John MacArthur

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Aug 1, 2015, 11:18 PM

The Lion, the Dentist and the Settler

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last few days, the worldwide howls of protest over the shooting of Cecil the Zimbabwean lion can hardly have passed you by. Cecil was, it seems, quite well-known, having been...

Jul 9, 2015, 5:44 PM

All God’s Chillun

Much as I love Israel, sometimes I despair at the lack of vision of some of its electorate. It's noticeable as an outsider that so many Israelis are disillusioned with the religious establishment in general and the Haredi political...

Jul 7, 2015, 7:02 PM

BDS? Not today, thanks

I'm grateful to TOI for sending me an email the other day, inviting me to make a stand against BDS. Personally, I'm not a great enthusiast for demonstrating, placard-waving and the rest of the paraphernalia that accompanies what, I...

Mar 23, 2015, 3:48 PM

After Lausanne? A very late update.

The Israeli elections have tended to sideline almost everything else but by now, we have all read endless commentary on a deal between Tehran and Washington and the likely consequences of its implementation. If Lausanne succeeds, Obama has pulled...

Mar 2, 2015, 12:47 AM

By the time you read this, Binyamin Netanyahu, the leader of a free people, will be in DC, responding to an invitation. The inviter omitted to give the nod to the other leader of a free people, who expressed...

Feb 21, 2015, 4:41 PM

Fictional Reality

The line between fiction and non-fiction is less finely drawn than we sometimes choose to imagine or care to admit. Sometimes, political writing that claims to be non-fiction is just "made up stuff," a morality tale, a fable, yet...

Jan 13, 2015, 1:02 PM

A Cry in the Wilderness

Camouflaged, armed security guards patrol warily outside the oldest Jewish school in Paris, automatic weapons held with military precision across their chests, eyes unblinking. In Le Marais, people go about their business, weaving in and out of the tourist...

Jan 11, 2015, 10:22 PM

Je Suis Charlie — Love from Paris

The day in Paris when people stood shoulder to shoulder with the Jews and said 'be not afraid'

Jan 7, 2015, 9:33 PM

Fearless disrespect

Twelve dead, both men and women, including policemen. Four injured, and a crowd, all holding pens, is growing in number in the Place de la République. Indeed, all over France, people are spontaneously gathering, as the murders at the...

Dec 21, 2014, 1:16 AM

It’s almost that time of year again. Hanukkah meets Xmas, aka ‘the Clash of the Titans’. I know, I know, I'm not supposed to mention it but I get to light the odd candle too at this time of...

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About Me

John MacArthur is a retired teacher, living in Paris, a wild olive branch, reluctantly grafted. He doesn't much like the idea of 'belonging' anywhere but Israel is the place he feels most at home.