Tag Archives: politics

Some Notes from My Back Pages

Posted on July 27, 2026 by jonathanspyer

While looking for something else recently, I came across a long and interesting interview with Patrick Hayes, a former Provisional IRA terrorist who was jailed for 30 years for his part in the second Harrods bombing in London in 1992, … Continue reading →

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Kittleson Kidnapping Laid Bare Iraq’s Militia State

Posted on April 11, 2026 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 11/4 The (mercifully brief and now concluded) incarceration of the US freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson in Iraq at the hands of the Shia militia Ktaeb Hizballah reveals much about who really runs Iraq.  The evidence is not encouraging. … Continue reading →

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Shlomi’s War

Posted on February 7, 2026 by jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 07/02 An interview with an October 7 survivor, Gaza combat veteran, and advocate for IDF reservists, who is now entering Israeli politics. “About 100 meters outside of Tsohar, the Ravshatz (community security officer) saw a convoy of 15 … Continue reading →

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A Few Thoughts on the Alleged New World Order

Posted on January 4, 2026 by jonathanspyer

The US action in Venezuela has led to a flurry of punditry asserting that the Trump Administration is bringing into being a new world based on the open assertion of raw, great power state interest and the emergence of spheres … Continue reading →

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Some Reflections on Two Years of War in Gaza

Posted on October 18, 2025 by jonathanspyer

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 →

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Jebalya, Shani Louk and the Conceptzia

Posted on August 30, 2025 by jonathanspyer

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 →

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On the Road to Damascus

Posted on February 8, 2025 by jonathanspyer

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 →

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What Al-Jolani’s Past Can Reveal About Syria’s Future

Posted on December 14, 2024 by jonathanspyer

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 →

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In the Heart of Darkness

Posted on October 18, 2024 by jonathanspyer

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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Israel is Likely to Hit Back Hard against Iran

Posted on October 3, 2024 by jonathanspyer

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 →

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