I have a ton of work to do this weekend (mostly so I can have a free next weekend with a certain special someone in Minnesota). So … roundup time.
Ha’aretz reveals an Israeli government report detailing the extent to which the settlement enterprise (even the “legal” ones) has been carried out without government permission and on private Palestinian land. Let’s be clear: Settlements on open territory? Political problem. Settlements on private Palestinian property? Theft. Time to leave.
Al-Qaeda gains support in Palestine, drawing on rifts within the radical community over Hamas’ acceptance of a cease-fire. Hamas claims that al-Qaeda affiliated groups are actually Fatah fronts, but I’m skeptical — I just think Hamas doesn’t want to get flanked on its right. Just remember: It can always get worse.
Former TNR intern Dayo Olopade comments on Samantha Power’s appointment as an Obama foreign policy aide. She notes that government has not exactly been the protagonist in Power’s books on human rights. Will she break through the quagmire, or be silenced by the bureaucracy? I don’t know — but I wish her luck.
If you want the Davos panel where Shimon Peres royally pissed off the Prime Minister of Turkey, Jeffrey Goldberg has the video (Peres starts at around minute 39).
Another rabbi prominent for his promotion of Catholic/Jewish dialogue flames the Vatican. I really wonder if the Catholic church realizes just how incredibly pissed off the Jewish community is right now.
Yes America, race still matters (I don’t care what cartoons you read).
Ta-Nehisi Coates talks about having a “complicated” family.
My thoughts on former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele’s election as the first African-American head of the RNC.
Anti-Semitism rears his head in South Africa (but that’s no excuse to make irresponsible pronouncements about civilian deaths in Gaza).