America

It was five years ago that I first met Rick Richman, who had become interested in the Zionist prophet Vladimir Jabotinsky. Mr. Richman was taken aback by the fact that though he had been educated at Harvard College and New York University Law School, he had never been taught the story of the firebrand who had tried and failed in his efforts to raise a Jewish army to fight the Nazis. In “Racing Against History, The 1940 Campaign for a Jewish Army to Fight Hitler,” just out from Encounter, Mr. Richman provides that much-needed narrative of Jabotinsky’s campaign to save the Jews of Europe. And also relates how the two other major Zionist leaders of the time, the General Zionist Chaim Weizmann and the labor leader, David Ben Gurion, themselves came to America that year, also campaigning for a Jewish army. This story couldn’t be more important for our time, when the fate of the Jews is again in the balance and when the leadership of the Jewish state comes from a party … [Read more...] about How Legendary Zionists Raced Through America In Bid To Outflank Hitler

The war isn’t over. That’s the big takeaway from the Boston Marathon bombing, like it or not. A lot of Americans thought the war — which Congress had never formally declared to begin with — was already over. President Obama announced the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. The attacks on New York and on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 are more than a decade past, and the attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya was geographically distant. Osama Bin Laden was dead. But this war — the one the Islamist extremists are waging against us, the one that Norman Podhoretz calls World War IV (World War III having been the Cold War) — can’t be ended unilaterally by American fiat. Even if we wish it could. Within this basic framework, there are still plenty of things for Americans to debate. We can debate whether the amounts we are spending on national defense — $660 billion, or 4.1% of GDP in 2013, according to the White … [Read more...] about Cold War Looms as Precedent For America Rousing Itself When It Hoped the Fight Was Ended

New Yorkers are getting fatter — again. According to a new report, New York is the 37th most obese state, and the state's adult obesity rate last year grew to 23.5% from 22.4% the year before. In a comparison of state obesity rates, Mississippi ranked first on the list, with a 37.5% rate. Colorado was last, at 18.4%. The obesity rate did not decline in any state, according to the report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America," published by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report is based on a Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey conducted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rankings are based on data from between 2005 and the end of 2007. "Despite widespread acknowledgement that obesity is endangering the health of millions of Americans, the country is still failing to respond clearly or comprehensively," the president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Dr. … [Read more...] about America’s Obesity Problem Takes Another Helping

On January 16, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will open a reinstallation of its collection of American art in "expanded, reconceived, and dramatic new galleries." "This final phase of the American Wing renovation project is comprised of twenty-six renovated and enlarged galleries on the second floor," according to the museum. "The new architectural design is a contemporary interpretation of nineteenth-century Beaux-Arts galleries, including coved ceilings and natural light flowing through new skylights. The redesign, which has added 3,300 square feet of gallery space, also allows for a chronological installation of the American paintings and sculpture, and improved pathways connecting to adjacent areas of the Museum. "The Museum's encyclopedic collection will offer visitors the broad sweep of American history as told through great works of art. The aforementioned central gallery focuses on the themes of freedom, exploration, and expansion that pervaded America during the mid-nineteenth … [Read more...] about America the Beautiful

The Beckham era of American soccer descended upon us pretty well exactly a year ago. It was an astounding coup for MLS: the snaring of one of the world's bestknown players, still arguably in his prime. Even if he isn't the world's most skillful player, he is, far and away, the most marketable player — probably the most marketable player the sport has ever had. Of course, things have not gone entirely according to plan. Injuries played havoc with those plans, Beckham has appeared in only a handful of games for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and he has done little of note on the field. I have never been a wildly enthusiastic fan of Beckham as a player. Yes, he can cross the ball superbly, and yes, he can take wonderful free kicks. But there is a lot more to the game than those two skills, and Beckham has always seemed to me to have a very ordinary command, at most, of the other requirements. But I have always found his personality attractive. Never a boaster, never (well, okay, rarely) … [Read more...] about A Year Later, America Waits for Beckham’s Help