Long before it was known to me as a place where my ancestry was even remotely involved, the idea of a state for Jews (or a Jewish state; not quite the same thing, as I failed at first to see) had been 'sold' to me as an essentially secular and democratic one. The idea was a haven for the persecuted and the survivors, a democracy in a region where the idea was poorly understood, and a place where—as Philip Roth had put it in a one-handed novel that I read when I was about nineteen—even the traffic cops and soldiers were Jews. This, like the other emphases of that novel, I could grasp. Indeed, my first visit was sponsored by a group in London called the Friends of Israel. They offered to pay my expenses, that is, if on my return I would come and speak to one of their mee

~ Christopher Hitchens

Christopher Hitchens 19Th Century Ancestry Antisemitism Arabs Armageddon Arthur Balfour Bedouin Bolshevism Britain Christianity Colonialism Crimea Crimean War Democracy Diplomacy Ethnic Cleansing Fanaticism France Free Speech History House Arrest Israel Jerusalem Jews Leftism London Oppression Palestine Palestinians Persecution Philip Roth Raimonda Tawil Ramallah Religious Extremism Russia Secularism Territory Torture War World War I Zealotry

Mounting tensions in Eastern Europe send shivers down the spine. Barely a quarter of a century after the end of the Cold War we seem to be sliding inexorably towards another.

~ Alex Morritt

Alex Morritt Aggression Armageddon Armies Army Caucasus Caucasus Region Checkmate Checks And Balances Cold War Conflict Management Conflict Resolution Conflicts Cool Response Crimea Defence Defences Destruction Of Us Diplomacy Eastern Europe Eastern European End Of The World As We Know It Error Errors Escalation Fear Of Unknown Fear Quote Fears Fears And Doubts Force Forces Forces Of Darkness Geopolitical Forces Geopolitical Tension Geopolitics Historical Perspective History Repeating Itself Impasse Inexorably International Community International Relations International Relationships Lack Of Judgement Learning From Mistakes Lessons Learned Lessons Learned In Life Lessons Of Life Live And Learn Mexican Standoff Military Military History Military Quote Military Theory Moscow Moscow Rules Nato Nuclear Power Nuclear Proliferation Nuclear Threat Nuclear Weapons One Upmanship Peace On Earth Peace Quote Peacemaker Political Commentary Political Quandary Political Quotes Politics Observation Poor Judgement Poor Leadership Power Struggle Power Struggles Quandary Red Army Regressing Regression Repeat Mistakes Repeated Mistake Repeating The Past Rules Of Engagement Russia Russian Federation Sabre Rattling Shiver Quote Shivers Sliding Soviet Occupation Soviet Russia Soviet Union Sphere Of Influence Spine Chilling Stalemate Standoff Struggles Quotes Super Powers Tension Treaty Troops Ukraine Warfare Warmonger Wars Weapons Of Mass Destruction