The Vard

Cheese-lovin' Writer Blogger. I am more than my Klout score.

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Something’s Gotta Go—But Maybe Not This (Judean Rose)

After more than a decade writing Judean Rose, I’m stepping back—for now—and reflecting on what the column has meant to me and my readers.

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Because There’s a War (Judean Rose)

A grandmother reflects on a child’s quiet acceptance of war—and the small moments that help her make sense of it.

She didn’t ask about rockets. She didn’t ask about enemies. She just wanted to know if she could go to school.

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I Passed the Test — But What Was the Subject? (Judean Rose)

Israeli writer dreads a Zoom meeting amid war alerts and sirens. ChatGPT offers polite exit lines that bring relief.

I had a Zoom meeting with someone in the U.S. this week, and I spent more time preparing what I’d say if a siren went off than what I’d say about the actual work.

I even wrote myself a little script with some AI help. Polite, professional ways to say: I have to go. Now.

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Child or Teen? The Lemmings Will Believe What They’re Told (Judean Rose)

How media language shapes perception: a 12-year-old in Israel called a teen, while Hamas counts teen fighters as “children.”

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What Is the Left For? (Judean Rose)

A look at the contradictions of Western progressivism: LGBTQ rights, women’s freedom—and support for regimes that crush both.

Islamist movements like Hamas and the Islamic Republic adhere to a religious code that criminalizes the very people Western activists claim to defend. Which begs the question: if your political identity is built around protecting sexual minorities, why are you marching for a movement that hangs them? If your political identity is all about empowering women, why do you support a regime that rules through repression?

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Tucker, Huckabee, and the Gish Gallop Storm Against the Jews

Tucker trolls Mike Huckabee with relentless Gish gallop lies on Jews, Israel, and Netanyahu. A bad-faith attack met with patience and facts.

From creationist tactics to modern smears: Tucker's Gish gallop on Huckabee was exhausting—lies flying faster than facts could catch up. Huckabee represented with class. My column unpacks why it's cowardice, not debate:  Thoughts?

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Schrödinger's Jew: White Today, Other Tomorrow (Judean Rose)

White in one headline, targeted in the next. A reflection on conditional whiteness and enduring Jewish peoplehood.

Jewish minority status is granted or revoked based upon convenience—denied when seeking inclusion, weaponized when expressing distinct identity.

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From Omar's Wine Scandal to Hamas' Weapons: The West's Blind Spot on Islam (Judean Rose)

Western leaders assume shared values with Islam. From Hamas to Washington scandals, that illusion continues to backfire on the well-meaning West.

‘Instead of assuming that all people, everywhere, are the same, the West needs the courage to look straight at where Islam diverges from Judaism and Christianity—on alcohol, on “resistance,” on diplomacy and deception, on supremacy, on the status of non-Muslims—and deal with reality as it is, not as it wishes it were.’

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No One Is Illegal—Except When It’s the Jews (Judean Rose)

A Grammy speech, a sweeping moral claim, and what happens when “no one is illegal on stolen land” is tested against Israel.

The line worked precisely because it sounded finished, as though nothing more needed to be said. After all, it was Eilish saying this, and Eilish is famous. That, apparently, was enough to give authority to a statement that makes no sense whatsoever.

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Michele Bachmann: Negotiating with “the Number One funder of Terrorism” (Judean Rose)

At a time of moral inversion, Michele Bachmann remains a clear-eyed friend of Israel, unafraid to speak plainly.

‘When the haters peddle awful lies about the Jews, the rare thing that steadies you is a friend who speaks plainly—someone willing to describe reality without euphemism, and to risk doing so, even at a high cost.' Michele Bachmann is one such friend. 

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Whose Dome Is It? Trump Takes Credit for Israel’s Iron Dome (Judean Rose)

Trump claims credit for Israel’s Iron Dome at Davos. A look at funding, power, and why Jewish self-defense should never be conditional.

Iron Dome is Israeli technology. Funding doesn’t equal ownership. And Jewish self-defense shouldn’t be treated as a presidential favor.

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Trump’s “Peace” in the Middle East: 78 Hamas Violations and Counting (Judean Rose)

Trump claims "peace" in the Middle East, but 78 Hamas ceasefire violations since Oct. 10 expose the reality: war persists, Hamas regroups.

“President Trump keeps touting the peace he brought to the Middle East. But if this is peace, I’d hate to see war. Though actually, I’ve seen war and I’m still seeing war—because we still have war. Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, there have been 78 Hamas violations of the ceasefire.”

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Angelina Jolie: Two Borders, One Ignored (Judean Rose)

Two borders with Gaza. Jolie blamed Israel anyway—and now she has stood at Rafah in Egypt. And still no apology to the Jews.

Two borders. One ignored. Jolie blamed Israel for trapping Gazans—then visited Rafah from Egypt. Don’t hold your breath for an apology.

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The Road to October 7: A Conversation with Rafael Medoff (Judean Rose)

Book review and interview with Rafael Medoff on The Road to October 7: Hamas, the Holocaust, and the Eternal War against the Jews.

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Should the US Send Money to Israel? A Transcript of Hate. (Judean Rose)

Transcript: Tucker Carlson and Piers Morgan debate U.S. aid to Israel and what “ally” means. A Judean Rose response to the new right’s hostility.

‘While we aren't free to say what we think, Vance is. Tucker is his friend. It's okay to listen to his hate speech and conspiracy theories. Which makes me wonder if Vance thinks that, in theory, it would be okay to laugh at the victims of Bondi Beach or to listen to someone laugh at that, as if that were a totally normal thing to do. Nothing worthy of remark. Because freedom.’

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Bondi Beach and the “J” Word No One Will Say (Judean Rose)

Bondi Beach shows what happens when Jews are murdered and no one will say so.

‘Albanese had no difficulty recognizing a Palestinian state that does not exist and never has. Yet he could not publicly acknowledge that Jews were murdered because they were Jews.’

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Dear Paul Simon: You Lent Your Name to a Killer's Cause (Judean Rose)

Paul Simon signed a letter supporting Marwan Barghouti’s release. This column explains Barghouti’s murders and why Simon’s stance is so troubling.

‘Mr. Simon, I know I shouldn’t be surprised you threw your support behind a murderer — all the cool kids are doing it. But somehow I thought someone as obviously brilliant as yourself knew better than to listen to the lies about Barghouti’s victimhood. That you would know enough to look into the matter and find out why Barghouti is really in prison. Not because Israel is persecuting him, but because he is a stone-cold killer.’