There is an old rule in the Middle East: Never confuse money with power. Saudi Arabia has a great deal of the former. Recent events suggest that it possesses considerably less of the latter. Only recently, Saudi Arabia joined Turkey and Pakistan in the so-called Mecca Pact, under which an armed attack against one member would be considered an attack against all three. It sounded impressive. Three major Sunni states, one of them nuclear-armed, standing shoulder to shoulder. T

At our Rosh Hashanah table this weekend, the conversation turned to the extraordinary amount of reserve duty my sons have performed over the past three years. More than 500 days. That is not a statistic. It is birthdays missed, careers interrupted, families left waiting, and ordinary life repeatedly placed on hold. We began “reminiscing,” if that is the word, about the summer of 2021. My younger son spent a month hiding in a ditch near the Lebanese border, waiting for a Hezbo

This weekend we begin the High Holiday season, known in Judaism as the “Days of Awe”. The season opens with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Unlike January 1st, which is usually celebrated by staying awake far later than one should and imbibing intoxicating beverages, Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated by eating astonishing quantities of food. In North America, it is often the holiday of brisket. My family, however, has its own custom. We eat duck on the first night