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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

I’m a tenured professor with an endowed chair.

Looking back, I don’t think the freshly minted PhD version of me could land a job in today’s market. I was smart, I was driven — but mostly, I was lucky.

More of us in academia need to admit that.

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

Few of us were expecting the U.S. to engage in national hari-kari. And many of us still are having trouble wrapping our heads around it.

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

Yes, Trump probably did it for all the wrong reasons — but let’s be honest: I can’t see any U.S. president since Reagan willing to play hardball with Bibi and force a ceasefire like this.

I’ll take that win. And I'm happy to give Trump that credit.

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

I’m a tenured professor with an endowed chair.

Looking back, I don’t think the freshly minted PhD version of me could land a job in today’s market. I was smart, I was driven — but mostly, I was lucky.

More of us in academia need to admit that.

4 5 25

Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Dov Waxman @dovwaxman.bsky.social · 2h

The ceasefire in Gaza, now in effect, depends on the promise given by an inveterate liar and conman (Trump) to a ruthless terrorist organization (Hamas) that he will prevent another serial liar, conman, and war criminal (Netanyahu) from resuming the war:

Trump promised not to let Israel break Gaza ceasefire to get deal

Israel broke one ceasefire. Trump told the mediators he wouldn't let it happen this time.

www.axios.com

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

Yes, Trump probably did it for all the wrong reasons — but let’s be honest: I can’t see any U.S. president since Reagan willing to play hardball with Bibi and force a ceasefire like this.

I’ll take that win. And I'm happy to give Trump that credit.

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Gürkan Özturan @obefintlig.bsky.social · 1h

📰 My latest article addressing #MediaFreedom, access to news, public space and judicial pressure in Turkey, based on our Media Freedom Monitoring Report as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), is now available on @daktilo1984.bsky.social.

🗞 Read it here: daktilo1984.com/d84intellige...

Media Freedom in Turkey: The Judiciary’s Tight Grip on the Public Sphere - Daktilo 1984

Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has published its latest Media Freedom Monitoring Report, focusing on the first half of 2025 and one of the countries in focus is Turkey. The results paint a soberi...

daktilo1984.com

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1h

My kid deserves a trophy too!

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2h

Rep. Buddy Carter: "Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. That's why I'm introducing a resolution today that will honor him with the Nobel Peace Prize."

(It doesn't work like that lol)

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 2h

I don't know about "Nashville," but there are definitely country performers who continue to "speak for the little guy."

Here's what I listen to. All seem to me "in the spirit" of Johnny.

open.spotify.com/playlist/1LD...

Spotify – Web Player

open.spotify.com

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Juno Rylee Schultz @junoryleejournalism.com · 1d

David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, being interviewed by Ari Shapiro (NPR)

SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Arang Keshavarzian @keshavarziana.bsky.social · 25d

I had the opportunity to review Elham Fakhro's excellent and highly timely book on the Abraham Accords. It sheds light on Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, the GCC, and the US at this current moment. merip.org/2025/09/the-...

The Limits of Protection and Profits—Five Years into the Abraham Accords - MERIP

On September 15, 2020, US President Donald Trump was joined at the White House by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to sign th...

merip.org

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Clément Plaisant @cplaisant.bsky.social · 8h

#Kalin's role in the Gaza peace talks : "The Turkish head of Intelligence is very close to Witkoff and to #Hamas, and the Turkish intensive role was crucial in putting the pressure on Hamas to agree to the deal and not to walk away from the table" 1/2
blogs.timesofisrael.com/we-can-begin...

The Blogs: We can begin to breathe again: Initial thoughts on this morning’s developments

A quick take on the end of the war from my backchannel perspective: It could have been done long ago; Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize

blogs.timesofisrael.com

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 3h

This is a key point. There is a ceasefire.

There is little interest in "a solution," at least not one that includes real Palestinian agency or autonomy.

Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 4h

Excluding Marwan Barghouti from the list of prisoners for release means none of the parties are serious about the second stage of the agreement (replacing Hamas with an alternative administration) let along any "peace" prospects

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 3h

Spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out what the hell happened to Bluesky... How did all this crapola end up in my timeline?

Then I realized that I had somehow slipped from "following" to "discover"

Not for the first time.

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 4h

Excluding Marwan Barghouti from the list of prisoners for release means none of the parties are serious about the second stage of the agreement (replacing Hamas with an alternative administration) let along any "peace" prospects

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

László Szerencsés @szerlasz.bsky.social · 5h

Outrage one day, admiration the next.

Vučić’s reaction to Turkey's drone sales to Kosovo captures the fragile pragmatism holding Serbia–Turkey relations together.

✍️ My latest in Balkan Insight: balkaninsight.com/2025/10/10/t...

Turkey’s Drone Sales to Kosovo Test its Friendship with Serbia

A shipment of Turkish-made military drones to Kosovo reignited old tensions between Ankara and Belgrade. But after initially accusing Turkey of imperial ambitions, Serbia’s president backtracked, high...

balkaninsight.com

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Starfish Who Can’t Think Something Witty @irhottakes.bsky.social · 5d

Honestly, it kinda feels like we're out of takes at this point. Like everyone's already said everything they had to say and we're done here.

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 14h

I have a couple of cases of Monster in my office. I like coffee better, but I don't want to spend the time going to the campus bookstore every two hours

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 17h

That JD thinks this is a clever burn highlights what a unrepentant bigot he is.

And also what a putz.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 17h

That JD thinks this is a clever burn highlights what a unrepentant bigot he is.

And also what a putz.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 23h

JD Vance describes Chuck Schumer as "one of the most famous Palestinians in the world"

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 23h

Trump still hasn’t won a Nobel this year - but the son of Palestinian refugees did!

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

A long ‘journey’ for Nobel chemistry winner born to Palestinian refugees

Omar Yaghi, 60, a U.S. citizen born in Jordan, said he was raised with a dozen others in one room.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 18h

I am straight-up surprised that "side with Palestine" is so low in some of these.

Clément Plaisant @cplaisant.bsky.social · 19h

"This analysis paper examines how young people in Türkiye [...] understand Israel’s war on Gaza. It explores the relationship between their interpretations and their political beliefs, as well as their views on international politics and Türkiye’s foreign policy"
mecouncil.org/publication/...

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 23h

Turkey's advantages are two-fold: it appears to have the trust of both Hamas and the Trump Administration (and is anxious to demonstrate its utility to the latter)

But there are hard limits: of all the Middle Eastern countries with which Israel has relations, Turkey is the country it trusts *least*

Jonathan Spicer @jonathanspicer.bsky.social · 23h

Turkey emerges as key player in Gaza ceasefire deal, both in negotiations and its planned execution, after having remained mostly on the sidelines for two years www.reuters.com/world/middle...

www.reuters.com

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Howard Eissenstat @heissenstat.bsky.social · 1d

"I believe a durable, mutually agreed upon resolution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires what Trump’s plan sidelines: Palestinian self-determination."

Dana El Kurd @danaelkurd.bsky.social · 1d

My article on the 20 point gaza "peace plan" is now out. Let me tell you why peace processes in the Israeli Palestinian conflict seem to keep failing, with a focus on Tony Blair the menace of the middle east

theconversation.com/a-gaza-peace...

Gaza peace plan risks borrowing more from Tony Blair’s failures in the Middle East than his success in Northern Ireland

The former British leader was tapped to lead redevelopment efforts in Gaza if a deal is agreed upon.

theconversation.com

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Reposted by Howard Eissenstat

Robert Fessler @professler.bsky.social · 20h

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