Category Archives: Middle East

Gripped by the Egyptian uprising from the very beginning, as I followed events hour-by-hour my thoughts turned to Naguib Mahfouz’s masterpiece, The Cairo Trilogy. Although my memory of the details of the first volume, Palace Walk, is very patchy, I … Continue reading →

It’s understandable and predictable that many Jews would be looking at the events in Egypt with the implications for their own concerns in mind. I have already written about the dangers of this kind of narrow-mindedness, especially if it entirely … Continue reading →

This piece is cross-posted from Eretz Acheret where it was published today. The implications of the uprising in Egypt, especially if it ends with the ousting of the Mubarak regime, will be felt far and wide. Israel in particular has … Continue reading →

After days of confused and mixed messages, the Obama administration finally seems to be making it clear that it wants Mubarak to go now. Officials still refuse to say this bluntly in public, but it’s being reported that this is … Continue reading →

Now that the Mubarak regime appears to have instigated concerted attacks against the pro-democracy activists, everyone with an opinion about whether its rapid fall is essential and to be welcomed, or whether there must be a gradual handover that prevents … Continue reading →

It looks almost too good to be true. Good-natured but passionate demonstrators massing in their tens of thousands in Tahrir Square today. The manifest desire for political and economic reform, not bloody revenge. The army pledging itself to protect the … Continue reading →

This is quite a moment to be starting a blog in which I plan to comment on, among other things, developments in the Middle East. As I write, tens of thousands of Egyptians are still in Tahrir Square in Cairo … Continue reading →