FAQ
Why did you start a blog?
A lot of interesting stuff that I see, hear or think about didn’t find its way into The Economist. I wanted somewhere to put it. Now that I’ve stopped working as its Jerusalem correspondent (mid-July 2008), I’m using it to sound off about whatever crosses my mind.
Why is The Economist anonymous?
Ask them.
How do we know you work there?
Click here.
Did you do all The Economist’s reporting on Israel-Palestine?
Almost all; you can find links to my pieces here. The editorials are usually written in London.
Who takes the photos on your blog?
Unless it says otherwise, I do. there are more on my Flickr page.
Why don’t you allow comments? Scared of being criticised?
Because blog comments and talkbacks about the Middle East too often turn into rants and shouting matches. I simply don’t have time to moderate them. If you think something I’ve said is really so interesting or outrageous that you have to comment on it, you can always get your own blog. If you have a private comment or correction, write to me on [my first name] @ fugitivepeace.com
Whose side are you on – the Israelis’ or the Palestinians’?
Nobody’s.
Oh, so you’re one of those “objective” journalists, huh?
You can’t be objective, but you can constantly aspire to be. I see my job as analysing who is doing what, why they’re doing it, and the gaps between what they say and what they do. Not to decide who’s “right” or “wrong”. There are more than enough opinions on that.
Give me a break. Don’t pretend you don’t have sympathies.
Honestly. I sympathise with ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who suffer because their leaders are short-sighted egotists and the extremists in their societies set the agenda. Not with either side’s cause over the other.
So do you think there’ll be peace in your lifetime?
To be honest, I doubt it. Not because “Zionism is a racist colonial enterprise” or because “Palestinians hate Jews more than they love their children”, but because there is very little trust between the two sides; each side is itself riddled with internal divisions, many of which are deepening; and Israeli and Palestinian (as well as international) politics are structured so as to make long-term planning, trust-building and compromise almost impossible to achieve. To put it another way, neither side has the short-term incentives to do what is in its long-term interests.
