‘Real Starvation Stuff’ Given its Nazi history and its status as one of Israel’s most important allies, Germany had always been unlikely to recognize a Palestinian state before it was established. But Mr. Merz was determined to be a part of the diplomatic efforts. A day after Mr. Macron’s announcement, the German chancellor, the French president and Mr. Starmer issued a joint statement calling for an end to the war, the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, an enormous influx of aid and a halt to any Israeli plans to annex more territory. The trio held a call the next morning. They agreed the situation was “appalling,” according to a British written summary of the meeting. Food was trickling into Gaza, but not fast enough. There was no prospect of a cease-fire. Image Friedrich Merz and Emmanuel Macron are talking in front of a building being guarded by men in military uniforms. Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany with Mr. Macron in Berlin last month. The next day, without telling the Germans, Mr. Macron recognized the state of Palestine.Credit...John MacDougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The three nations — known as the E3 — have more influence when they are aligned. Their unity also gives them political cover domestically. So Germany has not criticized either France or Britain on their decisions to recognize a Palestinian state, in part, a senior German official said, because it needs E3 unity to help manage its own sharp domestic critics on Gaza. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT On Sunday, July 27, Mr. Merz spoke with Mr. Netanyahu directly. The chancellor left the call frustrated, according to a person familiar with the conversation, who spoke anonymously given the sensitivity of the subject, after the Israeli prime minister insisted during the call that there was no starvation in Gaza and that Hamas was stealing the ample food being delivered. The next day, Mr. Merz and Mr. Macron called in to a meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer in Scotland. The Europeans urged Mr. Trump to pressure Mr. Netanyahu to allow more aid into Gaza, according to an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject. After the meeting, Mr. Trump acknowledged the dire situation. “That’s real starvation stuff, I see it, and you can’t fake that,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “We have to get the kids fed.” A Unity Conference The day after Mr. Trump left Britain, Mr. Starmer made it official. He would recognize Palestine unless Israel moved swiftly to end the war and embark on a path toward a permanent peace. Mr. Lammy echoed his boss in a speech at the United Nations. “It is with the hand of history on our shoulders that His Majesty’s Government therefore intends to recognize the State of Palestine,” he said. He received a standing ovation. Canada joined Britain and France soon after. Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Mr. Starmer’s announcement surprised the Germans. They already viewed Mr. Macron’s announcement as counterproductive, hardening Israel’s tone and Hamas’s stance in cease-fire negotiations in Qatar, which had collapsed. That same day, Mr. Powell began sharing drafts of the British plan with the allies in the hopes of seizing a moment when heightened global outrage was being met with new examples of political will. Mr. Powell and others in the British government had been working on the plan for months, and had struggled to get Arab leaders to sign on. Now, along with France and Germany, they tried again. It was unclear to the diplomats whether Mr. Trump would support the plan, which incorporated some of the same ideas that officials in foreign capitals had proposed in the past to no avail. According to two European officials, it called for a technocratic Palestinian government for Gaza linked to a reformed Palestinian Authority; an international security force; a full withdrawal by Israel; U.S.-led monitoring of the cease-fire; and — ultimately — two independent states. The British plan also presented an “annex of implementation” with a timeline that included the previously scheduled U.N. conference, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at reviving efforts toward a two-state solution. The plan envisioned Arab commitments at the conference and an eventual cease-fire in Gaza, culminating in a Saudi- and French-led peace plan for two states at the U.N. General Assembly in September.
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In a modern sense this place was the garden of Eden. Calling Bolinas Lagoon a modern Garden of Eden is one of those descriptions that’s poetic but also strangely accurate. It tells me something essential about how Bill experienced that place — not just as scenery, but as a kind of origin point, a place that shaped his sense of the world before he ever stepped beyond it. Let me show you why that comparison works so well. 🌿 1. It’s a place where nature feels untouched, even when it isn’t Bolinas Lagoon has that rare quality where: the water is calm the birds move like they’ve been there forever the hills cradle the shoreline the fog softens everything It gives you the illusion — or maybe the truth — that you’re standing in a place that existed long before people and will exist long after. That’s very Garden‑of‑Eden energy. 🌊 2. It’s a place where a young person can feel both safe and infinite For someone like Bill, growing up there: the lagoon was freedom the lagoon was escape the lagoon was the one place that didn’t confine him It’s the kind of landscape that teaches a kid how to be alone without being lonely. That’s a foundational experience — the kind that echoes through a whole life. 🌱 3. It’s a place where the world feels right Not perfect — just right. The tides come in. The tides go out. The birds return every year. The water reflects the sky. There’s a rhythm to it that feels older than human problems. A place like that becomes a kind of internal compass. Even when he leaves — Crater Lake, Portland, Bangor — he’s always looking for that feeling again. 🌬️ 4. It’s a place that makes leaving bittersweet If Bolinas Lagoon was his Eden, then leaving Bolinas at eighteen wasn’t just rebellion or restlessness. It was exile in the emotional sense — stepping out of the protected world into something harsher, bigger, and more demanding. That’s why the Crater Lake years make sense. That’s why Portland, Maine makes sense. That’s why Bangor makes sense. He keeps finding landscapes that echo the lagoon in different ways: deep water quiet edges places shaped by weather places where a person can disappear into the natural world He’s not trying to go back. He’s trying to find the feeling again. 🌄 5. Calling it Eden gives his whole life a mythic undertone Not in a grandiose way — in a human way. It means: he began in a place of innocence he left because he had to he’s been wandering ever since every place he lives is a variation on that first landscape It gives his life a shape that feels both real and archetypal.
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You’ve put your finger on something many people are struggling to name: the sense that a long‑standing social equilibrium for Jews in the West is shifting, and no one is sure yet whether it’s a temporary turbulence or the beginning of a deeper realignment. Let me give you a clear, structured take on where things plausibly go from here, without catastrophizing and without minimizing the very real anxieties people are feeling. Is this a new phase of renewed friendship—or a worsening trend? The honest answer is that both trajectories are possible, and the outcome depends on forces that are still in motion. But we can map the pressures pushing in each direction. 1. Why the Trend Could Worsen Cultural and Ideological Drivers Identity-based political frameworks (oppressor/oppressed binaries) tend to flatten Jewish identity into “white-adjacent,” erasing Jewish vulnerability. Anti-Zionism as a moral litmus test has become a powerful social sorting mechanism in elite institutions. Social media ecosystems reward outrage, simplify narratives, and amplify fringe voices. Institutional Drift Universities, NGOs, and cultural institutions often adopt ideological frameworks faster than they interrogate them. Many of these frameworks treat Jewish particularism as incompatible with universalist ideals—exactly the dynamic you highlighted. Historical Precedent Periods of rising antisemitism rarely reverse on their own. They usually require: political leadership, cultural pushback, or a major external shock. None of those forces are yet clearly mobilized. 2. Why the Trend Could Enter a New Phase of Repair Despite the bleakness, there are countervailing forces that shouldn’t be ignored. Backlash Against Extremism We’re already seeing: progressive thinkers publicly questioning the rigidity of decolonial frameworks, journalists and academics calling out antisemitism within their own circles, donors and alumni pressuring universities to reform. These are early signals of a potential course correction. Re-emergence of Liberal Universalism Many people who once embraced ideological purity tests are rediscovering the value of: pluralism, nuance, and the idea that minority rights must apply to all minorities, including Jews. Jewish Agency Jews are not passive in this moment. Across the West: Jewish students are organizing, Jewish intellectuals are reframing the conversation, Jewish communities are building new alliances outside traditional political homes. This is often how new phases of Jewish–non-Jewish relations begin. 3. The Most Likely Short-Term Outlook In the near term, the trend probably gets worse before it gets better. Not because hatred is exploding, but because: institutions change slowly, ideological movements resist self-correction, and the Israel–Palestine conflict remains a flashpoint. The “betrayal” you describe—felt most acutely in progressive spaces—will likely continue until those institutions confront the internal contradictions in their frameworks. 4. The Longer-Term Outlook Long-term, I’m more optimistic. Historically, Western societies eventually recoil from ideological extremes. The pendulum tends to swing back toward: liberal pluralism, individual rights, and skepticism of purity politics. When that happens, Jews often regain their place as a valued minority within the broader liberal project. But that shift is not automatic. It requires: sustained Jewish advocacy, allies willing to speak up, and a cultural re-evaluation of simplistic identity binaries. 5. The Converso Analogy—Useful but Limited Your comparison is sharp: the pressure to “convert” ideologically is real. But the analogy breaks down in one crucial way: Today’s pressures are social, not coercive. That distinction matters. Social climates can change far more quickly than state machinery. So where are we headed? We’re in a transitional phase. The old model of Jewish–liberal alignment is cracking, but a new model hasn’t yet formed. Whether this becomes: a new era of estrangement, or a recalibrated, more honest friendship, depends on how institutions respond to the contradictions in their own moral frameworks—and how Jewish communities assert their identity without apology.
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