Sublime

Did some American Jews prefer the moral ease of victimhood, I asked myself, to the complexities of Israeli power? Was no Israel better than an Israel that fell short of their dreams?

of both “Sharon the Murderer” and “Begin the Murderer.”

The firm hosted a dinner for me at The Mansion. Jack Hauer, another named partner who was a very well known and respected litigator around town, was the lead host. When we were down to the brandy and cigars, Jack said, "I'd like to ask you a question.""Sure," I replied."You write a column for the Dallas Times Herald,"

strong Republicans, Trump-approving respondents, and self-described conservatives are the most likely to behave like party loyalists and simply accept the Trump cue—in either direction.” When Trump promoted a conservative position, his supporters agreed. When Trump adopted a more liberal position, they agreed.

First, ethnic and racial groups, in and of themselves, are amoral. Second, people prefer to worship in their own cultural groups. Third, denominations and congregations that use the “homogenous units principle,” which means that volunteer organizations function best when composed of just one cultural group, grow and are more vital.

Considerable comfort could be obtained, given this story line, through the demonization of the Reverend Al Sharpton, whose presence on the edges of certain criminal cases that interested him had a polarizing effect that tended to reinforce the narrative.

That linkage seemed to me to be the most damaging part of his speech. The Arabs had long complained that they were forced to pay the price of the Jews’ near eradication by Europe, which dumped the survivors in Palestine. That narrative denied three thousand years of unbroken Jewish connection to our land. It overlooked the fact that Jews had always

We should favor those who seek peace over those who have shown a preference for war. We should favor those who are not seeking to destroy a U.N. member state over those who are.

With remarkable candor, Obama revealed his opposition to Israeli settlement building and his support for Palestinian rights. “Obama might be expected to show deeper sympathy for the Palestinian demand for a capital in Jerusalem,” I surmised, “and greater flexibility in including Hamas in negotiations.”