Ruth Wisse talks with George E. Johnson about her childhood in Eastern Europe and Montreal, her development as a scholar of Yiddish literature and a public intellectual, and the place of Jews and of Jewish studies on American college campuses. On the last point, she comments:

In the same way that Jewish studies benefited at its beginnings by the opening-up of the universities [to new fields of study], the [current] atmosphere of multiculturalism . . . impacts Jewish studies negatively and has made Jewish studies much less popular. The Jews are not popular on campus, and when the Jews are not popular, when Judaism is not popular, when Israel is not popular, it’s not going to be the same. In the early days, Jewish studies was cutting-edge. It was wonderful. It represented the best of this new potential. It was riding a wave. Now it’s even more important because we are now trying to stem a tsunami of a different kind.

When I began teaching, my feeling about Jewish studies was that it was an enhancement of American civilization, that because America had been so inclusive of the Jews, it was just greater proof of the worth of American civilization. . . .

But you do not have any longer, on the part of universities, a commitment to strengthening the teaching of American civilization, of the Constitution, of American history, of the arguments that formed American life and thinking. . . . None of this is present. The real pain and the real fear is of the erosion of America itself.

In 2003, the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, spooked by the American display of might in Iraq, decided to destroy or surrender his entire nuclear program. Informed observers have suggested that the deal he made with the U.S. should serve as a model for any agreement with Iran. Robert Joseph provides some useful background:

Gaddafi had convinced himself that Libya would be next on the U.S. target list after Iraq. There was no reason or need to threaten Libya with bombing as Gaddafi was quick to tell almost every visitor that he did not want to be Saddam Hussein. The images of Saddam being pulled from his spider hole . . . played on his mind.

President Bush’s goal was to have Libya serve as an alternative model to Iraq. Instead of war, proliferators would give up their nuclear programs in exchange for relief from economic and political sanctions.

Any outcome that permits Iran to enrich uranium at any level will fail the one standard that President Trump has established: Iran will not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. Limiting enrichment even to low levels will allow Iran to break out of the agreement at any time, no matter what the agreement says.

Iran is not a normal government that observes the rules of international behavior or fair “dealmaking.” This is a regime that relies on regional terror and brutal repression of its citizens to stay in power. It has a long history of using negotiations to expand its nuclear program. Its negotiating tactics are clear: extend the negotiations as long as possible and meet any concession with more demands.