all of whom had, in their retirement, come to see their tenures as failures, as each had preserved and deepened conflict with Palestinians, instead of working to ameliorate injustice and secure a durable peace. But each in turn, in youthful vigor, had climbed the ranks of the security services by proving to be more aggressive than their predecessors.
The annals of Israeli history are filled with ambitious young men grabbing everything they could, only to turn into old men with regrets. Even Ariel Sharon ended his days with the admission that it's not good for Jews to rule over other people. Old David Ben-Gurion warned against launching the 1967 war, on grounds that have long seemed prescient -- not that he wasn't delighted with the way the war turned out.
My second thought is that this offers a prism for viewing Joe Biden. I quote Jeffrey St Clair below, placing Biden in the line of New Democrats from Clinton to Obama (and back again), which is certainly true of Biden when he was younger, but I can't dismiss the possibility that he's become wiser as he's aged. (Of course, he still has a long ways to go on foreign policy, which is the realm of American politics most completely wrapped up in myth and nonsense.) But also, he reminds us that a big problem with getting old is that you lose the ability to act on whatever wisdom you manage to garner. All the while, his declining polls remind us that the foolish young look for leaders with vigor, which Trump, despite his years and obvious incompetence, manages to fake with brash, reckless promises.
Again this week (no doubt next week as well), I'm mostly working on the Francis Davis Jazz Critics Poll, so have to limit my time here. I made a quick round of the usual sources, noted things that looked interesting, and mostly left it at that.
Israel: Latest from New York Times, which can certainly be counted on to echo whatever Israeli leaders want it to say, is: Israel says it is intensifying its campaign against Hamas. That translates as "more genocide."
Mondoweiss:
[12-18] Day 73: Reports surface of Palestinian deaths inside Israeli detention camps.
[12-20] Day 75:Security council postpones ceasefire vote as Hamas leader arrives in Cairo for talks.
[12-21] Day 76: Extrajudicial killings of men in front of their families in Gaza
[12-22] Day 77: Palestinians in Gaza face famine, as political prisoner count in West Bank soars.
[12-23] Day 78: UNSC resolution criticized as 'meaningless,' hundreds of thousands evacuate central Gaza.
[12-24] Day 79: Bethlehem cancels Christmas celebrations as Israel continues to bomb Gaza.
Yuval Abraham: 'The hostages weren't out top priority': How Israel's bombing frenzy endangered captives in Gaza.
Amena Al-Ashkar: [12-21] Hamas official calls for Palestinian elections, national unity in the 'day after' the war. Look, if Israel had followed my advice six weeks ago, this wouldn't be happening. They say they wanted to destroy Hamas, but they missed their opportunity. That, simply, stupidly, is because they can only think of destroying something with bombs. Hamas committed suicide on Oct. 7. Had Israel limited its tantrum to a week or two, then washed their hands of the mess and turned the rubble Gaza over to the UN, the Palestinians would have disposed of Hamas themselves. Instead, after two months of spirited resistance, they're back in front of microphones, as the self-proclaimed leaders of Palestine, ready to wheel and deal.
Doaa Alremeili: [12-22] The situation in Gaza is getting worse, Mohammad.
Phyllis Bennis: [12-22] Why we need a ceasefire now.
Alexander B Downes: [12-21] The cruelty and futility of Israel's starvation blockade on Gaza.
Julia Frankel: [12-22] Israel's military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in recent history. Related here is:
Evan Hill/Imogen Piper/Meg Kelly/Jarrett Ley: [12-23] Israel has waged one of this century's most destructive wars in Gaza: "The damage in Gaza has outpaced other recent conflicts, evidence shows. Israel has dropped some of the largest bombs commonly used today near hospitals."
David Ignatius: [12-16] In the West Bank, I saw how peace will require confrontation with Israel.
Ken Klippenstein/Daniel Boguslaw: Israeli military censor bans reporting on these 8 subjects.
Yoav Litvin: [12-22] The anatomy of Zionist genocide.
Ibtisam Mahdi: Gaza's health crisis 'catastrophic,' say Palestinian experts.
Branko Marcetic:
[12-19] Israel's assault on Gaza is unlike any war in recent memory.
[12-20] In Gaza, the next generation of radicalization begins: "Leadership in Tel Aviv claims that taking out Hamas will end its security problems. The evidence suggests the opposite."
Andrew O'Hehir: [12-24] Israel's "heavy cost" in Gaza: 15 soldiers killed this weekend: Don't laugh. Using the Gilad Shalit exchange rate, that's equal to 15,404 Palestinian lives -- probably more than Israel killed during the period, but it's hard to tell for sure. But not enough to give Netanyahu second thoughts about the wisdom of his course.
Mitchell Plitnick: [12-21] Biden administration's flawed response to Yemen attacks increases possibility of regional war.
Alex Shams: How Jesus's hometown is coping with war at Christmas.
Richard Silverstein:
[12-20] GOP House candidate is Israeli citizen, IDF veteran: Mazi Melesa Pilip, nominated to run for George Santos's vacant seat.
[12-23] Biden's Band-Aid solution for Gaza.
Mark Lewis Taylor: [12-22] Israel and genocide: Not only in Gaza. Consider Guatemala, 1987, with its own Israel connection. Article cites Jeff Halper's 2015 book, War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification.
Philip Weiss:
[12-17] Weekly Briefing: 'Well, you dropped the atom bomb,' Netanyahu tells Biden. Among other things, this cites (rather critically) Ezra Klein interviews Nimrod Novik.
US, Israel, and a decaying empire:
Adam Johnson: [12-18] Bernie Sanders's incoherent pernicious Gaza cease-fire position, explained.
Joshua Keating: [12-21] How a Yemeni rebel group is creating chaos in the global economy: "The Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, explained."
Branko Marcetic: [12-23] Joe Biden has the political space to push for a cease-fire in Gaza. He just doesn't want to.
Nicole Narea: [12-22] The US may be flouting its own laws by sending unrestricted aid to Israel.
Jon Schwarz: Samantha Power calls on Samantha Power to resign over Gaza.
Stephen Semler: [12-18] Pols loaded with industry cash vote up military budget.
Zionism, Antisemitism, and Palestinian rights:
Fabiola Cineas: [12-21] How Republicans are weaponizing antisemitism to take down DEI.
Rashid Khalidi: [12-23] Open letter to the Columbia administration.
Eric Levitz: [12-23] Masha Gessen on Israel, Gaza, and the Holocaust analogies: An interview.
Yonat Shimron: [12-21] Shaul Magid on reviving Jewish exile as a counterweight to Zionism: "In a new book, the Dartmouth scholar argues exile can be seen as an equally positive and constructive Jewish identity." Interview. His book is: The Necessity of Exile: Essays From a Distance.
Trump, and other Republicans:
Aaron Blake: [12-18] 3 in 10 Trump voters want a president willing to break 'rules and laws': "While 65 percent of Trump backers said a president should always follow the rules and the law, 30 percent said breaking rules and laws could be justified. The split among Biden voters was 83-15 against breaking rules and laws." The phrasing is broad enough one could read more or less into it. A lot of this depends on what law we're talking about, and who is violating it for what reason. Civil rights campaigners broke plenty of laws, and many of us applauded them. Same for whistleblowers exposing state secrets. No doubt a large chunk of Biden's 15% includes people who recognize that there are times when laws are meant to curtail freedom and defend injustice. A good chunk of Trump's 30% might agree with that statement, but with other standards of freedom and justice. What's more troublesome, but only partially revealed in the headline, is how Republicans are well on their way to becoming a cult of criminality. This is most obvious in Republican support for tax evasion and other business crimes -- everything from financial scams to pollution dumping to bribery and fraud -- but most specifically Trump himself.
Jonathan Chait: [12-22] Asking Trump 'will you be a dictator?' is not a real question: "Hugh Hewitt tries, fails to Hannitize Trump's authoritarian problem."
Matt Ford:
Mike Godwin: [12-20] Yes, it's okay to compare Trump to Hitler. Don't let me stop you. The author of Godwin's Law admits it's more of a "rule of thumb," especially when it's not pure hyperbole, and there are specific points to be made.
Margaret Hartmann: [12-22] So what is Rudy Giuliani up to these days? This piece has been updated many times of late, most recently with his bankruptcy filing.
Ed Kilgore: [12-19] Trump is benefiting from his incoherent Israel-Hamas war stance
Marianne Levine/Isaac Arnsdorf: [12-23] Trump says he would indemnify police. Experts say that's already reality in most departments.
Tori Otten: Dumbest Senator of the year: Tommy Tuberville.
Matt Stieb: [12-22] The sex scandal that could take down Moms for Liberty. On the other hand: Jennifer C Berkshire/Jack Schneider: [12-15] Moms for Liberty isn't going anywhere.
Tatyana Tandanpolie: [12-22] "I'm not a student of Hitler": Trump insists Nazi leader "didn't way it the way I said it". This reminds me of an old LBJ story. He starts a rumor that his opponent is a "pig fucker." An aide asks him if it's true? LBJ explains: I don't care. I just want to see him stand up there and deny it. Still, Trump's "it's a very different kind of a statement" may well be better than even LBJ hoped for.
Michael Tomasky: Kevin McCarthy was the most incompetent House Speaker of all time.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruling: They held that Trump's name should be taken off the Republican primary ballot in Colorado, due to the 14th Amendment's prohibition against insurrectionist (i.e., secessionists) holding office. I've ridiculed that argument ever since it was first raised.
Erwin Chemerinsky: [12-20] Colorado's ruling against Trump raises questions only the Supreme Court can answer.
Eric Levitz: [12-21] The legal merits of the Colorado Supreme Court decision don't matter.
Ian Millhiser: [12-20] Everything you need to know about the court order removing Trump for the ballot.
Andrew Prokop: [12-19] The fraught debate over whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump, explained.
Biden and/or the Democrats:
Rachel M Cohen: [12-17] A historian's advice to the Democrats trying to build stuff: "What supply-side liberals can learn from the past." Interview with Brent Cebul, author of Illusions of Progress: Business, Poverty, and Liberalism in the American Century.
Matthew Duss: [12-14] Ukraine and Israel and the two Joe Bidens. "In Ukraine, Biden has spent two years articulating a stirring argument for a rules-based order. In Israel, he set about burning that argument to the ground. Is a morally consistent foreign policy possible?" Well, is a politically consistent one possible? It's hard to keep one's goals straight when in each arena they are set by competing interest groups, each with its own agenda.
Chris Lehmann: [12-19] Biden's best chance for 2024 is to take aim at corporate America.
Eric Levitz: [12-20] Why Biden's poll numbers will get better (And why they won't). Quoting sub-heads: On the up side: 1) Voters will likely warm to the economy in 2024; 2) Conventionally Democratic voters -- who pay little attention to politics -- are depressing Biden's numbers; 3) Democrats have been doing well in recent elections; 4) Some Trump supporters say they would switch to Biden if the Republican is convicted in one of his many trials. On the down side: 1) The economy has been improving for months, yet Biden's numbers haven't; 2) Biden isn't getting any younger; 3) Third-party candidates threaten Biden more than Trump; 4) Early polls may be more predictive in a rematch; 5) The off-year election results are perfectly consistent with a Biden loss; 6) There's reason to suspect that polls overestimate how many votes Trump would lose from being convicted.
Holly Otterbein: [12-20] 'Medicare for All' bill becomes part of Dean Phillips' presidential pitch.
Legal matters and other crimes:
Jodi Kantor/Adam Liptak: [12-15] Behind the scenes at the dismantling of Roe v. Wade.
Ian Millhiser: [12-22] In a big victory for Trump, the Supreme Court tells Jack Smith to go away.
Abbie VanSickle/Steve Eder: [12-24] Clarence Thomas's clerks: An 'extended family' with reach and power.
Economic matters:
Christian Paz: [12-16] Black and Latino Americans haven't experienced the same economy as everyone else.
Ukraine War:
Blaise Malley: [12-22] Diplomacy Watch: Zelensky says discussion of negotiations 'not relevant'.
Anatol Lieven/Alex Little: [12-21] Ukraine should take a page out of Finland's fight with Stalin: "Helsinki had to sacrifice territory for autonomy, but its pride and prosperity soared."
Around the world:
Ellen Ioanes: [12-17] Argentina's new president, Javier Milei, explained.
Bob Hennelly: [12-19] New York City is crumbling -- but officials don't "have enough oomph" to build it back up: "The least any city can do is make sure its buildings remain standing."
Hannah Natanson: [12-23] Half of challenged books return to shools. LGBTQ books are banned most.
Reshma Kirpalani/Hannah Natanson: [12-21] The lives upended by Florida's school book wars.
Will Oremus: [12-23] Elon Musk promised an anti-'woke' chatbot. Grok is not going as planned.
Jonathan Shorman/Katie Bernard/Amy Renee Leiker/Katie Moore: [12-19] Across Kansas, police conduct illegal search and seizures 'all the time,' upending lives.
Jeffrey St Clair: [12-22] Roaming Charges: The sickness of symbolic things: Title from Fannie Lou Hamer: "I am sick of symbolic things. We are fighting for our lives." Pull quote:
Bill Clinton, Al Gore, HRC, Barack Obama & Biden all share the same New Democrat philosophy: hawkish on defense, pro-business & banks, punitive criminal justice policies and a desire to roll back Great Society social programs. Clinton and Obama had the rhetorical skills to sell symbolism to the base, to make people see what isn't there. The others don't and they paid the political price.
Rolling back "Great Society social programs" was less a desire than a chit they were happy to sacrifice to achieve their business goals. Biden seems less interested on that score, but that may just be because the Democratic base is getting more agitated, demanding not just defense but expansion of the safety net.
Jessi Jezewska Stevens: The relentless growth of degrowth economics.
Zephyr Teachout: [12-11] The big unfriendly tech giants: "We must ensure that corporations aren't able to pick and choose winners and losers in journnalism."
Siva Vaidhyanathan: [12-11] Elon Musk's real threat to democracy isn't what you think: "How the attention-starved CEO took over our communications infrastructure."
Selected obituaries:
[12-22] Antonio Negri, 90, philosopher who wrote a surprise best seller, dies: The book was Empire, co-written with Michael Hardt, "offering what many found a compelling interpretation of globalization after the Cold War."
[12-21] Robert M. Solow, groundbreaking economist and Nobelist, dies at 99: "His elegant work established that the main determinant of economic growth was technology, not growing capital and labor."
[12-19] J.G.A. Pocock, historian who argued for historical context, dies at 99. I took a course from Pocock at Washington University. I had earlier read, and much admired, his work, so I had high expectations, but I was still amazed at his ability to stand in front of his desk and reel off hour-long lectures that read like carefully edited book passages. It gave him the appearance of being the most brilliant person I ever met, and nothing in the content suggested otherwise. (Unlike, say, William H. Gass, another brilliant lecturer I encountered there.)
[12-19] Mars Williams, 68, saxophonist who straddled new wave and jazz, dies.
[12-10] Shlomo Avineri, Israeli scholar skeptical about peace, dies at 90: A prominent "public intellectual," wrote books on Hegel, Marx, and The Making of Modern Zionism (1981, rev. 2017), worked in Israel's foreign ministry under Rabin.
[12-07] Benjamin Zephaniah, poet of social justice issues, dies at 65.
I was surprised not to find an obituary for Arno J. Mayer, who died on Dec. 18 at 97. He was one of the very greatest historians of the last century, even since his landmark books Political Origins of the New Diplomacy, 1917-1918 (1959), and Politics and Diplomacy of Peacemaking: Containment and Counterrevolution at Versailles, 1918-1919 (1967). I especially recommend three later works: The Persistence of the Old Regime: Europe to the Great War (1981), Why Did the Heavens Not Darken? The "Final Solution" in History (1988), and Plowshares Into Swords: From Zionism to Israel (2008). He was the first I'm aware of to emphasize the continuity of the World Wars, referring to 1914-45 as "the 30-Years War of the 20th Century." Another item I recommend is Studs Terkel's interview with him in "The Good War". He was born in Luxembourg in 1926, his family reaching the US in 1941, and soon joined the US Army, where while still in his teens was assigned to babysit "high ranking German prisoners of war" (e.g., rocket scientists; Mayer was one of the Ritchie boys, as was Guy Stern, who also died last week). I expect we'll have more to link to next week. Meanwhile:
Since Israel's foundation, the failure to pursue Arab-Jewish understanding and cooperation has been Zionism's "great sin of omission" (Judah Magnes). At every major turn since 1947-48 Israel has had the upper hand in the conflict with the Palestinians, its ascendancy at once military, diplomatic, and economic. This prepotency became especially pronounced after the Six Day War of 1967. Consider the annexations and settlements; occupation and martial law; settler pogroms and expropriations; border crossings and checkpoints; walls and segregated roads. No less mortifying for the Palestinians has been the disproportionately large number of civilians killed and injured, and the roughly 10,000 languishing in Israeli prisons.
Despite the recent ingloriousness of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, Israel's ruling and governing class continues to stand imperious. . . . Israelis must ask themselves whether there is a point beyond which the Zionist quest becomes self-defeatingly perilous, corrupting, and degrading.