I’m writing this edition to you from Jerusalem, following a whirlwind week of reporting in the region. It’s impossible to cover Jews today without writing about Israel, the place where approximately half of them now reside. With the country poised on a political precipice as Benjamin Netanyahu returns to power, I wanted to see for myself where things might be heading, and to talk with politicians, cultural figures, and changemakers on the ground. And because it’s impossible to talk about Israel without talking about the other nation that lives here, I spent time with Arab lawmakers here in Israel and with Palestinians in the West Bank, tracing the fault lines that riddle this land.
It’s going to take me some time to properly process and fashion what I’ve learned into words for you, so consider this a promise of coming attractions. In the interim, I thought I’d leave you with a few scattered thoughts and reading recommendations for the weekend, beginning with the outcome of this week’s Senate election in Georgia.