Khalil Gibran Muhammad just now emails that he is moving to Princeton and taking IARA with him (he lives in Montclair, NJ IIRC). Piece of evidence #1 that "victory over wokeness" is entirely overstated. If people have learned to conflate their identities with wokeness they are not going down without a fight.
From 1948 - 1967, Gaza was part of Egypt and the West Bank was part of Jordan. Why didn't Egypt or Jordan stand up a Palestinian state when they had the chance?
Consider Gaza from 2005 - 2023. Israel withdrew from Gaza. Is it Israel's responsibility to stand up a Palestinian state? Gaza became a de-facto Palestinian state with Hamas as the government. The de-facto government of Gaza spent billions of aid developing a capability to attack Israel. (Yes, you can say "Israel remained in a state of war with Gaza", you can't say Israel prevented a de-facto Palestinian state in Gaza.)
The West Bank is different. But there's no obvious Palestinian government that could be stood up. How would this Palestinian state come about? It seems unlikely -- given the experience of Gaza from 2005 - 2023 -- that Israel will look optimistically on a Palestinian government in the West Bank.
I want to thank you for responding to my question about whether your students self-censoring has changed. I'm hoping that when John returns to campus he could address whether there is what Niall Ferguson refers to as "vibe shift" or not, more openness to discussion of differing ideas. I open this to any other commenters who are in academia.
PS: This is a Free Press podcast Bari Weiss interview with Kemi Badenoch, the new black female leader of the Tories in Britain. Would love to have you both interview her if possible.
I would expect the Commentary’s article on Ta-Nehishi Coates to be a hit piece, standard fare for Jewish publications to those who dare criticize their darling Israel.
John needs to step out of his Jewish supremacist echo chamber. He is seemingly incapable of seeing what the rest of the world so easily sees.
Israel represents the worst of humanity. The malignant marriage of perpetual victimhood with systemic hate and uncontrolled violence.
They are apart John because the goal of the Jews from the inception of Zionism in the late 1800s was to create an ethno racist supremacist state for Jews with as few Palestinians as possible, preferably none. Jews preach universalism to the rest of us while they practice exclusivism for themselves.
Palestinians were 90% of the population and the Jews 10% when Zionism was founded.
When they opened up official archives of the state of Israel several decades ago, and historians could write about it, Moshe Dayan commented that we (the Israeli’s) would constantly provoke the Palestinians until they would respond, they would beat the shit out of them. That has been Israel’s standard mode of operation for the last century. We don’t read about the shit that Jews do in our Jewish dominated media. During the intifadas, Israel would be killing Palestinians on a near daily basis, found in those one paragraph abstract news brief on page 17 in our Jewish media. Then, when there was finally a suicide bombing, it would be front page headlines, expressions of horror and outrage, graphic, detailed, personalized stories, we knew the mothers, the fathers, the sisters ,the brothers, the uncles, the cousins, the great loss to humanity of the Jews who were killed… standard format for hour one of day one of propaganda 101. All most Americans have ever known in is Zionist Hasbara (propaganda). Jews have played us for the willing fools we have been our entire lives. Most Jews don’t even believe in God and view Christian Zionists as useful idiots.
So the answer to John’s all important question as to why they are separated. This because Palestinians were resisting Israel’s unrelenting violence and disposition by the Jews.
Let’s not forget that Hamas was willing to make a long term truce with Israel
The Zionist goal from the beginning was to ethically cleanse Palestinians, step-by-step, constantly take more and, more of their land, making life for them as miserable as they could hoping to drive them out.
John did not answer Glenn’s question about how many, kill them all? That would be about 4 million in the West Bank and Gaza. All he could do was deny there was a genocide, a genocide acknowledged by the ICC, Amnesty International, the UN (the whole world), and others.
On Dec 2, former Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Yaalon, accused his country of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
Israel is still killing Palestinians, 20, 50, 100 or more every day, directing them to go to a “safe” area, them bombing them there. They bomb hospitals and schools, explicitly target doctors and other medical personnel. They deliberately target journalists, trying to prevent the world from seeing Jewish crimes. We know practically none of this is our MSM, the legacy media, another reason them MSM has fallen in disrepute, people see the garbage they have been fed, they are still being fed.
Today’s Zionists are moral degenerates. The whole world now sees you for what many of us have long know you to be, but what John seems incapable of seeing.
Angela Merkel said something to the effect that, “Trump saw the presidency through the eyes of a property developer.” I think since then he’s changed his worldview to more that of a world leader. Trump 1.0 was a train wreck. January 6 was despicable. But I think Trump 2.0 will be better.
I hope that nobody in the incoming administration listens to this, or agrees with this take. Glenn, you're taking the Chamberlain position at a time that we cannot have Chamberlain in office. Xi Jin Ping, Putin, Kim Jong Un, the IRGC, Hamas, Hizbollah, and the Houthis are all authoritarian regimes, just like Hitler's. They do not respect negotiations; they view negotiators as weak, and will break every agreement. They only respect threats against their power. We need to maintain our support for Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel; they are in the front lines of a war against humanity.
With regard to foreign policy and history, you have only had left wing thinkers on your podcast. You are failing to show other views on your show. Please talk to Victor Davis Hanson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Niall Ferguson.
There is no genocide occurring in Gaza; the media that's shouting genocide refuse to distinguish between Islam, and peaceful Muslims, from Islamism, as practiced by the IRGC, its minions, Turkey, Qatar, and al-Jazeera. There are 2,000,000 Palestinians living in Israel proper; 35% of Israeli doctors are Palestinian, a justice of the supreme court is Palestinian, two political parties represent Palestinians. There is no apartheid in Israel; Gaza and the West Bank are not annexed to Israel, and are not under Israeli law. Hamas and Hizbollah are Islamist actors that deny rights to anyone who isn't Muslim; that's why Hamas didn't distinguish between different ethno-religious communities when it invaded Israel on October 7. Supposedly the death toll in Gaza is over 44,000; the problem is that Hamas does not distinguish between its fighters and the populace. Upwards of one-third to one-half of this number is Hamas operators. The US death toll in afghanistan and iraq was one combatant for every 9 civilians killed.
The Left is deluded by identity politics. Only after colonialism did the Muslim world experience governments that were no longer rooted in Islamist thought. Almost all overthrows of empires were led by Islamist rebels who installed a more austere government on the people. The concept of Ahl-al-Kitab--People of the Book- was followed more in the breach rather than in practice.
I studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies in the early 80s at the University of Michigan. My Islamic history classes had members of the Muslim Students Association who continuously argued with the professor when he said something that they disagreed with; they covered no information of the lives of minority communities under Islam. Only in one class, Middle Eastern Literature, did I learn of the Devshirme (Child Tax), where the Muslims would come into Christian villages and kidnap boys. These boys were raised as Muslims, attended schools where they were taught how to be soldiers. In adulthood, they would be released to the administrative regions of the Ottoman Empire, and would serve as a police force and army to control their own families. These men were not allowed to marry; they did produce poetry, called shehrengriz, songs of love to boys based on their beauty, strength, and courage. Jews were subjected to this until 1492, when the ports were opened to Spanish Jews whom the Sultan expected to enrich the empire.
My paternal ancestors fled from the villages of Greece for the mountains to hide in the caves every time the Turks came. They would slaughter families, rape the wives and daughters, and send them with their brothers not selected for the military to slave markets throughout the empire.
In Morocco, Jews were forcibly converted to Islam numerous times, living in limbo; they were not allowed to revert to Judaism, nor were they allowed to intermarry with old Muslims. See:
Fenton, Paul B. “From Forced Conversion to Marranism: Crypto-Jews in Morocco and Their Fate.” European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe, vol. 52, no. 2, 2019, pp. 31–42. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48561447. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
García-Arenal, Mercedes. “Les Bildiyyīn de Fès, Un Groupe de Néo-Musulmans d’origine Juive.” Studia Islamica, no. 66, 1987, pp. 113–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595913. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024. (Morocco's borders extended as far east as Tripoli, Libya, as far south as Mauritania, and as far north as Andalusia in southern Spain, depending on the conquerors.)
The islamists have ruled from the Atlantic (Morocco) almost reaching to the Pacific since 750 AD. They've kept a tight grip on the region; it is the oldest, continuous Colonialist-Settler state in existence. Islamic law denies equality to people who are not members of the sect in power. In many of these countries, converts to other religions are subject to the death penalty, people suspected of blasphemy are subject to vigilante justice, and minorities (like Hindus in Bangladesh, Christians in Pakistan, Nigeria, the Sudan, and Muslims in Afghanistan and other ISIS and AlQaeda occupied countries, like Syria and Iraq. Hizbollah and the other Iranian backed groups do not value the rights of people, whether Kaffir or Muslim, who disagrees with the teachings of the group in power. This is why most of the Gulf states and Egypt have banned the Muslim Brotherhood; it's a threat to human life throughout the Muslim world.
I'm asking you to rethink everything that you're hearing at the university. What your fellow professors are saying flies in face of the real history and politics of the region.
Thanks for this. Muslims have been the longest & most successful colonizers in history, even more so than the Romans or Christianity itself. Do you think we(the western world) don't look at it that way because we "guilt" and they don't?
Yes, but there's another issue involved. It's because the Left has always supported the Socialist/Communist narrative, which fundamentally is at odds with Democracy. The Far Left and Far Right are both identitarian, authoritarian movements that view questioning of their own beliefs as criminal; they have the same goal: to undermine the foundations of democratic societies so that they can overthrow them. Their ideologies, as well as Islamist theology, state that they will be the dominant force worldwide, and that they should control the world. The Left has supported the Islamists since the 1950s, and with every successful overthrow of a government that led to a Muslim regime, the Left have been tossed into jail, and hung as enemies of the state (Iran, Afghanistan).
Thanks for the conversation. Do you find that this is true because at heart the Far Left, being Fundamentalist Socialists are atheists, where as the islamists are Fundamentalist Muslims? Fundamentalists of any stripe; The Christians in MAGA, Israeli Jews in the West Bank, Muslims in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria,etc, will always be at odds as they each take their liturgical texts literally and leave no room for interpretation. Their power grabs always lead to Authoritarianism & therefore no different than Socialists.
You hit it on the head. It's the my way or the highway approach. Basically, it's about control, and eliminating anyone who can gain power to destroy your base.
At first, I was angry at the way Glenn brought up the question I asked, and the Commentary review of Coates I linked to, only to say he'd already addressed it and had nothing more to say.
Glenn says he'd already addressed the many points in that review when he first spoke about Coates's book. This is simply not so. I have commented here about 20 times since then, as have a great many others. I do not believe I have ever expressed the sort of disdain Glenn essentially expressed back to me with his effort to dismiss it all. In fact, Glenn has been almost obsessively insistent on NOT addressing the many specific issues involved here.
My anger then gave way to sadness. John effectively challenged Glenn on his two central claims -- that Israel is an apartheid state, and that Israel is engaged in indiscriminate, genocide-like slaughter of ALL of Gaza's people. In response, Glenn became increasingly emotional and frustrated in his relentless refusal to address ANY of the actual factual basis for his wild claims. It is clear to me there is something churning inside Glenn on this, and frankly I suspect it is not clear to him what it is. In any case, I almost wish Glenn had continued to ignore me regarding the specifics I have tried to bring to his attention rather than pretend to address them now without addressing them at all. I have to say I've stuck it out until now, but now I am done. The Glenn show has lost its allure. Over and out.
You have captured my own frustration, indeed puzzlement, over Glenn's wooden-headed positions here -- especially his lack of curiosity about this complicated history of the mid-east and Israel's role in it. Is he that easily swayed by surface imagery on PBS or Coates lazy analysis? For someone who claims to seek truth, his citing citing of anti-zionist/anti-semitic stances of the so-called international community (ICC, UN) as sources of truth about Israel is bizarre. You might be right about something churning inside Glenn... I'm still going to hang-in with the Glenn show for now at least. But sadly it's not the same.
War with Iran is not the same as destroying their formative nuclear weaponry. It is a singular event, not an attempt to impose a framework for governance.
We see you, John. Your envy of Donald J. Trump is clear as day. It's driven you to wish a violent death on the man; to call him an "idiot" and a "gorilla", among other names; to express your hope that Kamala Harris could ride a wave of white guilt into office (you, the author of "Woke Racism" whose lifetime beat has been to oppose the very idea of race-based guilt); to invent, criticize and condemn hypothetical counterfactual actions that you believe Trump would have taken had the 2024 election gone the way you wanted it to; and finally here in this Q&A to inexplicably call Trump's re-election "an accident" amid an electoral college landslide and popular vote swing from 2020 of nearly 9 million votes.
Donald Trump is a doer. He is a consequential man who puts himself and his reputation on the line every day for all to see and judge. He has survived attempts on his legacy, his livelihood, and even his life. In so doing he has amassed a level of support and significance that has made him an era-defining personality and a world historical force - whether you acknowledge it or not.
You, John, are an opinion-haver. You are sharp and fluent, to be sure, and you have contributed many fine thoughts to American cultural debates over the years, especially on the subjects of race and language. But I fear you are fast becoming a jealous and petty little man of waning cultural significance. You detest Trump and call him "cowardly", "reprehensible" and "small"; this man who has beaten everything the world has thrown at him - from lawsuits to criminal charges and even now to real bullets. Meanwhile, you are so afraid of criticism and social opprobrium that you refuse even to comment during your appearances on the Glenn Show about hot-button cultural issues like transgenderism and queer theory, for fear of cancellation and a hit to your pocket book or social status. You fancy yourself a contrarian, but lately my man, you come off more like a preening obsessive-compulsive. You whine week after week after week about slights you've received from all sorts of men whose reputations have surpassed your own - from Ta-Nehisi Coates to J.D. Vance - all the while assuring us that you're "just fine" with all of it.
As a long-time reader (and even a fan) of yours, I implore you to take a long, deep breath. Consider the manifold challenges that America faces at this historical moment - complex problems which I've heard you address and enumerate in precise and original terms on this very show. Consider that Trump's greatest strength - his refusal to let his own self-worth be defined by others - may be something you would do well to emulate. It's not too late to make sure your ample skill as a thinker, writer, and contrarian triumphs over this late-stage TDS. Trump will be with us for at least another 4 years, so I urge you to study him diligently, open up your mind and resist the condescension and cattiness that Liberal Democrats and Never Trump Republicans have for the winning team. Come back to us, John. We don't need a black Sam Harris.
Again Glenn is completely out of his depth when it comes to Israel. His intellectual tourism on this issue without understanding the history that John is trying to help him on is revelatory. One can admire TNC’s literary style while also understanding that he too is completely vacuous in his ahistorical cosplay. No, it’s intellectually unserious to project American or South African history on another region of the world, replete with 3.000 years of history. Glenn, bring someone on the pod like Simon Sebag Montefiore so you can better understand because this bloviating is embarrassing.
One aspect of Glenn's rant about Israel struck me as egregiously false -- the claim by Coates, repeated by Glenn, that Coates never hears or sees questions in the media on questions like "Israel as an apartheid state"). A quick Google search on this issue (never mind accusations of genocide or the coverage of campus protests) revealed pages and pages of links to interviews and articles by the likes NPR, BBC, CBC, NYT, MSNBC, PBS, Vox, AP, Reteurs, and the like. You can hardly tune in to PBS Newshour without seeing the images of rubble that Glenn is so moved by. And yes, those images are rough. So enough with the Coates' willfully ignorant claim that the Palestinian story (including the situation in the west bank) are not covered by the media. This is no justification for Coates' ignorance on this topic -- no matter how well written. And who are the "thought police" that is preventing Glenn (or anyone for that matter) from being critical of Israel or zionism?
One last point. Glenn and to your question about all the tragic loss of civilians in Gaza.
In WW2, should Britain/US/Russia have used restraint to avoid killing innocent Germans and not destroy the Nazi regime?
Consider when a person has cancer, it can potentially kill them. Do they not have chemo to rid themselves of the cancer bc they would also be harming healthy cells?
Your analysis completely leaves out of the equation how to deal with Hamas. A terrorist group that rejoices when they have slaughtered innocent people. A group so barbaric they are aligned with the most evil groups/ such as Hezbollah/houthis/taliban/etc.
Did you have any critiques of the Assad regime and his actual genocide?
The hypocrisy and double standard that the Jews have had to endure in this last 14 months is simply mind blowing, and I don’t think that you understand at any level what it’s like for Jewish people today
Glenn you absolutely do not understand the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Have you been to Israel? There is no apartheid and you discredit yourself by saying otherwise. Israel does not want to kill civilians…but in war unfortunately this happens. You have yet to address Islamic jihadism and how to live next to a group that wishes to destroy you. Israel celebrates life/education/family etc.
what does Hamas celebrate? Israel is not perfect and I have many criticisms…but you draw a deeply flawed comparison to S Africa apartheid. John understands the nuance and complication as does Coleman Hughes. You are taking a superficial view. And Coates may write well…stylistically…but he demonstrated immense ignorance on the topic of Israel.
Yes, I have been to Israel many times and have relatives there. Your aggressive, disrespectful and rude way of addressing real issues does not make your argument stronger.
I’d be curious to know what your suggestion is as to how to deal with an Islamic jihadist terrorist group at your border.
And calling me a Zionist is incorrect, I am a HUGE Zionist.
Israel is not an apartheid state. 2 million Muslims live in Israel. They work there and are in the government. The signs are all in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
What do you think would happen if the Israel’s laid down their arms? If Hamas had the power to do what they wanted? They would kill every single Jew. If Hamas put down their weapons, there would be peace.
I addressed some of your questions in a comment last night… newest comment on the program as of this morning. In your mind, the whole world are a bunch of antisemites and Jews are so innocent, so pure.
Are you fucking serious? There is no apartheid in Israel? All the delusional fucking Zionists in these comments. Immersed in Israel and Palestine for over 40 years, a question I long ago came to ask ... do Jews refuse to take a critical look at themselves or are they incapable of taking a critical look at themselves ... at the tribal level. You ask Glenn if he has been to Israel, have you? I have!
I'm unclear how to post questions for discussion consideration.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the ETHICS issues. The cabinet nominees/ appointments as rewards for loyalty (e.g. Fox pundits). Nepotism (the in laws of Trump kids)? The idea of the billionaire prerequisite?
Also, the issue of the emoluments clause was never addressed first round. Disengaging from personal businesses?
AND, I believe it was Reagan who started this trend of Presidents profiting off their presidency, e.g. ridiculous premiums for speeches. Can it be reversed? Can't they all have a do gooder post presidency like Jimmy Carter? If they are going to do that ... perhaps they should donate their proceeds to charity as a model for the values of PUBLIC SERVICE.
I don't recall, during the discuss of Clarence Thomas vs Obama that Thomas' conflicts of interests and ethics violations were discussed. Did I miss that?
Another question ... why can't we (the citizens) demand that these politicians address left - right issues? By that I mean, and correct me if I'm wrong, left being big government, right being limited government but big business friendly. I'd like to see the debates focus on those issues... and they grey area in between (i.e. COMBINATIONS ... I LIKE socialism for public schools, health care, fire and police, infrastructure (fix the pot holes please!) ... and PLEASE, let's be clear on the separation of church and state.
Sorry to ramble ... but I have many questions that I'd love to hear your thoughts about. More to come.
I recently caught up on recent Q&As and your answers regarding grade inflation (September) surprised and depressed me. I am not shocked things have changed in the past couple of decades, but it sounds worse than I could have imagined. I grew up watching "The Paper Chase" and envisioned a world of Professor Kingsfields telling students, "Next time you come to my office, perhaps you should bring a box of tissues." Maybe that was never truly representative, but I sure liked believing it was.
As it is, maybe we need certification tests for college degrees. I remember certification testing credentials (NetWare. Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) were a staple on resumes back in the day. I assume they still are.
Khalil Gibran Muhammad just now emails that he is moving to Princeton and taking IARA with him (he lives in Montclair, NJ IIRC). Piece of evidence #1 that "victory over wokeness" is entirely overstated. If people have learned to conflate their identities with wokeness they are not going down without a fight.
Glenn - "Stand up a Palestinian state".
From 1948 - 1967, Gaza was part of Egypt and the West Bank was part of Jordan. Why didn't Egypt or Jordan stand up a Palestinian state when they had the chance?
Consider Gaza from 2005 - 2023. Israel withdrew from Gaza. Is it Israel's responsibility to stand up a Palestinian state? Gaza became a de-facto Palestinian state with Hamas as the government. The de-facto government of Gaza spent billions of aid developing a capability to attack Israel. (Yes, you can say "Israel remained in a state of war with Gaza", you can't say Israel prevented a de-facto Palestinian state in Gaza.)
The West Bank is different. But there's no obvious Palestinian government that could be stood up. How would this Palestinian state come about? It seems unlikely -- given the experience of Gaza from 2005 - 2023 -- that Israel will look optimistically on a Palestinian government in the West Bank.
I want to thank you for responding to my question about whether your students self-censoring has changed. I'm hoping that when John returns to campus he could address whether there is what Niall Ferguson refers to as "vibe shift" or not, more openness to discussion of differing ideas. I open this to any other commenters who are in academia.
PS: This is a Free Press podcast Bari Weiss interview with Kemi Badenoch, the new black female leader of the Tories in Britain. Would love to have you both interview her if possible.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWFVxg6X1qw&ab_channel=TheFreePress
I would expect the Commentary’s article on Ta-Nehishi Coates to be a hit piece, standard fare for Jewish publications to those who dare criticize their darling Israel.
John needs to step out of his Jewish supremacist echo chamber. He is seemingly incapable of seeing what the rest of the world so easily sees.
Israel represents the worst of humanity. The malignant marriage of perpetual victimhood with systemic hate and uncontrolled violence.
They are apart John because the goal of the Jews from the inception of Zionism in the late 1800s was to create an ethno racist supremacist state for Jews with as few Palestinians as possible, preferably none. Jews preach universalism to the rest of us while they practice exclusivism for themselves.
Palestinians were 90% of the population and the Jews 10% when Zionism was founded.
When they opened up official archives of the state of Israel several decades ago, and historians could write about it, Moshe Dayan commented that we (the Israeli’s) would constantly provoke the Palestinians until they would respond, they would beat the shit out of them. That has been Israel’s standard mode of operation for the last century. We don’t read about the shit that Jews do in our Jewish dominated media. During the intifadas, Israel would be killing Palestinians on a near daily basis, found in those one paragraph abstract news brief on page 17 in our Jewish media. Then, when there was finally a suicide bombing, it would be front page headlines, expressions of horror and outrage, graphic, detailed, personalized stories, we knew the mothers, the fathers, the sisters ,the brothers, the uncles, the cousins, the great loss to humanity of the Jews who were killed… standard format for hour one of day one of propaganda 101. All most Americans have ever known in is Zionist Hasbara (propaganda). Jews have played us for the willing fools we have been our entire lives. Most Jews don’t even believe in God and view Christian Zionists as useful idiots.
So the answer to John’s all important question as to why they are separated. This because Palestinians were resisting Israel’s unrelenting violence and disposition by the Jews.
Let’s not forget that Hamas was willing to make a long term truce with Israel
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/1/22/how-israel-has-repeatedly-rejected-hamas-truce-offers
And how Netanyahu himself propped up Hamas to split Palestinian factions working toward a two state solution
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
The Zionist goal from the beginning was to ethically cleanse Palestinians, step-by-step, constantly take more and, more of their land, making life for them as miserable as they could hoping to drive them out.
John did not answer Glenn’s question about how many, kill them all? That would be about 4 million in the West Bank and Gaza. All he could do was deny there was a genocide, a genocide acknowledged by the ICC, Amnesty International, the UN (the whole world), and others.
On Dec 2, former Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Yaalon, accused his country of committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/israel-war-crimes-gaza-moshe-yaalon-defense-minister-netayanhu-icc-rcna182398
Israel is still killing Palestinians, 20, 50, 100 or more every day, directing them to go to a “safe” area, them bombing them there. They bomb hospitals and schools, explicitly target doctors and other medical personnel. They deliberately target journalists, trying to prevent the world from seeing Jewish crimes. We know practically none of this is our MSM, the legacy media, another reason them MSM has fallen in disrepute, people see the garbage they have been fed, they are still being fed.
Today’s Zionists are moral degenerates. The whole world now sees you for what many of us have long know you to be, but what John seems incapable of seeing.
Angela Merkel said something to the effect that, “Trump saw the presidency through the eyes of a property developer.” I think since then he’s changed his worldview to more that of a world leader. Trump 1.0 was a train wreck. January 6 was despicable. But I think Trump 2.0 will be better.
I hope that nobody in the incoming administration listens to this, or agrees with this take. Glenn, you're taking the Chamberlain position at a time that we cannot have Chamberlain in office. Xi Jin Ping, Putin, Kim Jong Un, the IRGC, Hamas, Hizbollah, and the Houthis are all authoritarian regimes, just like Hitler's. They do not respect negotiations; they view negotiators as weak, and will break every agreement. They only respect threats against their power. We need to maintain our support for Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel; they are in the front lines of a war against humanity.
With regard to foreign policy and history, you have only had left wing thinkers on your podcast. You are failing to show other views on your show. Please talk to Victor Davis Hanson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and Niall Ferguson.
There is no genocide occurring in Gaza; the media that's shouting genocide refuse to distinguish between Islam, and peaceful Muslims, from Islamism, as practiced by the IRGC, its minions, Turkey, Qatar, and al-Jazeera. There are 2,000,000 Palestinians living in Israel proper; 35% of Israeli doctors are Palestinian, a justice of the supreme court is Palestinian, two political parties represent Palestinians. There is no apartheid in Israel; Gaza and the West Bank are not annexed to Israel, and are not under Israeli law. Hamas and Hizbollah are Islamist actors that deny rights to anyone who isn't Muslim; that's why Hamas didn't distinguish between different ethno-religious communities when it invaded Israel on October 7. Supposedly the death toll in Gaza is over 44,000; the problem is that Hamas does not distinguish between its fighters and the populace. Upwards of one-third to one-half of this number is Hamas operators. The US death toll in afghanistan and iraq was one combatant for every 9 civilians killed.
The Left is deluded by identity politics. Only after colonialism did the Muslim world experience governments that were no longer rooted in Islamist thought. Almost all overthrows of empires were led by Islamist rebels who installed a more austere government on the people. The concept of Ahl-al-Kitab--People of the Book- was followed more in the breach rather than in practice.
I studied Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies in the early 80s at the University of Michigan. My Islamic history classes had members of the Muslim Students Association who continuously argued with the professor when he said something that they disagreed with; they covered no information of the lives of minority communities under Islam. Only in one class, Middle Eastern Literature, did I learn of the Devshirme (Child Tax), where the Muslims would come into Christian villages and kidnap boys. These boys were raised as Muslims, attended schools where they were taught how to be soldiers. In adulthood, they would be released to the administrative regions of the Ottoman Empire, and would serve as a police force and army to control their own families. These men were not allowed to marry; they did produce poetry, called shehrengriz, songs of love to boys based on their beauty, strength, and courage. Jews were subjected to this until 1492, when the ports were opened to Spanish Jews whom the Sultan expected to enrich the empire.
My paternal ancestors fled from the villages of Greece for the mountains to hide in the caves every time the Turks came. They would slaughter families, rape the wives and daughters, and send them with their brothers not selected for the military to slave markets throughout the empire.
In Morocco, Jews were forcibly converted to Islam numerous times, living in limbo; they were not allowed to revert to Judaism, nor were they allowed to intermarry with old Muslims. See:
Fenton, Paul B. “From Forced Conversion to Marranism: Crypto-Jews in Morocco and Their Fate.” European Judaism: A Journal for the New Europe, vol. 52, no. 2, 2019, pp. 31–42. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48561447. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.
García-Arenal, Mercedes. “Les Bildiyyīn de Fès, Un Groupe de Néo-Musulmans d’origine Juive.” Studia Islamica, no. 66, 1987, pp. 113–43. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1595913. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024. (Morocco's borders extended as far east as Tripoli, Libya, as far south as Mauritania, and as far north as Andalusia in southern Spain, depending on the conquerors.)
The islamists have ruled from the Atlantic (Morocco) almost reaching to the Pacific since 750 AD. They've kept a tight grip on the region; it is the oldest, continuous Colonialist-Settler state in existence. Islamic law denies equality to people who are not members of the sect in power. In many of these countries, converts to other religions are subject to the death penalty, people suspected of blasphemy are subject to vigilante justice, and minorities (like Hindus in Bangladesh, Christians in Pakistan, Nigeria, the Sudan, and Muslims in Afghanistan and other ISIS and AlQaeda occupied countries, like Syria and Iraq. Hizbollah and the other Iranian backed groups do not value the rights of people, whether Kaffir or Muslim, who disagrees with the teachings of the group in power. This is why most of the Gulf states and Egypt have banned the Muslim Brotherhood; it's a threat to human life throughout the Muslim world.
I'm asking you to rethink everything that you're hearing at the university. What your fellow professors are saying flies in face of the real history and politics of the region.
Thanks for this. Muslims have been the longest & most successful colonizers in history, even more so than the Romans or Christianity itself. Do you think we(the western world) don't look at it that way because we "guilt" and they don't?
Yes, but there's another issue involved. It's because the Left has always supported the Socialist/Communist narrative, which fundamentally is at odds with Democracy. The Far Left and Far Right are both identitarian, authoritarian movements that view questioning of their own beliefs as criminal; they have the same goal: to undermine the foundations of democratic societies so that they can overthrow them. Their ideologies, as well as Islamist theology, state that they will be the dominant force worldwide, and that they should control the world. The Left has supported the Islamists since the 1950s, and with every successful overthrow of a government that led to a Muslim regime, the Left have been tossed into jail, and hung as enemies of the state (Iran, Afghanistan).
Thanks for the conversation. Do you find that this is true because at heart the Far Left, being Fundamentalist Socialists are atheists, where as the islamists are Fundamentalist Muslims? Fundamentalists of any stripe; The Christians in MAGA, Israeli Jews in the West Bank, Muslims in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria,etc, will always be at odds as they each take their liturgical texts literally and leave no room for interpretation. Their power grabs always lead to Authoritarianism & therefore no different than Socialists.
You hit it on the head. It's the my way or the highway approach. Basically, it's about control, and eliminating anyone who can gain power to destroy your base.
At first, I was angry at the way Glenn brought up the question I asked, and the Commentary review of Coates I linked to, only to say he'd already addressed it and had nothing more to say.
Glenn says he'd already addressed the many points in that review when he first spoke about Coates's book. This is simply not so. I have commented here about 20 times since then, as have a great many others. I do not believe I have ever expressed the sort of disdain Glenn essentially expressed back to me with his effort to dismiss it all. In fact, Glenn has been almost obsessively insistent on NOT addressing the many specific issues involved here.
My anger then gave way to sadness. John effectively challenged Glenn on his two central claims -- that Israel is an apartheid state, and that Israel is engaged in indiscriminate, genocide-like slaughter of ALL of Gaza's people. In response, Glenn became increasingly emotional and frustrated in his relentless refusal to address ANY of the actual factual basis for his wild claims. It is clear to me there is something churning inside Glenn on this, and frankly I suspect it is not clear to him what it is. In any case, I almost wish Glenn had continued to ignore me regarding the specifics I have tried to bring to his attention rather than pretend to address them now without addressing them at all. I have to say I've stuck it out until now, but now I am done. The Glenn show has lost its allure. Over and out.
You have captured my own frustration, indeed puzzlement, over Glenn's wooden-headed positions here -- especially his lack of curiosity about this complicated history of the mid-east and Israel's role in it. Is he that easily swayed by surface imagery on PBS or Coates lazy analysis? For someone who claims to seek truth, his citing citing of anti-zionist/anti-semitic stances of the so-called international community (ICC, UN) as sources of truth about Israel is bizarre. You might be right about something churning inside Glenn... I'm still going to hang-in with the Glenn show for now at least. But sadly it's not the same.
I think part of the problem is that Glenn is enamored with palpably weak thinkers like Finkelstein.
https://glennloury.substack.com/p/norman-finkelstein-the-triple-scam
@Noam1 Very deftly discussed this problem in the comments of that post.
War with Iran is not the same as destroying their formative nuclear weaponry. It is a singular event, not an attempt to impose a framework for governance.
We see you, John. Your envy of Donald J. Trump is clear as day. It's driven you to wish a violent death on the man; to call him an "idiot" and a "gorilla", among other names; to express your hope that Kamala Harris could ride a wave of white guilt into office (you, the author of "Woke Racism" whose lifetime beat has been to oppose the very idea of race-based guilt); to invent, criticize and condemn hypothetical counterfactual actions that you believe Trump would have taken had the 2024 election gone the way you wanted it to; and finally here in this Q&A to inexplicably call Trump's re-election "an accident" amid an electoral college landslide and popular vote swing from 2020 of nearly 9 million votes.
Donald Trump is a doer. He is a consequential man who puts himself and his reputation on the line every day for all to see and judge. He has survived attempts on his legacy, his livelihood, and even his life. In so doing he has amassed a level of support and significance that has made him an era-defining personality and a world historical force - whether you acknowledge it or not.
You, John, are an opinion-haver. You are sharp and fluent, to be sure, and you have contributed many fine thoughts to American cultural debates over the years, especially on the subjects of race and language. But I fear you are fast becoming a jealous and petty little man of waning cultural significance. You detest Trump and call him "cowardly", "reprehensible" and "small"; this man who has beaten everything the world has thrown at him - from lawsuits to criminal charges and even now to real bullets. Meanwhile, you are so afraid of criticism and social opprobrium that you refuse even to comment during your appearances on the Glenn Show about hot-button cultural issues like transgenderism and queer theory, for fear of cancellation and a hit to your pocket book or social status. You fancy yourself a contrarian, but lately my man, you come off more like a preening obsessive-compulsive. You whine week after week after week about slights you've received from all sorts of men whose reputations have surpassed your own - from Ta-Nehisi Coates to J.D. Vance - all the while assuring us that you're "just fine" with all of it.
As a long-time reader (and even a fan) of yours, I implore you to take a long, deep breath. Consider the manifold challenges that America faces at this historical moment - complex problems which I've heard you address and enumerate in precise and original terms on this very show. Consider that Trump's greatest strength - his refusal to let his own self-worth be defined by others - may be something you would do well to emulate. It's not too late to make sure your ample skill as a thinker, writer, and contrarian triumphs over this late-stage TDS. Trump will be with us for at least another 4 years, so I urge you to study him diligently, open up your mind and resist the condescension and cattiness that Liberal Democrats and Never Trump Republicans have for the winning team. Come back to us, John. We don't need a black Sam Harris.
Again Glenn is completely out of his depth when it comes to Israel. His intellectual tourism on this issue without understanding the history that John is trying to help him on is revelatory. One can admire TNC’s literary style while also understanding that he too is completely vacuous in his ahistorical cosplay. No, it’s intellectually unserious to project American or South African history on another region of the world, replete with 3.000 years of history. Glenn, bring someone on the pod like Simon Sebag Montefiore so you can better understand because this bloviating is embarrassing.
One aspect of Glenn's rant about Israel struck me as egregiously false -- the claim by Coates, repeated by Glenn, that Coates never hears or sees questions in the media on questions like "Israel as an apartheid state"). A quick Google search on this issue (never mind accusations of genocide or the coverage of campus protests) revealed pages and pages of links to interviews and articles by the likes NPR, BBC, CBC, NYT, MSNBC, PBS, Vox, AP, Reteurs, and the like. You can hardly tune in to PBS Newshour without seeing the images of rubble that Glenn is so moved by. And yes, those images are rough. So enough with the Coates' willfully ignorant claim that the Palestinian story (including the situation in the west bank) are not covered by the media. This is no justification for Coates' ignorance on this topic -- no matter how well written. And who are the "thought police" that is preventing Glenn (or anyone for that matter) from being critical of Israel or zionism?
If it's apartheid, why are there Arabs living in, working, and serving in the government of, Israel? Why are the Druze wanting to be part of Israel?
What about the true apartheid of the Muslim counties that expelled hundreds of thousands of Jews with long ties to their respective homes?
One last point. Glenn and to your question about all the tragic loss of civilians in Gaza.
In WW2, should Britain/US/Russia have used restraint to avoid killing innocent Germans and not destroy the Nazi regime?
Consider when a person has cancer, it can potentially kill them. Do they not have chemo to rid themselves of the cancer bc they would also be harming healthy cells?
Your analysis completely leaves out of the equation how to deal with Hamas. A terrorist group that rejoices when they have slaughtered innocent people. A group so barbaric they are aligned with the most evil groups/ such as Hezbollah/houthis/taliban/etc.
Did you have any critiques of the Assad regime and his actual genocide?
The hypocrisy and double standard that the Jews have had to endure in this last 14 months is simply mind blowing, and I don’t think that you understand at any level what it’s like for Jewish people today
Exactly.
Glenn you absolutely do not understand the complexities of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Have you been to Israel? There is no apartheid and you discredit yourself by saying otherwise. Israel does not want to kill civilians…but in war unfortunately this happens. You have yet to address Islamic jihadism and how to live next to a group that wishes to destroy you. Israel celebrates life/education/family etc.
what does Hamas celebrate? Israel is not perfect and I have many criticisms…but you draw a deeply flawed comparison to S Africa apartheid. John understands the nuance and complication as does Coleman Hughes. You are taking a superficial view. And Coates may write well…stylistically…but he demonstrated immense ignorance on the topic of Israel.
Yes, I have been to Israel many times and have relatives there. Your aggressive, disrespectful and rude way of addressing real issues does not make your argument stronger.
I’d be curious to know what your suggestion is as to how to deal with an Islamic jihadist terrorist group at your border.
And calling me a Zionist is incorrect, I am a HUGE Zionist.
Israel is not an apartheid state. 2 million Muslims live in Israel. They work there and are in the government. The signs are all in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
What do you think would happen if the Israel’s laid down their arms? If Hamas had the power to do what they wanted? They would kill every single Jew. If Hamas put down their weapons, there would be peace.
I addressed some of your questions in a comment last night… newest comment on the program as of this morning. In your mind, the whole world are a bunch of antisemites and Jews are so innocent, so pure.
Are you fucking serious? There is no apartheid in Israel? All the delusional fucking Zionists in these comments. Immersed in Israel and Palestine for over 40 years, a question I long ago came to ask ... do Jews refuse to take a critical look at themselves or are they incapable of taking a critical look at themselves ... at the tribal level. You ask Glenn if he has been to Israel, have you? I have!
I'm unclear how to post questions for discussion consideration.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the ETHICS issues. The cabinet nominees/ appointments as rewards for loyalty (e.g. Fox pundits). Nepotism (the in laws of Trump kids)? The idea of the billionaire prerequisite?
Also, the issue of the emoluments clause was never addressed first round. Disengaging from personal businesses?
AND, I believe it was Reagan who started this trend of Presidents profiting off their presidency, e.g. ridiculous premiums for speeches. Can it be reversed? Can't they all have a do gooder post presidency like Jimmy Carter? If they are going to do that ... perhaps they should donate their proceeds to charity as a model for the values of PUBLIC SERVICE.
I don't recall, during the discuss of Clarence Thomas vs Obama that Thomas' conflicts of interests and ethics violations were discussed. Did I miss that?
Another question ... why can't we (the citizens) demand that these politicians address left - right issues? By that I mean, and correct me if I'm wrong, left being big government, right being limited government but big business friendly. I'd like to see the debates focus on those issues... and they grey area in between (i.e. COMBINATIONS ... I LIKE socialism for public schools, health care, fire and police, infrastructure (fix the pot holes please!) ... and PLEASE, let's be clear on the separation of church and state.
Sorry to ramble ... but I have many questions that I'd love to hear your thoughts about. More to come.
I recently caught up on recent Q&As and your answers regarding grade inflation (September) surprised and depressed me. I am not shocked things have changed in the past couple of decades, but it sounds worse than I could have imagined. I grew up watching "The Paper Chase" and envisioned a world of Professor Kingsfields telling students, "Next time you come to my office, perhaps you should bring a box of tissues." Maybe that was never truly representative, but I sure liked believing it was.
As it is, maybe we need certification tests for college degrees. I remember certification testing credentials (NetWare. Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) were a staple on resumes back in the day. I assume they still are.
Good conversation. I like when Glenn and John go at it. There is always something to learn from their discourse.