One-hundred-and-fifty-eight years ago today—over two months after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox—the Union general overseeing the military occupation of Texas issued an order emancipating that state’s slaves. Adam Mendelsohn, in conversation with Nachi Weinstein, discusses his efforts to learn about the Jews who served in the bloody fight that led to this result, how they differed from their Gentile fellows in arms, what factors motivated them to enlist, and how they reacted to such anti-Semitic incidents as Ulysses S. Grant’s expulsion of the Jews from Tennessee.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.