Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and a graduate of Messiah University, the school where I teach American history. Some of you may remember his Current piece on the one year anniversary of the Gaza War. Here is a […]
Israeli-Palestine conflict
American Historical Association Council vetoes a resolution condemning Gaza scholasticide
We covered this resolution on January 8 and January 9 (Pamela Paul op-ed). Here is the original resolution: Whereas the US government has underwritten the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign in Gaza with over $12.5 billion in military aid between […]
Jim Grossman reflects on his leadership of the American Historical Association
After fifteen years at the helm of the most important historical association in the world, Jim Grossman is stepping aside. Here is Ryan Quinn at Inside Higher Ed: A chapter of history is closing: Jim Grossman is retiring after 15 […]
The American Historical Association votes to condemn “scholasticide” in Gaza
From the AHA website: Whereas the US government has underwritten the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) campaign in Gaza with over $12.5 billion in military aid between October 2023 and June 2024; Whereas that campaign, beyond causing massive death and injury […]
Sign of a divided country: Israel’s military to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox
Israeli military is about to begin drafting the ultra-Orthodox. This is a really bad idea–and a sign of cultural division.
A Palestinian Baptist laments the Southern Baptist Convention’s decisions on the Middle East
Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and a member of Amman Baptist Church in Jordan. He runs a news website that covers the Christian community in Jordan and the Palestinian territories. He is also a 1975 graduate of Messiah […]
A “just peace” for both Israel and the Palestinians
Christians who love both Israel and the Palestinians should support “just peacemaking.”
Zack Beauchamp: “It’s time to take back the Israel-Palestine debate from the radicals on both sides”
Here Beauchamp at VOX: You may have heard of Shai Davidai, the Israeli professor at Columbia University who has launched a crusade against the school’s pro-Palestinian protestors. He’s rocketed to fame by calling students terrorists, comparing himself to Jewish victims of Nazi Germany, and demanding the […]
Historian Christopher Brown is not the only one calling for the resignation of Columbia University president Minouche Shafik
Earlier today we called your attention to Columbia University history professor Christopher Brown’s call for the resignation of president Minouche Shafik. He is not alone. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is also calling for Shafik’s resignation, albeit for very […]
John McWhorter on the Columbia University campus protests
McWhorter is a Columbia University professor who is teaching classes amid the pro-Palestinian protests on campus. Here is a taste of his piece today at The New York Times: Although I know many Jewish people will disagree with me, I […]
Columbia University moves classes online amid pro-Palestinian protests
Here is CBS News: Protests at Columbia University over the Israel-Hamas war are entering their sixth day Monday, sparking more safety concerns for students on campus. Columbia University President Minouche Shafik announced classes will be remote Monday, “To deescalate the rancor and […]
Columbia University’s Jewish professors reject the weaponization of antisemitism
Earlier today the House Education and the Workforce Committee grilled Columbia University president Nemat Shafik about antisemitism on campus. Some of you may recall what happened the last time the presidents of elite universities testified before Congress. Watch entire hearing […]
Walzer: “Oppressed people can do no wrong” is an “old, bad argument”
Veteran political theorist Michael Walzer has a word or two for his fellow leftists. Here is a taste of his piece at The Atlantic: After the Hamas attack on Israel October 7, an old, bad argument resurfaced. In the streets of […]
Gaza in maps
I found this BBC story, complete with maps, helpful for understanding what is happening in Gaza right now.
Mintz: “A hard rain is about to fall” on higher education
Here is the University of Houston historian at Inside Higher Ed. He is talking about higher education in the wake of this and this and the first paragraph of this. The events of the past few days will, I think, […]
UPenn administrator: “Students spouting ideological catchphrases have revealed their moral obliviousness and the deficiency of their educations”
Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel is a physician and vice provost for global initiatives and a professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania. Here is a taste of his New York Times piece: “The Moral Deficiences of […]
Israel-based progressive intellectuals and peace activists call for a “return to a politics based on humanistic and universal principles”
Several dozen Israeli-based academic progressives and peace activists have signed this letter. They are correct to suggest that the usual identity politics we often hear coming out of colleges and universities seem hollow in the wake of October 7, 2023. […]
“Just war” evangelical leaders issue a statement supporting Israel
The letter calls for “the salvation and peace of the people of Israel and Palestine.” It distinguishes between the people of Palestine and Hamas. It also invokes Just War theory. Here is Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: Addressing policymakers […]
Conor Friedersdorf: “Students for Pogroms in Israel”
If you haven’t seen it yet, The Atlantic writer Conor Firedersdorf has written a critique of student activists who are “excusing murder and kidnapping” in Israel. Here is a taste of “Students for Pogroms in Israel“: Across America, millions of […]
More than 700 children dead in Gaza; 2,450 injured
Here is CNN: More than 700 children have been killed in Gaza and another 2,450 have been injured since last Saturday, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund, citing local sources. “According to the latest reports by local health authorities and […]