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Ive felt it too, every time. Ive walked through places where Jews lived for hundreds or even thousands of years, people who share so many of the foundations of my own life the language and books I cherish, the ideas that nourish me, the rhythms of my weeks and years and I have felt the silence close in.

I dont mean the dead Jews silence, but my own. I know how I am supposed to feel: solemn, calmly contemplative, and perhaps also grateful to whoever so kindly restored this synagogue or renamed this street. I stifle my disquiet, telling myself it is merely sorrow, burying it so deep that I no longer recognize what it really is: rage.

That rage is real, and we ignore it at our peril. Its apparently in poor taste to point out why people like Mr. Simentov wind up as Last Jews to begin with: People decided they no longer wanted to live with those who werent exactly like themselves. Nostalgic stories about Last Jews mask a much larger and darker reality about societies that were once ethnic and religious mosaics, but are now home to almost no one but Arab Muslims, Lithuanian Catholics or Han Chinese. It costs little to wax nostalgic about departed Jews when one lives in a place where diversity, rather than being a living human challenge, is a fairy tale from the past. There is only one way to be.

What does it mean for a society to rid itself of other points of view? To reject those with different perspectives, different histories, different ways of being in the world? The example of Jewish history, of the many Last Jews in places around the globe, holds up a dark mirror to those of us living in much freer societies. The cynical use of bygone Jews to inspire us can verge on the absurd, but that absurdity isnt so far-off from our own lip service to diversity, where those who differ from us are wonderful, so long as they see things our way.

On paper, American diversity is impressive. But in reality, we often live siloed lives. How do we really treat those who arent just like us? The disgust is palpable, as anyone knows who has tried being Jewish on TikTok. Are we up to the challenge of maintaining a society that actually respects others?

I hope so, but Im not holding my breath. The Last Jew of Afghanistan is gone, and everyone is glad to be rid of him.

Dara Horn is the author, most recently, of People Love Dead Jews and the creator and host of the podcast Adventures With Dead Jews.

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Opinion | What Happens When the Last Jew Leaves Afghanistan - The New York Times

Vendors sell Taliban flags in front of a wall alongside the US embassy in Kabul on September 13, 2021. KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

According to a new report from The Art Newspaper, during the initial scramble of American officials from Afghanistan that took place when it became clear that the Talibans takeover efforts would be successful, the United States embassy also hastily ensured that the art collection housed in its facility would be sent back to America as well. These works evidently include Pat Lipskys Builder (1999), a carpet installation by Lisa Anne Auerbach and New Morning (2009) by Judy Pfaff. Camille Benton, the curator of the U.S. State Departments Art in Embassies program, also reportedly told Lipsky that the governments main priority was getting people out of Afghanistan, but that more information regarding her works location would be forthcoming.

During the time that the art evacuation was taking place, many US staff were still struggling to leave Afghanistan. We have confirmed that pieces of art were packed up and shipped before embassy operations shifted to the Kabul airport, a spokesperson for the State Department told The Art Newspaper. These items have arrived in the United States and are in the process of being reviewed and inventoried. Ever since the Talibans takeover of Afghanistan, concerns have been raised regarding whether the group intends to pose a threat to items that make up the countrys cultural heritage.

Some, like representatives from the D.C.-based Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage, have said that Taliban counterpartshave stated that they agree with the need to protect historic sites. But given the Talibans proven track record of cracking down on artistic expression and wrecking significant artifacts, including the 2001 destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, organizations like the British Council have suspended Afghanistan-based heritage projects until further notice. Afghan musicians have also been fleeing the country.

Afghan artists recently told the Washington Post that theyve been burying paintings, stashing away books and hiding hard drives packed with films out of anxiety that the Taliban will destroy them. The Taliban has not issued any statements regarding the arts, Safiullah Habibi, the director of Kabuls Fine Arts Institute, told the Post. But artists themselves are limiting themselves. They think the Taliban will repeat what happened in the 1990s. At that time, the arts had no place in their rule.

Until the Taliban elucidates its official policies when it comes to art, its clear that American officials werent going to take any chances when it came to the U.S. embassys collection.

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American Art Was Evacuated During the Talibans Takeover of Afghanistan - Observer

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) A retired Army colonel is helping the city of Stillwater prepare to host dozens of refugee families from Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Col. Mike FitzGerald, a 20-year veteran and current operations manager for Catholic Charities of Eastern Oklahoma, says the first families are expected to start arriving Nov. 1.

These are people that are asking for our help, he told Tulsa World. They are young families with small children. These arent the bad guys.

Accommodations are being provided by Oklahoma State University and private landlords, FitzGerald said.

Stillwater is a very welcoming community and home to a lot of international students as part of OSU and has been a very diverse community because of our status as a university town, Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce said. I would expect that any new refugee or other international visitors will find it to be a very welcoming place.

Organizers have also set up a committee structure to help with transportation, adult and childrens education, jobs, household supplies, furniture and groceries.

The children will be allowed to enroll in Stillwater Public Schools, FitzGerald said, and English language classes will be available.

The U.S. Department of State is also providing $1,225 per person in a family and work authorizations are being expedited so family members can find work quickly.

Very Rev. Brian OBrien, pastor of Saint Francis Zavier Catholic Church in Stillwater, said he welcomes incoming refugees.

Whenever a need has arisen, it gets met, OBrien said.

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Stillwater to host Afghanistan refugees with help of veteran - Associated Press

Society of Active Retirees (SOAR), a Farmington Hills-based lifelong learning community billed as a health club for the brain, is hosting a special event featuring Craig Whitlock, staff writer for The Washington Post and author of The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War on Thursday, October 7 at 2 p.m., live via Zoom.

Whitlock will provide an in-depth look at the 20-year history of the United States involvement in Afghanistan. Whitlock will base his talk on the groundbreaking investigative story of how three successive presidents and their military commanders deceived the public about Americas longest war.

The event will provide revelations by security, governmental and military personnel who played a direct role in the war and will provide a discussion over what went wrong and how we are to understand Americas longest war. The book debuted at number one on The New York Times nonfiction best-seller list for the week ending September 4, 2021. Whitlock has recently appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, PBS NewsHour and several other national media events.

Back in the summer of 2016, Whitlock got a tip from a source that former U.S. Army General Michael Flynn had given an extensive interview to a federal agency called the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Whitlock was interested to see what Flynn said about the war in Afghanistan.

After putting in a public records request to get transcript notes from the interview, the request was refused. Flynn then became President Donald Trumps National Security Advisor, which led Whitlock to believe the interview would be even more potentially newsworthy.

The Post ended up having to file a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Inspector General to get the interview, and while they were doing that, it was uncovered that the Inspector General had actually interviewed more than 400 people for a project they called Lessons Learned to try and identify mistakes made during the war in Afghanistan.

Once we found that out and we got a look at Flynns interview after we won in court, I knew there was a much bigger story there because Flynn was very blunt and unvarnished in his criticism of the war in Afghanistan in the interview, Whitlock said. I thought if the others are anything like this, its going to be an important story.

The interviews ended up being a way to get arms around a bigger project to report out what went wrong in Afghanistan and how people in government werent forthright about all the problems that were going on. The Afghanistan Papers were published in December 2019 by the Post, and after it became one of their most-read stories of that year, readers urged them to turn it into a book.

I did that and we expanded on the original series by obtaining several hundred other interviews that were conducted with veterans in the war and other senior officials, Whitlock said. It really enabled us to write a narrative of what went wrong in Afghanistan from beginning to end.

In reading the documents and interviews, what was most shocking to Whitlock is just how blunt the admissions of failure were by the people in charge.

There were literally several people who said, we didnt know what we were doing in Afghanistan, Whitlock stated. There were multiple generals who said they didnt have a strategy. To hear that from the people in charge, people who worked at The White House or the top levels at the Pentagon or military headquarters in Kabul was completely shocking to me, and even when I re-read their remarks today, I still cant believe they said some of this stuff.

Whitlock will be giving a talk during the event, but its really going to be a Q&A where viewers can ask anything theyre curious about. More than anything, Whitlock hopes the event allows people to get a better understanding of what happened in Afghanistan.

We had been told for years by people in charge that we were making progress in Afghanistan, so how did this happen? This is really an event to try and explain some of that and answer anybodys questions.

Registration for this event is open to the public. The event fee is $10.00. For more information about SOAR, or to register for the event, go to http://www.soarexplore.com or call (248) 626-0296.

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SOAR Hosting Virtual Event with Craig Whitlock, Author of 'The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War' Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News

Donald Trump had to be talked out of announcing plans for a 2024 presidential run amid the USs chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to reports.

The former president, who has been teasing a future bid for a second term despite twice being impeached during his first term, was talked out of making such an announcement right away in August, The Washington Post reported, citing two people familiar with the situation.

As the US withdrew from Afghaistan, images emerged of thousands of people flooding to the airport in Kabul in a desperate attempt to leave the country as the Taliban swept to power in a matter of days.

The Biden administration faced widespread criticism of their handling of the withdrawal, while much censure was also directed at Mr Trump for signing the deal to end the USs 18-year presence in the country.

But rather than realising the poor timing of such an announcement,Mr Trumps advisers instead told him such a move might detract from GOP efforts come midterms.

The biggest point we drove home was that he doesnt want to own the midterms if we dont win back the House or Senate, the anonymous source told The Post.

Indeed, the continued nudge-nudge wink-wink hinting from Mr Trump that he may indeed run for the presidency in 2024 is taking a toll on the Republican party, with some loyalists unable to set their sights on their own future until Mr Trump decides what he is planning to do.

He tacitly keeps the 2024 crowd on notice that nobody can move a major muscle until he decides what hes doing, former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told The Post.

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Trump had to be talked out of announcing 2024 presidential bid as US withdrew from Afghanistan, report says - The Independent