Tag: violence

solidarity and healing after the Tree of Life shooting

My own connection to Pittsburgh is only through friends; my kids have played on the playground across the street from the Tree of Life synagogue several times. I wanted to share a few pieces about the incident, starting with this...

/ October 31, 2018

murder, policing, and justice

This well-reported story about TJ Smith, the Baltimore Police Department’s former spokesman who lost his half-brother to violence in the city (and just resigned!), is well worth reading and reflecting on: As for Smith, his failed struggle to lead Dionay...

/ October 11, 2018

my review of Jamil Jivani’s “Why Young Men?”

I reviewed Jamil Jivani’s new book, Why Young Men?, for Comment magazine. It’s a fascinating (and sometimes frustrating) book that explores the very important question of why young men are radicalized and embrace violence. It is a bit tricky to nail down...

/ June 11, 2018

a betrayal: how do we help young people escape violence?

This deeply-reported story about a young man who tried to cooperate with law enforcement and escape MS-13 is both moving and unsettling: Henry did his part to aid the federal crackdown on MS-13. In addition to the gang members he...

/ May 24, 2018

it’s all about governance and trust

Shadi Hamid, Vanda Felbab-Brown, and Harold Trinkunas share an excerpt from their new book on governance and trust, a subject that I’ve been banging on about for quite a while now: The Taliban claims to adhere to a strict interpretation of...

/ May 17, 2018

The Sacrifice of Africa — a book all missionaries to Africa should read

I’d been wanting to read The Sacrifice of Africa by Emmanuel Katongole (a Ugandan theologian and priest) for a while and finally found one in Nairobi. I would heartily commend this book to anyone who is interested in African politics...

/ March 5, 2018