Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

Palestinian students hold pictures of Tayyip Erdogan during his trip to the Gaza Strip, 13 September 2011.

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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

A funeral for one of the victims of the 1929 Hebron Massacre.

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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

A US Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet jet fighter aircraft flies over the USS Gerald R. Ford.

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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

A protester stands in front of an IDF military post and raises the tear gas canister fired by the Israeli army at the demonstrators.

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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

Taken from a video released by Hamas of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit reading a letter to his family on September 14, 2009.

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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

The Last March sculpture by Nathan Rapoport.

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On Jewish identity

The scale of the Hamas attack of 7 October is a reminder of a universal lesson all Jews come to realise: that to be a Jew is to be hated.

Michael Goldfarb October 10, 2023

Rockets are fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip, Sunday 8 October 2023.

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What Israel does next — in conversation with Dennis Ross

EI's Angus Reilly talks to Dennis Ross, former Middle East Envoy for the Clinton administration and Special Assistant to President Obama, about Hamas' attack on Israel, the impact ..

Angus Reilly October 10, 2023

Pope John Paul II travels to Poland in 1979.

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John Paul II understood geopolitics

Karol Wojtyła became Poland’s first pontiff forty-five years ago. His successful opposition to authoritarian regimes was born of his uniquely European experiences, in contrast to t..

Elisabeth Braw October 9, 2023