Michael Starr, at The Blogs

Michael Starr

Sometimes I Say Things, Sometimes They're Even Interesting

Feb 19, 2021, 7:49 AM

Why Are Palestinian Child Soldiers Ignored?

It's a familiar story. Ahmed Mansara, 13, and his cousin Hassan Mansara, 15, went on a stabbing spree in Pisgat Ze'ev. They injured two civilians, one a boy their age, before they were stopped. Ahmed was injured and Hassan...

Jan 14, 2021, 7:42 PM

Btselem joins uncivil society

Civil society is an important sector in a liberal democracy, helping to keep governments in check. However, what happens when the human rights NGOs that populate this sector ceases to be civil to society? On January 12th, Btselem released...

Dec 9, 2020, 6:50 PM

The Inconvenient Zionism of Hanukkah

Antizionist Jews have a problem. Judaism is very Zionist. This problem becomes most apparent on Hanukkah, when many of them attempt to use the holiday as a vehicle for a “Post-Diaspora” revolution of Jewish identity. The struggle between this...

Dec 2, 2020, 12:22 AM

Of Nukes, Terrorism, and Hypocrisy

The only thing more fantastical than the operation to kill Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh is the hypocrisy of the outraged response. After the news of the incident broke, Iran, NGOs, journalists, and Twitter mobs wasted no time in...

Oct 15, 2020, 8:07 PM

Yes, Israel is a Country.

Israeli is Certifiably a State. Original Drawing by Samuel Starr.

Is Israel even an actual country? The common sense answer is ‘yes’. It is an obvious question, of the type that a child might ask with intent to annoy, in the same caliber as ‘Are we there yet?’ or...

Jul 26, 2020, 2:21 AM

The Path to the Great Jewish Twitter Walkout

A Graphic used to promote the 48 hour Twitter walkout

On Monday, Jews will be walking away from Twitter for 48 hours. This isn't because of a Jewish holiday but in response to the rise and normalization of antisemitism on Twitter, and the social media giant's indifference to violators...

Mar 6, 2019, 11:13 PM

My Grandfather: A Man, A Rock

I was supposed to be named after my grandfather, Marvin. Right before my Brit Milah, my father was notified by the rabbi that it wasn't in line with Jewish tradition to name a child after a living relative. Instead, I...

Jan 8, 2019, 7:12 AM

Featured Post

Music and applause drown out hate

The welcoming committee for The UK Pink Floyd Experience at Ben Gurion Airport (January 3rd, 2019).

Where Roger Waters and his followers took to bullying, Israelis embraced the band and the transcendent connecting power of its music

Dec 27, 2018, 4:40 AM

The US pullout, Erdogan, and the Kurdish plight

Turkish military forces on the road to Afrin, Syria (Credit: VOA/Wikimedia Commons).

Israel will not be the only US ally that will be affected by the American military pullout from Syria. Similarly, Israelis are not the only group that have received the ire of Turkey’s President Erdogan. The Kurds, largely moderate,...

Dec 13, 2018, 4:12 PM

Drive-By Shootings and Terrorism’s Tactical Trends

As Israelis were still mourning the tragedy of the Ofra terrorist attack, another shooting portended further repercussions. Both attacks were drive-by shootings, which may indicate that the Ofra shooting has spawned a new tactical trend amongst Palestinian terrorists. How...

About Me

A veteran of the IDF and Israel advocacy, Michael Starr has a MA for Government, Counter-Terrorism, and National Security at IDC Herzliya. To receive updates on new articles, follow Michael on Twitter at @Starrlord89.

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