The Much-Feared Regional War Is Under Way
A report from the Galilee.
September 23, 2024
Edward Said, Charles Malik, and the Arab View of the West
A different model of a modern Middle Eastern intellectual.
As Israel heads into what appears to be a wider confrontation with Lebanon, it seems an apt time to consider one of the country’s great intellectuals and diplomats, Charles Malik (1906–1987). Martin Kramer examines Malik’s career and ideas, and analyzes what he understood about the West that Edward Said didn’t, and vice-versa. Deeply Christian and desirous of a strong relationship between Lebanon and the West, Malik was also an anti-Zionist. Yet, argues Kramer, “he showed a more profound understanding of the historical forces that produced Israel than any Arab in his generation,” and eventually came to admire aspects of the country. (Video, 27 minutes.)
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Login or SubscribeSeptember 23, 2024
Edward Said, Charles Malik, and the Arab View of the West
A different model of a modern Middle Eastern intellectual.
The Democracies Betray Israel at the UN
The nice, decent allies abstain.
A Millennium of Jewish Life in Vienna—Punctuated by Expulsions
The first Viennese Jew mentioned by name was murdered by Crusaders.
Among the Cultists of Rationalist Charity
The effective altruists hunt for meaning and impurity.