SHABBAT READING
The Melachot of Shabbat Are 40 minus 1: Cracking the Rabbinic Code: Rabbi Evan Hoffman, The Torah.com, Feb. 20. 2014 — Scripture requires that all Israelites abstain from work (melacha) on Shabbat (Exodus 20:10). Rabbinic texts speak of thirty-nine primary categories of labor (Mishnah Shabbat 7:2). Each primary category (av – plural avot) can be further subdivided into many derivative types of labor (toladot). Performing any of the several hundred prohibited actions is considered by the rabbis a violation of biblical Sabbath law.
FLIPPING THE EQUATION
LISTEN: Are The Houthis Getting What They Deserve?: The Editors, National Review, Mar. 18, 2025 — Today on The Editors, Rich, Charlie, Jim, and Noah discuss Trump’s retaliation on the Houthis, new polls out on Democratic leadership, and the legality of some recent flights to El Salvador.
***
Bombing the Houthis Is a Good Start, but a Successful Strategy Must Be Broader: Eric Navarro, Middle East Forum, Mar. 17, 2025
In Yemen Strikes, Trump Takes on a Group That Has Outlasted Powerful Foes: Stefan Kalin, WSJ, Mar. 16, 2025
The United States’ Houthi Terrorist Designation Unmasks Russia’s Yemen Strategy: Fatima Abo Alasrar, Atlantic Council, Mar. 14, 2025
U.S. Attacks in Yemen Provide a Security Blanket for Israel in The Hague: (res.) Maurice Hirsch, Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Mar. 20. 2025
***
FOR FURTHER REFERENCE
Latest US Strikes on Houthis Reflect Tactical Shift at the Pentagon, Analysts Say: Alison Bath, Stars and Stripes, Mar. 18, 2025 — U.S. military attacks on Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen came with more firepower and less hesitancy to strike in populated areas than under the Biden administration, military analysts said this week.
Oman Remains the Weak Link in the Counter-Houthi Fight: Michael Rubin, Middle East Forum, Mar. 15, 2025 — Apart from Yemen’s Houthis, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s “resistance front” is collapsing. Israeli strikes castrated Hezbollah, and Turkey’s proxy Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham sent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into exile. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani deserves credit for forcing Iran-backed militias like the Badr Corps and Qais al-Khazali’s Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq to stand down and refrain from dragging Iraq into the Iran-Israel dispute.
Blow the Houthis Out of the Water: Charles C.W. Cooke, National Review, Mar. 17, 2025 —
Has there ever been a case for American military action as strong as the case for our hitting the Houthis?
Iran to Face ‘Consequences’ if Houthis Continue Attacks, Trump Threatens: Alexander Ward, Stephen Kalin , and Saleh al-Batati, WSJ, Mar. 17, 2025 — President Trump said Monday he would hold Iran responsible for any future attacks by the Houthis in Yemen, threatening unspecified consequences against the Islamic Republic after he ordered large-scale strikes in recent days against the militants.