The New Yorker: The Israelis Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors

In today’s newsletter, another front of the war, and then:
•Mourning Flaco, the owl who escaped
•The increasing attacks on Kamala Harris
•A new “Shōgun” on a grand scale

The Israeli Settlers Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors

With the world’s focus on Gaza, settlers have used wartime chaos as cover for violence and dispossession.

By Shane Bauer

Photograph by Tanya Habjouqa / NOOR for The New Yorker

The sounds of destructioncarried through the valley. It was October 28th, and I was standing on a rocky slope in the West Bank with Bashar Ma’amar, a Palestinian who records the aggressions of Israeli settlers. Ma’amar pointed a camera at a group ransacking a house below us. A couple of days before, the settlers had set fire to it; the house’s owner had gone to the police, but they had not intervened. As we watched, one settler kicked at the front door, and another tried to penetrate the charred walls with a board. Others tore a hole in the roof and slipped inside. On the hillside opposite us, three Israeli soldiers and a man with a rifle stood watching. Eventually, the settlers joined the soldiers to walk back to Eli, their settlement, where mothers pushed strollers down tree-lined blocks of red-roofed houses, people played tennis on courts with views of Palestinian farmland, and men and women carrying M16s and Uzis shopped in strip malls.

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An illustration of a book with a knife sliced through the spine, with fallen paper shavings.

Editor’s Pick

A memorial for Flaco the owl in Central Park, New York.

Our Local Correspondents

Mourning Flaco, the Owl Who Escaped

The Eurasian eagle-owl lived for a year outside captivity, learning to hunt and travelling widely throughout Manhattan. “I felt like I lost a friend,” one birder said. Another looked for a glimmer of hope: “I think we can all agree—that Flaco would agree—that the one year of freedom, even if his life was cut short, was better than living ten more in a box where he couldn’t fly.”

ByNaaman Zhou

An illustration of a book with leggings that are running.

From the News Desk

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February 2024. There is a large red circle from a light on the right side of the photograph.

Daily Comment

The Increasing Attacks on Kamala Harris

The Vice-President is trying to cast herself as a leader and connect with voters who are not excited about the Democratic ticket.

ByPeter Slevin

Pope Francis delivers a speech to the crowd from the window of the apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's square under the rain.

Daily Comment

The Vatican and the War in Gaza

A rhetorical dispute between the Church and the Israeli government shows the limits—and the possibilities—of the Pope’s role in times of conflict.

ByPaul Elie

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Culture Dept.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein (Director/Writer/Producer) in Maestro

Notes on Hollywood

Can You Really Want an Oscar Too Much?

It’s the ultimate paradox of campaigning: an actor must somehow be dedicated but not try-hard, authentic but not award-hungry.

ByMichael Schulman

On Television

In “Shōgun,” an Update Is a Double-Edged Sword

The FX series attempts to tailor its source material—a 1975 novel about an English sailor turned samurai—for modern audiences, but gives them little to seize on emotionally.

ByInkoo Kang

The Current Cinema

Two African Migrants’ Fantastical, Harrowing Odyssey in “Io Capitano”

Matteo Garrone’s epic about two young Senegalese cousins attempting to reach Italy is his finest film since “Gomorrah.”

ByJustin Chang

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Fun & Games Dept.

Crossword

A Moderately Challenging Puzzle

It may be the size of a golf ball, baseball, or softball: four letters.

ByWyna Liu

Woman sitting at table in French restaurant reading menu at sunset. Woman in a new restaurant in town deciding what to order for dinner.

Shouts & Murmurs

How People with Dietary Restrictions See Menus

Vegan options: Mound of celery and carrots (no dip); the garnish parts of the charcuterie board.

ByEmily Menez

Five deities stand on a cloud in outer space while discussing something.

Daily Cartoon

Tuesday, February 27th

ByAdam Douglas Thompson

A top hat with long legs on a beige background.

Name Drop:Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues?Play a quiz from our archive »

P.S. Before his death, Flaco the owl had ascended to a special place of American celebrity: famous enough to be mocked in a Shouts & Murmurs column. Just last week, Evan Allgood imagined that Flaco might beletting all the attention go to his beautiful head: “I noticed that Flaco had dropped his Carolina drawl and affected an old-school New York accent, like Ryan Gosling. He said he’d been working with a dialect coach so he wouldn’t sound like a hick on his new podcast. . . .” 🦉

The Israelis Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors