TLP Week in Review, 10/22-10/28
Your weekly summary of what we've been up to here at The Liberal Patriot.

What We’re Reading (and Watching and Listening To…)
“Listen to the Gazans who are seeking a path away from Hamas”: Washington Post columnist David Ignatius highlights the “Whispered in Gaza” project that tells the stories of 25 anti-Hamas Gazans over the past eighteen months. “Listen to ‘Zainab,’ her voice barely audible, expressing what sounds like a plea to the world: ‘There is a false stereotype that Palestinians in Gaza love rockets and wars. Gazans don’t love wars. The wars that happen are waged by the Hamas government for political aims that serve them alone…We don’t want war. We want a decent life.’”
“What can US diplomacy achieve in the Middle East?”: TLP editor-at-large Brian Katulis features alongside TLP contributor Steven Cook and other Middle East experts in this BBC World Service program on the prospects and possibilities for U.S. diplomacy amidst the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
“‘You Started a War, You’ll Get a Nakba’”: The Atlantic writer Graeme Wood reports on the wave of violence unleashed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government is more aggressively pro-settlement than any in recent memory, and when it came to power in December, Israeli settlers stepped up efforts to establish their outposts and drive out the Palestinians living nearby. After October 7, that process accelerated dramatically, and violently, and some Palestinian communities that existed just two weeks ago are no more.”
“Hamas Killed My Wokeness”: Alex Olshonsky writes in Tablet: “Any ideology that ‘justifies’ or minimizes the tragedy of civilian casualties is broken and perverse. That is not to say that all such casualties are avoidable. Reform Jews of my generation are unified in a desire for a two-state solution that provides Palestinians with safety, dignity, and rights. Over the past two weeks, I have heard no American Jew wish violence upon Gazans; I’ve witnessed many American so-called progressives who wish violence upon Jews. In response to raped teenagers and headless babies, a common leftist online refrain has been: ‘What did you think decolonization looked like?’ That’s not progressivism. That’s bloodthirst.”
Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany: Historian Katja Hoyer tells you everything you always wanted to know about the German Democratic Republic but were afraid to ask. A fascinating slice of history that gets beyond Cold War stereotypes to the flesh-and-blood of that society.
The American Buffalo: The latest documentary from Ken Burns focuses on the story of the American bison and its ancient relationship with Native Americans as well as the devastating impact America’s westward expansion had on the species. With bison numbers now back on the rise—often under the stewardship of Native American tribes—this story of the buffalo may turn out be of the few historical tragedies that ends on a somewhat happy note.
What We’ve Posted
“Knowing Your Enemy's Propaganda,” by Georgetown professor and propaganda scholar Emily Blout.
“The Worst Fox News Fallacy of Them All,” by TLP politics editor Ruy Teixeira.
“Stuck in the Middle—Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide: A personal story of a friend caught in the Middle East's latest war,” by TLP editor-at-large Brian Katulis.
“Political Theater at Its Finest: A review of ‘The Hollow Crown’ by Eliot Cohen,” by TLP senior managing editor Peter Juul.
“Is There a New Left Stirring Within The New Right?” by TLP contributor John Judis.
“What Congress Can Do To Help Israel,” by former House national security adviser Daniel Silverberg and Atlantic Council senior fellow Kirsten Fontenrose.
Ruy’s Science-Fiction Pulp Cover of the Week
Just one more thing…
Learn how Charles Schulz’s lovable, imaginative cartoon beagle Snoopy became the mascot of a whole new generation:
Some fans say that his personality speaks to their inner child: He plays pretend and dreams big, while finding joy in little wins such as receiving a full bowl of food. But Snoopy’s grand feelings also reflect his existential side—a reminder of the comic’s original gloomy tone, the perception of which was softened and sanitized over subsequent decades. It seems that a new generation is finally seeing Snoopy for who he really is.