Among the many documents that have been discovered in the famed Cairo Genizah—the storage room for sacred texts in the Ben Ezra synagogue—is but single sheet of parchment, measuring 16.3 by 12 centimeters, and known formally as Genizah MS 17. Alexandra Trachsel tells its story:

Considering the current state of the region and the policy mistakes of the recent past, David Pollock and Robert Satloff outline a strategy that is “both virtuous and realistic” for defending human rights and encouraging democratization in a region plagued by autocracy, chaos, and brutality. They argue that “in the long run, more democratic, tolerant, and inclusive governments are likely to be better at defending themselves, and more reliable and effective security partners for the United States.”