One of the essential elements of the Passover seder is the four cups of wine, traditionally drunk, Greco-Roman style, while reclining. Wine was an essential beverage in the ancient Mediterranean world, and one discussed extensively in the Talmud, which in at least one instance describes Italian wine as the very best kind. But it has long been thought that ancient wine wasn’t very good, at least not by modern standards. Dimitri Van Limbergen, together with Paulina Komar, recently completed a scientific study that challenges that assumption:

It is alleged that Roman winemakers had to mask their products’ flaws by adding spices, herbs, and other ingredients to the freshly pressed grape juice, which is known as must. However, our research has shown this may not have been the case: a recent study of earthenware vessels used in wine fermentation—both ancient and contemporary—has challenged traditional views on the taste and quality of Roman wine, some of which may even have rivalled the fine wines of today.

Many of the longstanding misconceptions surrounding Roman wine come from a lack of insight into one of the most characteristic features of Roman winemaking: fermentation in clay jars or dolia. Huge wine cellars filled with hundreds of these vessels have been found all over the Roman world, but until we began our study no one had looked closely at their role in ancient wine production.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.