The Free Press
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Wars are a test of many things: military prowess, political leadership, and national unity, to name just three. They’re also a moral test.
Behind the many debates, protests, and proclamations concerning the Israel-Hamas war loom a few big questions: Is this a just war? And given the fact that Hamas does not follow the rules of war—hiding its men and weapons inside mosques and schools and hospitals—how is Israel to strike back?
There’s no one better qualified to answer these questions than the political theorist Michael Walzer. Ever since he published Just and Unjust Wars in 1977, Walzer has been the authority on the morality of war. So The Free Press’s Peter Savodnik gave Walzer a call and asked him to guide us through the moral maze presented by this conflict. Scroll down to read their conversation.
Wars also test our commitment to the principles we claim to value. Principles like the right to free speech. There has been an explosion of hateful, antisemitic speech in America and Europe in the days since Hamas’s attack on Israel—including on college campuses. In response to these loathsome expressions, some have pushed for a crackdown.
In our second piece this morning, former ACLU president Nadine Strossen and social psychologist Pamela Paresky say this would be a mistake: “It is easy to appreciate the rage over today’s blatantly antisemitic rhetoric, particularly when our society wouldn’t tolerate, much less celebrate, similar expressions of delight after the brutal slaughter of other minorities. We feel that anger personally. But when it comes to calls to silence, fire, or even deport those who express such noxious views, we are also clear: we must resist it.”
Scroll down to read their full essay: Even Antisemites Deserve Free Speech.
Here’s Peter’s interview:
Here are Nadine and Pamela making their case:
And if you haven’t already heard it, please listen to the latest episode of Honestly, which is perhaps the most powerful we have ever published, thanks to the tireless efforts of Candace Mittel Kahn and Suzy Weiss.
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Bari, Did you know Michelle Goldberg at the NYT? In her 10/20 editorial she said that she went to bed believing Israel bombed a hospital and now she is not sure. She is not a stupid woman. Why immediately trust Hamas without evidence, but when strong evidence to the contrary shows up she says she is not sure who to trust. Just curious if you have insight as to her thinking.
I am listening to the podcast of experiences in Israel on 10/7, having a difficult time of it.
I decided it was time to understand The Free Press and where it came from, deciding to revisit Bari’s resignation letter to The New York Times. Read it here: https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter
And so here we are, in fact witnessing not only the horrors brought about by barbarians, but Bari’s prescient notion of where media was going.
The podcast has me screaming inside: Israel cannot move fast enough to end this abomination, and I have no sense of mercy about it.