Good morning, and welcome to the weekend.
Grab your cup of coffee or tea, and sit down with a selection of this week’s great reads from The Globe. In this issue, Yossi Klein Halevi writes about a nation set up to fail as Israel weighs its horrifying options in the war against Hamas.
Niall McGee ponders how Australia seems to have benefitted more than any other country from Canada’s critical minerals sector - particularly while domestic companies flounder.
And Adrian Morrow outlines four factors weighing on the United States as the Biden administration wades deeper into the war between Israel and Hamas.
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Opinion: Israel’s agony: As the Jewish state is reborn, Israelis face terrifying options
People take part in a demonstration against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist coalition government's judicial overhaul, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 30, 2023.ILAN ROSENBERG/Reuters
Whether Israel continues its strikes in Gaza or allows Hamas to remain in power, Yossi Klein Halevi writes that Israelis know there are no good options for them in this war. But living with terrifying options, along with constant violence, is an essential part of the Israeli experience. And though outsiders often trivialize the agony of Israel’s Palestinian dilemma, Halevi says “most of us here know the truth: Anything we do could threaten Israel’s existence.” But according to Halevi, Hamas has reminded Israel why the Jewish people opted for power in the first place. In a world in which pure evil exists, and where Jew-hatred may be an incurable illness, powerlessness is, for Jews, the greater sin.
Read also: Israelis, Palestinians recount the chaotic hours of Oct. 7
Canada wants to be a global leader on critical minerals. Why is Australia eating our lunch?
A casting station, where the hot metal is poured and cast at Rio Tinto Alcan smelter, in Kitimat, B.C., Oct. 5, 2023.Felipe Fittipaldi/Glode and Mail
Canada’s politicians talk a big game in critical minerals, but the list of domestic companies benefiting from the mining or refining of energy transition metals such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and aluminum is short. In the meantime, Australia – the birthplace of some of the world’s biggest miners such as BHP and Rio Tinto – has built a dominant position in our mining sector while Canadian companies and financiers flounder.
Analysis: Where things go for the Biden administration amid the Israel-Hamas war
President Joe Biden, center, leaves with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Vice President Kamala Harris, left, after speaking Oct. 10, 2023, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, about the war between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
Joe Biden has committed the U.S. to the war in the Middle East in unequivocal support of Israel, and now he has his work cut out for him. From the threat of Iran or Hezbollah entering the fray to the presence of U.S. citizens among Hamas’s hostages, Biden must confront a growing list of problems in the Israel-Hamas war. Informing it all is Mr. Biden’s determination to wield U.S. power on the world stage to defend a key ally and fight anti-Semitism. Adrian Morrow reports on four factors weighing on the U.S.’s actions.
A night in the life of Ukraine’s voluntary defense unit
Serhii, serviceman of "Mriya" volunteer unit scans the sky of Kyiv from a rooftop position in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 3, 2023.Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail
The team is called “Mriya,” which means “dream.” The name comes from the beloved Ukrainian plane, the largest in the world, that was destroyed at the beginning of full-scale invasion in 2022. Every day and all throughout the night, the 400-member-strong, all-civilian division of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense gather on rooftops in Kyiv to help guard the sky by shooting down Russian drones. Janice Dickson walks us through the night shift.
AI is making our food - but does it taste any good?
Digital feature crop of print Front image for story PUR-FW-AI-1014Illustration by Audrey Malo
It can be hard to keep up with trends – especially when you’re in the food and beverage business. To stay ahead of the curve, those in the industry are adopting artificial intelligence technology: integrating machine learning and predictive models across their operations, and across our food system, to discover what we should eat and drink next. The possibilities are endless, from speeding up assembly lines to coming up with new flavours. But can an AI actually understand taste? Ann Hui has the story.
Zadie Smith has written the book she never wanted to write – and she’s having the time of her life
Zadie Smith on tour for new book, The Fraud, poses for a photo on Sept. 23, 2023 in Vancouver, B.C.Alana Paterson/The Globe and Mail
Zadie Smith has said that she did everything she could to avoid writing an historical novel. But the time has finally come for the release of The Fraud, a novel based on a trial in 1860s England – one she uses to investigate contemporary notions of conspiracy, truth, the novel, and the novelist. And, as Marsha Lederman writes, the British literary sensation has been enjoying every minute of it.
The NFL belongs with Taylor Swift, for now, but how long until they’re just another picture to burn?
Taylor Swift and Donna Kelce are seen before an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, Oct. 12, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.Charlie Riedel/The Associated Press
Taylor Swift is a football fan, and suddenly now so is everyone else. Her very presence has unquestionably changed the dynamics of how football is played, who watches and why. One of the questions people asked when Swift showed up was how she and her fans would adapt to football. Answer – they aren’t. Football is adapting to them. But what will happen when she leaves? That, Cathal Kelly writes, is anyone’s guess.
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