On election night two years ago, at a celebration packed with ecstatic Labor Party faithful, an emotional Anthony Albanese rose for his victory speech. “I begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we meet,” he said. …
Can the pro-Palestine Left redeem itself?
One of the greatest challenges human beings face is how to tease apart a bad act from a good character — or, conversely, a toxic personality from the good and worthy things he created. How do we separate the long-time …
The shattering of the Jewish world
My father had told me, the night before, that he wanted to go to the synagogue, because of the festival, that it would be a happy time to be in the sanctuary. And so that morning, we went, knowing something …
A trap has been set for Israel
Israel’s forces are massed at the border awaiting orders to launch a “full offensive” against Gaza. For days, airstrikes and artillery have been bombarding the Gaza statelet where Hamas has its warfighting machinery honeycombed inside city blocks. “You will have …
Africa’s revolt against Net Zero
For the past two centuries, human prosperity has correlated with one factor: energy, released through the burning of fossil fuels. This is a self-evident global truth. Europe and North America, the wealthiest regions on the planet, are also those with …
We need to talk about ZOE
Professor Tim Spector was one of the “winners” of the Covid era: his ZOE symptom tracker app accrued millions of users during the pandemic.
Now he has pivoted back to his true passion, gut health, and taken many of his …
What will Israel’s invasion of Gaza achieve?
The last major news item about Gaza before the first news of Hamas’s surprise attack was the September 22 announcement that 17,000 Gazans would immediately receive permits to work in Israel, with that number set to rise to 20,000. All …
Starmer’s hollow vision for Britain
There is a vast, petrifying hollowness to the British economy. As you race around dealing with everyday life, the reassuring facade of the state is still there: the police and roads, the schools and hospitals. And yet, if you ever …
Anti-racists are patronising Africa
Why are some groups of people in a weaker position than others? Because, today’s progressives argue, a stronger group put them there, and is acting to keep them there, consciously or subconsciously. According to this narrative, the responsibility for eliminating …
On Israel, why should I love my enemy?
“Love your enemies,” a holy Jew said, a long time ago. But I am not sure I am quite ready for that. Not today at least. I am neither Jewish nor Israeli, but my wife is both, as are my …
Jamie Carragher: My warning to Starmer
Born and raised in Bootle, one of Liverpool FC’s longest-serving players, few characters embody the Scouse spirit more than Jamie Carragher. So, as the Labour Party circus departs the city after another conference season, who better to discuss the history …
Top Gear’s Britain no longer exists
Has the Age of the Car broken down? In my Nineties adolescence, getting a driver’s licence was a basic rite of passage; now, young people throughout the West don’t seem bothered.
Nothing could bring our waning love for the automobile …
The death of the think-tanker
Daniel Ellsberg, perhaps the most famous think-tanker of all time, passed away in June this year. But rather than any policy paper or legislative advocacy, he is remembered for an action then treated as treachery and now regarded as heroism. …
Israel’s distraction is a warning to the West
How could Israel let this happen? As footage of Gazan motorbikes pelting through holes in Israel’s “smart” border fence started to circulate, of paragliders descending on a desert rave, of entire families being kidnapped or butchered in their homes, that …
Harvard is a national disgrace
Three decades ago, a conversation in one of my classes at the University of Tulsa turned to the topic of Ronald Reagan. “Can you believe he called the Soviet Union an evil empire?” a student remarked with evident scorn. To …