Author: David Rutman

I am known to have unrealistic expectations. For instance, once the Gaza 20-Point Peace Plan was signed, I naïvely, facetiously, imagined that Mark Ruffalo, Dua Lipa, Emma Stone, the Hadid sisters, Javier Bardem, New York City’s mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, and legions of pink-and purple-haired antisemites would all ecstatically dance the hora in celebration. After […]

I lie awake thinking of Italy, love and broken illusions. And even the news of the return of the Hamas-held hostages to Israel does not dispel all my sadness. I visualize some of the happiest times in my life. My parents and I, former refuseniks, coming to Rome in the summer of 1987 and tasting […]

The Sharm El Sheikh Peace Summit of October 13, 2025, concluded with over twenty world leaders signing the “Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity,” celebrating a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas after more than two years of devastating conflict in Gaza. Yet the most striking feature was not who attended, but who did […]

Many know Brock Lesnar, Conor McGregor and Jon Jones. But not as many are familiar with Mark Kerr, for a time one of the toughest men on the planet. Kerr went from winning an NCAA wrestling championship to winning to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) tournaments. In “The Smashing Machine” Kerr is masterfully played by Dwayne […]

A story is told about a day when motion picture director Otto Preminger, who sought a safe haven from the Nazis and achieved fame and fortune in the American movie industry, overheard a conversation that was conducted in Hungarian. “Don’t you guys know you’re in Hollywood?” he quipped. “Speak German.” The point is made in […]

Prospects for a sustainable Middle Eastern peace appear to be the most favorable since the heady days of the Abraham Accords. It seems rash to consider lessons learned over the past 24 months before we see how things play out. This reminds me of a conversation that allegedly took place in 1972 between Secretary of […]

The ceasefire that went into effect on Friday between Israel and Hamas, and the hostage release that took place on Monday—and the still uncertain regional peace the ceasefire may portend—is a monumental achievement from an American president not known for diplomacy. It should have garnered Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize. Begrudge all you wish, […]

One of the recent low points in mainstream journalism occurred in 2024 when Tony Dokoupil, a host on “CBS Mornings,” asked a few tough questions to Ta-Nehisi Coates about his new book, “The Message,” which was highly critical of Israel. Among the questions, Dokoupil asked why Coates left out of his book the crucial context […]

One of the most famous letters ever written was by the renowned French novelist Émile Zola. It was published in 1898 under the title “J’Accuse” (I Accuse). Zola accused the President of France and the military command of prejudice for knowingly convicting an innocent man of treason. That man was a Jew, Alfred Dreyfus. Zola […]