Notebooks

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A little history of Shin Bet

Israel’s domestic security service has a chequered history, but it will continue to play a key role in the current war against Hamas.

Ahron Bregman October 26, 2023

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Celebrating Anpanman at fifty

2023 marks fifty years since the creation of Anpanman, the Japanese superhero with a head made of bread, who has represented hope, love and kindness for generations of Japanese chi..

Christopher Harding October 25, 2023

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‘We are in the most sustained period of high crisis since 1962’ — in conversation with Philip Zelikow

EI’s Angus Reilly talks to Philip Zelikow about the crisis in the Middle East, the dangers of escalation, and the urgent need for the United States to move to a pre-war position.

Angus Reilly October 25, 2023

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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