Lee Smith is a senior editor at the Weekly Standard, a fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the author of The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations.
Mob Tactics
Egypt captured Israeli-American Ilan Grapel to generate popular support among the volatile anti-Western middle class at home
Looming Threat
By refusing to directly confront Iran’s provocations, the United States has become the Islamic Republic’s key ally in its march toward a nuclear bomb
Loner
Leon Panetta says Israel is increasingly isolated. But the big problem is that Washington is running away from its influence in the Middle East.
State of the Union
After Barack Obama’s rejection of the Palestinian U.N. statehood move last week, Israeli envoy Michael Oren sees the U.S.-Israel relationship as strong
Smoke Signals
U.S. abandonment of the old Middle East order has led to provocations against Israel, which are likely to intensify after the Palestinian statehood vote
Broadcast News
As Qatar’s star rises in the Middle East, Israel looks to temper the emirate’s influence—and that of its television network, Al Jazeera
Embroiled
With the Arab Spring shaking the Middle East’s status quo, a new regional order is being born. As the recent attacks in Eilat and Be’er Sheva show, Israel is likely to pay a price.
Civil Blood
The central issue in the Middle East is not the Arab-Israeli peace process but the Arab civil war that has been reignited by the so-called Arab Spring
Mad Men
The recent massacres in Oslo, Norway, and Hama, Syria, were both carried out by heartless sociopaths. Why does one of them—Syria’s Bashar al-Assad—continue to enjoy diplomatic relations with Washington?
Gas Pains
Recently discovered gas and oil fields could make Israel one of the world’s largest energy producers. That threatens Iran’s power, which is why its agents in Lebanon are manufacturing a border dispute.
Ben-Gurion
The Eichmann Trial
Sacred Trash
The Dispossessed
Hugo Chávez is ramping up his assault on Venezuela’s upper class, and now a rare Jewish paradise is squarely in his sights. Can it be salvaged?
The Tenth Man
The key to Christopher Hitchens wasn’t his iconoclasm; it was his desire for belonging—and the proof can be found in an unexpected place
- RT @avimayer: Oh, this is too great. "Herewith, the 10 #Simpsons characters most loathed by #Tehran" - http://t.co/hP3CziNv via @marcatracy of @tabletmag
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Cheap Eats
An entrepreneur opened a Jewish-themed restaurant in Lviv, Ukraine. Chopped liver is on the menu, but not its price—diners get to haggle over it.
Grace Notes
Orthodox klezmer and bluegrass virtuoso Andy Statman and evangelical country star Ricky Skaggs cross genres and faiths to form a mighty duo
Goodbye to All That
For generations, the Jews of Caracas had idyllic weather, prosperity, and vibrant communal organizations. Things have changed under Hugo Chávez.
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Pregnant Pause
Pregnancies are fertile ground for superstition, especially for those who assume their traditions and lucky charms are based in Jewish lawby Allison HoffmanHeroine Stupor
Wanted Women, a new joint biography of two Muslim women, refuses to distinguish between an al-Qaida terrorist and a feminist intellectualby Andrew RobertsSt. Leonard’s Passion
Leonard Cohen releases his 12th album, Old Ideas. The troubadour and poet hasn’t always been popular, but he is always profound.by Liel LeibovitzKeep the Faith
The battered Israeli left can advance its agenda only if it learns to stop fearing religion and embrace the notion of the Chosen Peopleby Liel LeibovitzVigor Juice
Jews and Booze, a fascinating new history of Prohibition-era bootleggers, barmen, rabbis, and cops, picks up where HBO’s Boardwalk Empire leaves offby Allan Nadler




