Israel
Islam’s reformation: an Arab-Israeli alliance is taking shape in the Middle East
When Benjamin Netanyahu visited Oman in 2018 in a gesture of goodwill to Israel’s neighbours, the welcome was not universal.…
The rise – and disastrous fall – of the kibbutz
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are part of a breed of socialists who argue that this time will be different.…
Lebanon: the world’s best failed state
Look down from the mountains outside Beirut and, on most days, you’ll see a grey blanket of smog choking the…
How America’s Iran policy is shaped in Riyadh and Jerusalem
Iran’s seizure of a British-owned oil tanker transiting the Persian Gulf has let loose a fresh round of media war…
I didn’t know kosher food this good existed: Decks in Tverya reviewed
Decks is a restaurant built on the Sea of Galilee. It is Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu’s favourite restaurant (it is…
Is one of history’s most rousing speeches apocryphal?
As rousing death-and-glory speeches go, it is one of the best. With a besieging Roman army only hours from storming…
Rod Liddle: Tunnelling my way into Gaza
I’m meant to be peering into a tunnel hacked out by Hamas a few hundred metres from Gaza City into…
Why did Democrats invite a hate preacher into Congress?
The Republicans are the party of racists and religious bigots, and the Democrats are the party of anti-racists and religious…
Why the Democrats have gone off Israel
Not so long ago in America, immediately after a Democratic politician announced a run for president, he or she would…
Why is this Israeli drama such a hit with Palestinians? Because it tells the truth
‘The rule in our household is: if a TV series hasn’t got subtitles, it’s not worth watching,’ a friend told…
Why this deluded affection for the Palestinians?
The worst entry for this year’s Euro-vision song contest was that vast cater-wauling aboriginal. I can’t remember her name, only…
What does friendship with Israel really mean?
Harold Macmillan once remarked that: ‘There are three bodies no sensible man ever directly challenges: the Roman Catholic Church, the…
If Corbyn wins, emigrating to Israel is my clear escape route
I’m currently in Israel on a press trip organised by Bicom — the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre. Bicom…
Let’s find the most idiotic Brexit headlines
Gimson’s Prime Ministers, out this week, is a crisp and stylish account of every one of them. I happened to…
Saudi Arabia has united with Israel against Iran – and a desert storm is brewing
Until last weekend, the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh’s exclusive Diplomatic Quarter was colloquially known as the Princes’ Hotel. It was a…
How Britain fell for Saudi Arabia’s reforming Crown Prince
There are two ways of seeing the extraordinary rise of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince: the blood-stained debut of a new…
Highly charged territory
I first heard of this tragicomic spy romp around Israel and Palestine when Julian Barnes sang its praises in the…
Wandering Jews
Simon Schama is an international treasure. Whether on screen or in print, he is all energy, enthusiasm, dramatic gestures, emotional…
Speech therapy
Oslo opened in the spring of 2016 at a modest venue in New York. It moved to Broadway and this…
Iran is our natural ally
The Saudi town of Awamiya — like so many countless cities across Iraq, Syria and Yemen that are witnessing an…
Mysticism and metamorphosis
‘I frankly hate Descartes,’ states a character in Nicole Krauss’s new novel, Forest Dark: ‘The more he talks about following…
The good Palestinian
Shubbak, meaning ‘window’ in Arabic, is a biennial festival taking place in various venues across London. The brochure reads like…
High life
New York If only my wordsmith friend Jeremy Clarke had been with me. What fun he’d have had with…
Way to go, Jeremy Corbyn – root out those Jew-haters!
A long and arduous flight back from the Caucasus, but worth it nonetheless for the meaningful protest we had staged…
Rod Liddle: Labour’s putting me on trial for thought crime
I got an email this week, from a chap called Harry, which began as follows: ‘I am writing to inform you…
