Quillette Narrated

In her new book, ‘Autocracy, Inc.,’ historian Anne Applebaum provides us with a distinctive and indispensable guide to one of the great challenges of our time.

The accepted view is that the scientists of the European Enlightenment got the issue of race badly wrong. In fact, some of them got more right than they are usually given credit for.

The urge to censor is based on a misunderstanding of what makes literature valuable.

Remembering Don Symons (1942–2024).

A short history of phoney peace groups and their fellow travellers.

Palestinians’ history, culture, and connection to the land are valid in their own right. We don’t need to appropriate or falsify Jewish history. 

So that’s how a fatherhood ends. A few UPCs, like those you find on packs of toilet tissue, delivered via email.

Progressive anti-Zionism and the poisonous legacy of Cold War hatred.

Are we going to defend liberty, openness, and democracy, or are we going to allow radical theocrats and their ideological allies to try to crush our hard-won freedoms?

Claire Lehmann discusses the aftermath of a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and the perceived leadership failures in Australia relating to antisemitism. Lehmann argues that there is a leadership vacuum as key figures like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fail to adequately address antisemitic incidents. This institutional indifference is highlighted by several instances where Jewish Australians were intimidated, and their safety compromised, which elicits historical parallels to events like Kristallnacht. Lehmann criticizes both government and corporate sectors for their silence and calls for a more decisive response to distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israeli policies and outright antisemitism. The narrative suggests that societal frameworks often fail to recognize the victimization of successful communities like the Jewish population when subjected to hate-driven violence.