The Dangers of the Cease-Fire in Lebanon
What might make this truce different from the last one.
April 20, 2026
Muriel Spark’s Repressed Jewish Commitments
A celebrated Scottish novelist’s conversion to Catholicism.
In 1954, Muriel Spark—who had already developed a reputation as a writer, editor, and poet—converted to Catholicism while recovering from a mental breakdown. Her conversion was the theme of her first novel, The Comforters, which appeared three years later and launched her into literary acclaim. Julia Kornberg, reviewing a new biography of Spark, considers the novelist’s Jewish origins:
April 20, 2026
The Islamic Republic Has Been Permanently Hollowed Out
Its survival is no victory.
The Democrats Abandon Israel
The Jewish state must start making its own arms.
Muriel Spark’s Repressed Jewish Commitments
A celebrated Scottish novelist’s conversion to Catholicism.
The Meaning of the Hebrew Months
“First fruits,” “blossom,” and “season.”