The New Republic

Time magazine's cover story this week, 'The Biology of Belief: How Faith Can Heal,' is almost too silly for words. Here is a flavor of the article's thesis: READ MORE >>

Tuesday is when Israelis, both Jewish and Arab, will go to the polls to elect their next Knesset. There are 33 parties in the contest of which the weirdest is the Holocaust Survivors and Grown-Up Green Leaf Party. This, then, is a vital democracy but more than a bit on the wild side. READ MORE >>

Andrew J. Bacevich is professor of history and international relations at Boston University. He is the author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. READ MORE >>

I've kept silent so far about Pope Benedict's decision to de-excommunicate four Lefebvrist bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X, at least one of whom is a virulently anti-Semitic Holocaust-denier. My silence is a product of uncertainty about what I might add to the discussion. READ MORE >>

My current TRB column is about the eerie intellectual parallels between J Street (and its followers) and the right-wing Israel hawks they so virulently oppose. "Right-wing Zionism thrives on a sense of victimhood and encirclement," I wrote, "J Street has won a cult following among liberal bloggers by tapping into an equivalent narrative of persecution and bravery." J Street's supporters are doing their best to demonstrate its thesis. READ MORE >>

More than a few bloggers have READ MORE >>

In the three-and-a-half years I worked at First Things magazine, I came to know two Richard John Neuhauses. The first is the one I worked with in the journal's offices every day: personally generous and jovial, intellectually and theologically curious, alert to political and cultural complications, overflowing with energy and ideas. This is the Neuhaus readers encountered in his lengthy, erudite essays on philosophy, theology, and history, which frequently graced the pages of the magazine. READ MORE >>

The following reflection on the passing of Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009) is cross-posted at the National Catholic Reporter. Additional thoughts on Neuhaus' life and legacy will appear in this space over the coming days. READ MORE >>

This is not me reporting. I have not been in Gaza. Like other journalists I am not allowed. Some reporters are having hissy-fits because of the Israeli prohibition to go beyond the frontier. Tough darts. No embedding. They could, of course, try going in through Egypt which also has a border with the Strip, and a border that fronts on areas of much activity by the Israeli military. Like destroying the tunnels that have been Hamas' lifeline for other people's death.    READ MORE >>

According to Reuters, the Archbishop on Canterbury, Rowan Williams, once again has ideas on how to stop the bloodshed in the Middle East.  He urged President Bush and president-elect Barack Obama to do it. READ MORE >>