Howard Eissenstat
@heissenstat.bsky.social
Laurentian Associate Professor of History, St. Lawrence University.
Non-resident scholar, Stockholm University, Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS)
Focused on Turkey and the Middle East.
Unlikely to argue on-line. Blocks dumb, annoying, or noisy.
Non-resident scholar, Stockholm University, Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS)
Focused on Turkey and the Middle East.
Unlikely to argue on-line. Blocks dumb, annoying, or noisy.
Pinned
Lots of new follows this past few days. Welcome!
By way of introduction, I am a historian working on modern Turkey and, more generally, the Middle East.
I will also sometimes post on running, work dogs, and running with work dogs.
And the occasional snarky commments on US politics
By way of introduction, I am a historian working on modern Turkey and, more generally, the Middle East.
I will also sometimes post on running, work dogs, and running with work dogs.
And the occasional snarky commments on US politics
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
NEW: AI “recipe slop” is overrunning search and social. Food creators say Google’s AI Overviews and glossy fake food pics are drowning out real, tested recipes — collapsing traffic and setting home cooks up for disaster, especially this Thanksgiving.
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Gift link: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
AI Slop Recipes Are Taking Over the Internet -- And Thanksgiving Dinner
Food bloggers see traffic dip as home cooks turn to AI, inspired by impossible pictures
www.bloomberg.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:39 PM
One of the big tidal forces of the coming years is that the baseline reliability of things you see on a screen is going to decline.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
I think this has not been adequately metabolized.
This is one version, but there are a bunch of them.
Should I despise Mearsheimer or Dershowitz?
a little girl is asking why not both while standing in a kitchen .
ALT: a little girl is asking why not both while standing in a kitchen .
media.tenor.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Should I despise Mearsheimer or Dershowitz?
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
A short thread on why some Christians love Jews so much they want them to move elsewhere.
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
November 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A short thread on why some Christians love Jews so much they want them to move elsewhere.
There is a difference, after all, between "paid agents" and "easily manipulated dupes"
"Trump and Witkoff are working for the Russians" is such a trivial response. It's a way not to think about the situation. If you want to claim they are working for the Russians, show me a contract. Show me their contacts. It's been years now, and nobody has done this.
November 26, 2025 at 1:23 AM
There is a difference, after all, between "paid agents" and "easily manipulated dupes"
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
November 25, 2025 at 2:17 PM
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
For all the frenzy about how the Europeans or Ukrainians were doomed four days ago or speculation about what Russia is up to, nothing in concrete terms has changed for the moment for both sides of this war
Instead it's the Americans who ceremoniously shot themselves in both feet
Instead it's the Americans who ceremoniously shot themselves in both feet
November 25, 2025 at 10:39 PM
For all the frenzy about how the Europeans or Ukrainians were doomed four days ago or speculation about what Russia is up to, nothing in concrete terms has changed for the moment for both sides of this war
Instead it's the Americans who ceremoniously shot themselves in both feet
Instead it's the Americans who ceremoniously shot themselves in both feet
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Excellent piece. True to his typical form, Joel does not shy away from the contradictions & knotty bits, but looks them head-on.
I'll be back more regularly after my semester ends, but in the mean time, I'm in the @forward.com talking about Mamdani's response to the protest at Park East synagogue last week, and why ambivalence is sometimes okay. forward.com/opinion/7861...
What does Mamdani's response to synagogue protests mean for Jews? No one will like the answer.
Zohran Mamdani's response to a protest outside Park East synagogue satisfied no one. But it might speak to a crucial truth about Jewish life.
forward.com
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Excellent piece. True to his typical form, Joel does not shy away from the contradictions & knotty bits, but looks them head-on.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
A valuable article by Yohanan Benhaim, examining the ways in which the AKP has conquered the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a regalian administration of Kemalist tradition. He describes a slow, non-linear and contingent takeover.
shs.cairn.info/revue-critiq...
shs.cairn.info/revue-critiq...
November 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
A valuable article by Yohanan Benhaim, examining the ways in which the AKP has conquered the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a regalian administration of Kemalist tradition. He describes a slow, non-linear and contingent takeover.
shs.cairn.info/revue-critiq...
shs.cairn.info/revue-critiq...
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Worth reading : "A decade after the 2016 rupture, the Türkiye–Russia–United States triangle has settled into a pattern of normalized asymmetry. What began as a balancing attempt has evolved into a structured condition of constrained interdependence" +
www.institut-bosphore.org/wp-content/u...
www.institut-bosphore.org/wp-content/u...
November 25, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Worth reading : "A decade after the 2016 rupture, the Türkiye–Russia–United States triangle has settled into a pattern of normalized asymmetry. What began as a balancing attempt has evolved into a structured condition of constrained interdependence" +
www.institut-bosphore.org/wp-content/u...
www.institut-bosphore.org/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Yes, it was much less restricted compared to earlier years on 25 November. People were surprised. Protesters were even allowed to march on a little part of İstiklal. But I’ve seen some reports of police surrounding some protesters afterwards, so there might be some people detained
November 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Yes, it was much less restricted compared to earlier years on 25 November. People were surprised. Protesters were even allowed to march on a little part of İstiklal. But I’ve seen some reports of police surrounding some protesters afterwards, so there might be some people detained
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
international day against violence against women in istanbul
November 25, 2025 at 6:25 PM
international day against violence against women in istanbul
You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you?
I should be OK, I think.
I should be OK, I think.
November 25, 2025 at 6:55 PM
You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you?
I should be OK, I think.
I should be OK, I think.
As a little holiday gift, I’m sharing my mom’s beloved sour-cream twist cookie recipe.
They’re lightly sweet—perfect with coffee or tea.
And honestly, it makes me happy to think of people enjoying her food even now that she’s gone.
Here’s the recipe exactly as she typed it, maybe 60 years ago.
They’re lightly sweet—perfect with coffee or tea.
And honestly, it makes me happy to think of people enjoying her food even now that she’s gone.
Here’s the recipe exactly as she typed it, maybe 60 years ago.
November 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM
As a little holiday gift, I’m sharing my mom’s beloved sour-cream twist cookie recipe.
They’re lightly sweet—perfect with coffee or tea.
And honestly, it makes me happy to think of people enjoying her food even now that she’s gone.
Here’s the recipe exactly as she typed it, maybe 60 years ago.
They’re lightly sweet—perfect with coffee or tea.
And honestly, it makes me happy to think of people enjoying her food even now that she’s gone.
Here’s the recipe exactly as she typed it, maybe 60 years ago.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Mazloum Abdi's emphasis (in his most recent interview with Mezopotamya) on the need for him to visit Ocalan should, IMO, also be considered against this background.
At the end of the day, for Ankara, the whole process has been, since from the beginning, about the PKK and its affiliates laying down arms. I do not see much disagreement among regime actors on this broad point. Remember Bahceli calling Ocalan two months ago to make a call to the SDF.
From this point onwards, as the Imrali visit is also realized, I believe the fate of the rapprochement process with Ocalan is entirely dependent on what will happen with the SDF in Syria.
November 25, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Mazloum Abdi's emphasis (in his most recent interview with Mezopotamya) on the need for him to visit Ocalan should, IMO, also be considered against this background.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
Mohammed Hureini’s family has hosted hundreds of activists, journalists, and politicians in At-Tuwani. If this demolition proceeds, half of the village may be next.
www.972mag.com/at-tuwani-gu...
Mohammed Hureini’s family has hosted hundreds of activists, journalists, and politicians in At-Tuwani. If this demolition proceeds, half of the village may be next.
www.972mag.com/at-tuwani-gu...
Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But we still welcome all who resist
My family has hosted hundreds of activists, journalists, and politicians in At-Tuwani. If this demolition proceeds, half of our West Bank village may be next.
www.972mag.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Israel is set to destroy our guesthouse. But Masafer Yatta still welcomes all who resist
Mohammed Hureini’s family has hosted hundreds of activists, journalists, and politicians in At-Tuwani. If this demolition proceeds, half of the village may be next.
www.972mag.com/at-tuwani-gu...
Mohammed Hureini’s family has hosted hundreds of activists, journalists, and politicians in At-Tuwani. If this demolition proceeds, half of the village may be next.
www.972mag.com/at-tuwani-gu...
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
New episode 📢📢
Seçil Daǧtaș on religious difference in Turkey's Hatay
👇👇
turkeybooktalk.com/2025/11/25/s...
Seçil Daǧtaș on religious difference in Turkey's Hatay
👇👇
turkeybooktalk.com/2025/11/25/s...
Seçil Daǧtaș on religious difference in Turkey’s Hatay
Turkey Book Talk #258 – Seçil Daǧtaș, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Waterloo, on “Under the Same Sky: Everyday Politics of Religious Difference in Southern Turkey” …
turkeybooktalk.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:07 PM
New episode 📢📢
Seçil Daǧtaș on religious difference in Turkey's Hatay
👇👇
turkeybooktalk.com/2025/11/25/s...
Seçil Daǧtaș on religious difference in Turkey's Hatay
👇👇
turkeybooktalk.com/2025/11/25/s...
A short thread on why some Christians love Jews so much they want them to move elsewhere.
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
November 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
A short thread on why some Christians love Jews so much they want them to move elsewhere.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
ah yes, the people yearn for the dersh
"elevate charismatic figures such as Alan Dershowitz"
-____________-
-____________-
November 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
ah yes, the people yearn for the dersh
I largely agree with Sinem here.
From the PKK's perspective, the main concerns are (a) Ocalan's continued imprisonment and (b) salvaging what they can of the SDF in Syria.
From the PKK's perspective, the main concerns are (a) Ocalan's continued imprisonment and (b) salvaging what they can of the SDF in Syria.
From this point onwards, as the Imrali visit is also realized, I believe the fate of the rapprochement process with Ocalan is entirely dependent on what will happen with the SDF in Syria.
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
I largely agree with Sinem here.
From the PKK's perspective, the main concerns are (a) Ocalan's continued imprisonment and (b) salvaging what they can of the SDF in Syria.
From the PKK's perspective, the main concerns are (a) Ocalan's continued imprisonment and (b) salvaging what they can of the SDF in Syria.
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
November 25, 2025 at 2:17 PM
To be clear, this is actually a really good example of Christian Zionism which *pre-dated* political Zionism.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Quality time:
Spent this afternoon baking my mom's classic sour cream twist cookies for Thanksgiving with my daughter, who regaled me with all the exciting drama that is the first year of high school.
Here's the recipe, from Bubbe's type-written file, probably written down around 1970 or so.
Spent this afternoon baking my mom's classic sour cream twist cookies for Thanksgiving with my daughter, who regaled me with all the exciting drama that is the first year of high school.
Here's the recipe, from Bubbe's type-written file, probably written down around 1970 or so.
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Quality time:
Spent this afternoon baking my mom's classic sour cream twist cookies for Thanksgiving with my daughter, who regaled me with all the exciting drama that is the first year of high school.
Here's the recipe, from Bubbe's type-written file, probably written down around 1970 or so.
Spent this afternoon baking my mom's classic sour cream twist cookies for Thanksgiving with my daughter, who regaled me with all the exciting drama that is the first year of high school.
Here's the recipe, from Bubbe's type-written file, probably written down around 1970 or so.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
With the ceasefire, attention has gone elsewhere.
The need is still there, though.
Give to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund this holiday season
give.pcrf.net/campaign/hol...
The need is still there, though.
Give to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund this holiday season
give.pcrf.net/campaign/hol...
Holiday Campaign 2025
{{MetaTags.description}}
give.pcrf.net
November 24, 2025 at 4:53 PM
With the ceasefire, attention has gone elsewhere.
The need is still there, though.
Give to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund this holiday season
give.pcrf.net/campaign/hol...
The need is still there, though.
Give to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund this holiday season
give.pcrf.net/campaign/hol...
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
November 24, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Why I don't trust philo-Semitic conservatives, in one subtitle
Vahid Abedini has now been released.
November 25, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Vahid Abedini has now been released.
Reposted by Howard Eissenstat
“The presence of so much fakery makes it possible to cast aspersions on any piece of information, any actor, or any conversation to the point that the truth is effectively meaningless.”
Elon Musk’s Worthless, Poisoned Hall of Mirrors
How X blew up its own platform with a new location feature
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:47 AM
“The presence of so much fakery makes it possible to cast aspersions on any piece of information, any actor, or any conversation to the point that the truth is effectively meaningless.”