Response
How Islamism Took Over the Middle East
Three experts on Arabic and Islamic thought discuss the ideas that have mired the Middle East in grievance, instability, and authoritarianism
Featured Content
Response
Today’s Jihadism Uses Ancient Vocabulary, but Its Ideas Are Modern
By Hussein Aboubakr MansourIslamists absorbed the ideas of Fanon and Foucault from the air around them.
Response
Hamas Didn’t Need to Learn Violence from Frantz Fanon
By Martin KramerWhat Bernard Lewis understood about jihad.
Response
Jihadism Is a Modern Philosophy, but Its Islamic Roots Run Deep
By Daniel SonnenfeldMansour risks swinging too far in the wrong direction.
Observation
No, the Israeli Minister of Defense Didn't Suggest Creating a Concentration Camp in Gaza
By PhilologosThe problem with history is not that it has no lessons but that the ones it has can be read in opposite ways.
Latest Editors’ Picks
The Case for Temporarily Occupying Gaza
Shattering Hamas’s guiding logic.
The Emerald Isle’s Palestine Obsession
“As if the war in Gaza is central to Ireland’s very life and destiny.”
The Houthis Are Taking Over Syria’s Drug Empire
Captagon finds a new capital.
The 3rd-Century Pagan Philosopher Whose Views Shaped Kabbalah
Neoplatonism, Judaism, and the overflow of God’s lovingkindness.
Talmudic Law Comes to Terms with Modern Prosthetics
The bionic Jew.
Observations
July 24, 2025
No, the Israeli Minister of Defense Didn't Suggest Creating a Concentration Camp in Gaza
By PhilologosThe problem with history is not that it has no lessons but that the ones it has can be read in opposite ways.
July 09, 2025
Where Did Shylock Get His Name?
By PhilologosThe unusual appellation testifies to the individuality of the character who bears it.
June 25, 2025
The Places Where Israelis Take Shelter, and Their Acronyms
By PhilologosMamad, mamak, mamam, mamats—how about some sleep?
Most Popular
Observation
Where Did Shylock Get His Name?
By Philologos
Observation
How Lev Tolstoy Became Leo Tolstoy
By Philologos
Monthly Essay
To Save Itself from International Isolation, Israel Must Hold On to the West Bank
By Rafi DeMogge
Monthly Essay
Ecstasy and Amnesia in the Gaza Strip
By Shany Mor
Monthly Essay
The Return of Bernard Lewis
By Martin Kramer
Monthly Essay
My Quarrel with “My Quarrel with Hersh Rasseyner”
Observation
No, the Israeli Minister of Defense Didn't Suggest Creating a Concentration Camp in Gaza
By Philologos
Observation
The Origins of the Precept “Whoever Saves a Life Saves the World”
By Philologos
