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Author Archives: jonathanspyer
Remembering David Pryce-Jones
8/12 I was sad to learn last week of the death of David Pryce-Jones at the age of 89. David was a fascinating man. When you met him, you were immediately struck by an odd combination: his manners and style … Continue reading
Some Reflections on Two Years of War in Gaza
Australian, 18/10 At the Gama Junction, a few kilometers from the Gaza border, I met Gadi Mozes. Among the crowd of people waiting to greet the convoy bearing the last 13 of the living Israeli hostages from Gaza. Gadi, who … Continue reading
Reflections on the rumors of imminent civil war in the UK
There has been much online talk in recent months about the possibility of ‘civil war’ in the UK. The instinctive response to such talk, or my instinctive response, anyway, is to dismiss it as absurd. The United Kingdom is an … Continue reading
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Jebalya, Shani Louk and the Conceptzia
I remember the light in the Valley of Ela on the day of Shani Louk’s funeral. It was late springtime, clear light, of the kind that you get in Jerusalem. I didn’t get enough time to travel round the villages … Continue reading
Searching for the Last Jews of Damascus: A Journey Through Memory and Ruins
Jerusalem Post, 24/1 In Damascus again after a hiatus of nearly eight years, I decided to see what remained of the city’s once flourishing Jewish community. The dictator was gone. The new Islamist rulers had yet to fully stamp their authority on … Continue reading
On the Road to Damascus
Weekend Australian, January 24, 2025 Kobani “You can’t extinguish fire with fire. You can’t address a mistake with another mistake. You have to correct the situation in Syria,” Mizgin Khalil tells me, as we sit in her office in Kobani, … Continue reading
What Al-Jolani’s Past Can Reveal About Syria’s Future
Spectator, 13/12 In late February 2012 I was travelling through Syria’s Idleb province. I stayed for a few days in a town called Binnish, not far from the province’s capital. It was, at that time, under the tentative control of … Continue reading
In the Heart of Darkness
Jerusalem Post, 18/10 A Yezidi former slave rescued from Gaza Reveals Her Horrifying experiences in Jihadi Captivity It is now two weeks since the rescue of the Yezidi hostage Fawzia Amin Sido from captivity in Gaza by the IDF, in … Continue reading
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Tagged fawzia, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Palestine, politics, yezidis
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Notes from a Long War – Israel, a year on from October 7
The Australian, 6/10 ‘We have sat, an easy generation, in houses held to be indestructible,’ wrote the German poet Bertolt Brecht, of himself and his countrymen, in 1925. These words have returned to me on a number of occasions in … Continue reading
Israel is Likely to Hit Back Hard against Iran
Spectator, 2/10 The Iranian launching of 181 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday night followed a similar pattern to the attacks of April 14. Israeli and allied air defences appear to have performed extremely effectively. The damage to the military … Continue reading
Jonathan Spyer 