Tag Archives: Israel

Finn, Hengest, and Terror in Israel

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2023

The Finn episode in Beowulf applies only to well to the Hamas terror attack on Israel–and to the probable Israeli response.

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Grendel’s Mother Attacks Israel

By Robin Bates | Published: October 9, 2023

Hamas’s attack on Israel brings to mind Grendel’s Mother, who is the archetype of perpetual blood feuds.

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Born with a Knife in the Heart

By Robin Bates | Published: July 2, 2017

Israeli poet Haim Gouri reflects upon the story of Abraham and Isaac and concludes that the descendants of people persecuted “are born with a knife in their hearts.”

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Palestinian Poet Compared to Hitler

By Robin Bates | Published: August 4, 2016

Israel’s rightwing defense minister recently compared Palestine’s national poet to Hitler. A close look at a poem by Mahoud Darwish helps us understand why.

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Is It Time to Bring Out Twain’s War Prayer?

By Robin Bates | Published: March 4, 2015

The GOP and Netanyahu are trying to sabotage Obama’s negotiations with Iran. Could Mark Twain’s “War Prayer” knock some sense into them?

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War in the Name of Religion

By Robin Bates | Published: August 31, 2014

Denise Levertov, who called out Jewish complicity in the 1982 massacres by Lebanese Christians, might do the same today with Gaza.

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