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Samuel Koltov

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Apr 5, 2026, 1:54 PM

The Missing Piece: Why Air Power Alone Will Not Free Iran

AI Generated Image – The author holds no rights to the image

This post follows my earlier piece, Stop Treating Iran as a Rational Actor, and should be read alongside it. We are more than five weeks into a war whose stated goal, at least from Washington, includes regime change. The bombs...

Mar 2, 2026, 6:57 PM

Stop Treating Iran as a Rational Actor

The war has "finally" broken out between Israel and the US on the one side, and Iran on the other side. Here, a few days in, a lot has already happened. Ayatollah Khamenei is dead - confirmed by Iranian...

Dec 1, 2024, 3:06 PM

Jesus was (Not) a Palestinian

A cross hanging in the middle of a street in the Old City of Jerusalem.

All credit goes to Shmuel Aryeh Koltov

"Jesus Was a Palestinian": A Controversial Claim Through History December is here and we can soon expect that a familiar, yet contentious phrase will begin to circulate: "Jesus was a Palestinian." This claim, often invoked in modern political and cultural...

Apr 5, 2024, 12:26 AM

We lost – Both the war and ourselves

I already had the feeling that we'd lost the war very early on after seeing the responses from our leaders, ministers from the government, and prominent thought leaders, both religious and secular. It wasn't so much the anger and...

Jan 11, 2024, 3:28 PM

The ICJ – We Only Have Ourselves to Blame

The International Court of Justice

Credit: Dennis Jarvis

Today the ICJ will begin the hearings over the claims of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel, the consequences of which can be problematic to Israel, to say the least. While there won't be any immediate rulings, just...

Dec 14, 2023, 5:03 PM

Towards a New Narrative: The Israeli Arabs

The world hasn't been the same since October 7. The way we, Israelis, see ourselves, the world, and particularly the Palestinians, has changed fundamentally. I don't think there is one person, who hasn't been affected deeply by this indescribable...

Oct 30, 2023, 12:46 AM

Readying the Next War

The religious extremist settlers are laying the groundwork for the next war, and the Israeli government is allowing them to do it. Three weeks have passed since the horrible day, where murderous Islamist fanatics went crazy in a blood rage,...

Oct 21, 2023, 5:08 PM

Don’t Become the Monster You’re Fighting

There is no doubt that President Biden has been and is a staunch supporter of Israel and our right to defend ourselves, just as he's completely in tune with all of Israel that Hamas needs to be removed from...

Oct 20, 2023, 2:19 PM

The War: Despair and Longing for Hope

We are almost two weeks into the war, and there seems to be no end in sight. On the contrary, it feels like the worst has yet to come. Are we to believe the IDF and various experts, we can...

Sep 22, 2023, 11:37 AM

Obodas – A King Deified

The temple of Zeus Obodas and ruins of the Byzantine fortress seen from the south. Credit: Shmuel Aryeh Koltov

Alexander Jannaeus felt relaxed, surrounded by his soldiers, this morning outside of Gadara (modern day Umm Qays, Jordan), feeling confident of his skills as assertive ruler of the Hasmonean kingdom, having successfully managed to obtain victories and avoid crucial...

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About Me

A Jew trying to make sense of a evermore chaotic world, finding my place in history.

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