False Dichotomies

It doesn’t take long for my accent to give me away. And when it does, they are ready to pounce. “Where are you from?” they ask me. “Guess,” I say. Nine times out of ten, they plump for the United States. But America is not the world, I remind them, and after mentioning all the other Anglo countries, they finally manage to get it right. When they learn I am 26 and have already done two degrees, they are agape. And in their gormless stares, I can detect a tension between their admiration for one who seems – from their perspective – a lot worldlier than the average jobnik, and contempt for the fact that I have chosen to come to Israel and serve in the army. Keep it schtum, but there doesn’t seem to be much Zionist spirit around… Read more

From Falsedichotomies to Penguin. There’s hope for the rest of us yet. Check out Seth Freedman’s inimitable analysis of the city here.

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1. Olmert’s unprecedented offer?

2. Shall we sing a song for you?

3. Partly Private 

4. Vox Humana

5. Shock to the System

6. The first day

7. Mazal tov, C-Mac

8. Johann’s favourite quotes

9. When underdogs break the rules

10. Stavros Flatly

The appointment of Michael Oren as the new Israeli ambassador to the United States marks an interesting development in Israeli diplomatic history. Oren is one of the leading lights at the conservative Shalem Center, from where he has authored numerous best-selling histories, including Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, and Power, Faith, and Fantasy: The United States in the Middle East. A popular historian with real clout, he has suddenly been thrust into life as Israel’s number one diplomat. Read more

From the protest against the New Profile arrests