David M. Halbfinger in NYT: ‘For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the resumption of fighting with Iran on Sunday may have shown his supporters, at least momentarily, that he still was capable of standing up to President Trump.
‘But the halt to the fighting on Monday, after less than 15 hours, left Israel and its embattled leader in a bind and appearing as beholden to Mr. Trump as ever.’

And: ‘“Israel is saying that any attack on our cities and border communities will be a reason to attack in the Dahieh,” Mr. [Danny] Citrinowicz [a retired Israeli military intelligence officer] said. “For Hezbollah, that’s not the case. Hezbollah says, ‘The Dahieh is for Tel Aviv, and your northern villages are for our southern villages.”’

Wage war to alter the equation of war. Three teeth for one ear.

Trump can be demanding—just not when it comes to Gaza.

(a sf 2150)

Esther Solomon in Haaretz: ‘Apparently sausages, ice cream and a jazz band weren't enough to win Germany a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council – not when Israel is involved.’

And: ‘Wadephul primarily blamed Russian meddling for the defeat – but he also noted that Germany's "special responsibility for Israel" may also have cost it votes.’

As well: ‘For decades, Germany has managed to win a Security Council seat every eight years. It has never failed before. It appears that Israel's pariahdom is contagious. But if Germany is now getting a taste of what it means to be BDS-ed, international diplomacy-style, it's unlikely to push it toward even more unconstrained support for Israel, and nor should it.’

Solomon adds that Germany should live up to its promises to ‘defend an international rules-based order.’

Defend with words, actions? Soldiers?

It’s the old question: what does never again mean?

(a sf 2149)

Erin Maglaque in NYRB: ‘They were debating the nature of original sin in an apotheca in Naples. “We discussed a lot of things,” Giovanni Casaburo told the inquisitors in 1598 when they asked him what exactly was said in the apothecary’s shop. (…) But then the apothecary Marcello Impicciato joined in. “What apple?” he asked. “Adam and Eve fucked in the ass, and that’s why they were rejected from Paradise.”’

And: ‘God was a fraudster. He had wanted to keep sodomy for himself.’

Also: ‘We forget that for centuries, theological writing was our most sophisticated literature on sexuality—on desire, shame, pleasure, on why we want what we want and what all that wanting can mean.’

As well: ‘Oh my God: it’s a prayer without an addressee, without a request.’

What does the wanting signify? An escape? Pleasure, shame, and meaning. With or without God, that’s a minor detail.

(a sf 2148)

David Wallace-Wells in NYT: ‘They used to call the World Cup, unequivocally, the planet’s biggest sporting event. But it is about to start, right here in North America, and no one much seems to care.’ And: ‘How much soccer can fans absorb? How many opportunities for cathexis do they need?’

As well: ‘And that may tell us something about the broader phenomenon, too. Namely, that what we identify as nationalism in global affairs might be better described as a form of parochialism, with populists making particular claims not about the nation per se so much as the ways it should be reformed — presumably toward some reactionary ideal, its contours often more local than genuinely national.’

And: ‘For all of us, rooting for Arsenal or P.S.G. might now be more appealing precisely because it’s essentially meaningless.’

Salvation, meaningless rooting. Just make sure to root for a winner.

The Economist: ‘The nation of Tuvalu, made up of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific, is not your usual holiday destination. (…) None of that was enough to dissuade Ted Nims, an American who recently spent a week there and, in the process, checked off another country on his list: his 191st. The UN has 193 member states. Mr Nims is among a growing number of “country counters” trying to visit them all.’

And: ‘So much time on the road may sound like solitary play. But hostels and homestays offer a lot of fun and social contact, says Carol Wong, a Malaysian who recently visited Samoa (her 142nd country). It is the “fancy hotel” that is “very lonely”, she says.’

As well: ‘The scourge of overtourism plays a part, too, as travellers want to skip packed piazzas.’

The fight against overtourism is being fought on many fronts.

(a sf 2146)

Der Spiegel: ‘In March, the U.S. National Archives uploaded all remaining membership cards of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) to the internet for the first time.

‘Since then, roughly 12 million index cards have become digitally accessible, complete with enlistment dates, membership numbers, and occasionally photographs. More than ten million men and women joined the NSDAP; by the end of World War II, more than one in ten citizens was a card-carrying party comrade. Index cards are believed to still exist for about 80 to 90 percent of NSDAP members.’

And: ‘For years, many Germans have patted themselves on the back as world champions of mastering the past (Vergangenheitsbewältigung). Critics of this remembrance culture, however, such as sociologist Michal Bodemann, prefer the term “memory theater.”’

Remembrance culture, memory theater, virtue signaling, all at the same time. The past can become addictive, especially this particular past.

(a sf 2145)

Amos Harel in Haaretz: ‘Too many people in the Israeli media have learned nothing and forgotten nothing. On Sunday morning, all it took was the publication of a single image – Israeli and Golani Brigade flags flying over Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon – to completely sideline the necessary conversation about the state of the current war in Lebanon.’

And: ‘He [Netanyahu] was photographed with soldiers, boasted about the IDF's crossing of Lebanon's Litani River and announced that "we're also operating in Beirut, in the Bekaa, all across the front and smiting Hezbollah hip and thigh."

In reality, U.S. President Donald Trump has greatly restricted Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, for his own reasons.’

Also: ‘He [Bibi] then immediately moved on to the body count, with a level of exaggeration reminiscent of the Americans during the Vietnam War.’

Vietnam and Bibi. Trump and Iran. Tactical mistakes and catastrophes. Waiting for the World Cup.

(a sf 2144)