Benjamin Netanyahu is of course not a perfect politician or leader, but I’m glad he is Israel’s prime minister at this hour, if only for this reason: He puts things as they are. Listen to this, in case you haven’t heard it yet: “Iran’s leaders are barreling toward developing a nuclear weapon, and openly declaring their desire to destroy Israel. In the face of these repeated pledges to remove the Jewish state from the earth, we encounter in the best case a limp reaction, and even that is fading. We do not hear the necessary rejection, no harsh denunciation, no outcry. The world is carrying on as usual, and there are those who direct their fire at us, at Israel.” Yes. That about sums it up, doesn’t it? We encounter in the best case a limp reaction, and even that is fading. I find those words kind of haunting. And, you know, I wouldn’t be so disgusted at Obama’s treatment of Netanyahu — and therefore of Israel — if he didn’t bow all the time to Arab kings and Communist bosses. One more word: Everyone is candid about evil dictatorships after they have done their worst and been brought down. Who ever said a good or defensive word about the Nazis after 1945? But Netanyahu is willing to tell the truth about Iran before that regime does it worst. Because afterward — who cares? ‐

A program note from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center — under whose auspices the Borodin was appearing — said the following:

The career of this ensemble is without parallel in many respects, not the least of which is its flowering as a cultural institution in Russia during times of repression, conflict, and hardship. This quartet, unlike those in the West, faced the possibility of imprisonment for playing certain music not approved by the authorities.

True, and obviously so. But we very, very seldom heard this kind of language when the Soviet Union was a going concern. Do you remember? Those who talked that way were “poisoning the atmosphere of détente,” and probably longed for war. In any case, once the USSR collapsed, obvious truths became easier to speak. Which relates somewhat to my comments on Netanyahu and Iran, above, don’t you think? ‐Let me share with you a note from a former U of M student — might make you grin, as it did me:

Jay,
You write, “A tea party on the Diag? Friends, I can’t impress on you the incongruity of this.” But something similar happened once before: I attended a several-hundred-strong rally on the Diag by a group called STUDS (STudents United for Desert Storm). Sadly, the group I co-founded — PIGS (Politically Incorrect Graduate Students) — never achieved similar popularity.

PIGS — good old American ingenuity, and pluck. See you soon.

#JAYBOOK#