Notebooks

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Crossing America’s big country

Travelling between the states of Oklahoma and Texas reminds the visitor of how the inexplicable vastness of the American heartland is as normal as it is mythic.

Phil Tinline October 24, 2023

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Iranians know who their enemy is, and it’s not Israel

Despite the regimes attempt to whip up the Iranian people’s support for the Palestinians and hostility to Israel, they remain largely unmoved.

Ali Ansari October 19, 2023

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Israel’s Fauda fallacy

TV series like Fauda have become constitutive of Israel's power – or, in this case, the illusion of it.

Pauline Blistène October 18, 2023

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Can Erdogan keep up his Middle East balancing act?

Under President Erdogan, Turkey is walking a fine line between strong domestic support for the plight of the Palestinians and ambitions to serve as a mediator between the warring p..

Hannah Lucinda Smith October 17, 2023

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Hamas’ genocidal massacre on October 7 has deep historical roots

The 1929 Hebron massacre perpetrated by followers of Haj Amin Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, demonstrates the deep roots of Islamist ideology.

Charlie Laderman October 16, 2023

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Gaza’s troubles began long ago

Extreme violence has always been a feature of Gaza’s history going back to the siege of the city by Alexander the Great.

James Barr October 16, 2023

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America cannot ignore the Middle East

Despite calls to refocus American grand strategy towards Europe and Asia, events in Israel show that the United States cannot abandon its commitments in the Middle East.

Aaron MacLean October 13, 2023

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Four paths to Israel’s intelligence failure

The Israeli security establishment's failure to adequately collect, analyse and react to its intelligence meant that the nation was unprepared for one of the darkest days in its 75..

Calder Walton October 12, 2023

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Israel’s hostage dilemma

Hostage situations, ransoms and prisoner exchanges are among the problems premiers fear most.

Richard Aldrich October 10, 2023