No Delusions, No Despair

5 days ago | benjaminkerstein.substack.com | Benjamin Kerstein

“Gentiles don’t know how to worry,” Stanley Kubrick once said, perhaps unfairly. Nonetheless, there’s some truth in it. There is even more truth in its counterpart: Jews don’t know how to take good news. I’m no exception, unfortunately. Over the weekend, the United States removed the most serious existential threat to Israel’s future. With it, by definition, went the most serious existential threat to the Jewish people’s future. I remain glum about the fact that I ought to be euphoric.

1 week ago | benjaminkerstein.substack.com | Benjamin Kerstein

The crush of events and the fluidity of war have made it extremely challenging to write much of anything on the current state of the Israel-Iran conflict. I have no interest in engaging in armchair generalship, making premature declarations of victory, or issuing defeatist prophecies of gloom and doom. So, I will only offer a few brief observations:It seems that, on the whole, many people are extremely ill-informed and, to be blunt, stupid about the war.

1 week ago | benjaminkerstein.substack.com | Benjamin Kerstein

This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts

1 week ago | benjaminkerstein.substack.com | Benjamin Kerstein

I’ve been unusually quiet recently for obvious reasons. Needless to say, it hasn’t been an easy time, though infinitely easier than for the people of Israel—including many friends—most of whom would likely pay a million dollars for a decent night’s sleep at the moment. This doesn’t even include those who have already fallen at the hands of the Iranian Amalek. It’s also far too easy to dash off one’s thoughts during the initial hours of a war, usually fueled by battle euphoria or existential dread.

2 weeks ago | benjaminkerstein.substack.com | Benjamin Kerstein

By now, it should be clear to all Americans that they are facing something like a neo-Nazi movement in all but name. This antisemitic movement, led by the Red-Green Alliance (RGA) between radical Muslims and radical progressives, embodies almost all aspects of Nazism. In particular, its sole unifying principle is the supreme Nazi imperative: kill Jews. This constitutes a terrible irony. Terrible for obvious reasons, but ironic for another.