Having recently relocated to the Jewish state to serve as president of Jerusalem’s Shalem College, Russell Roberts discusses his experiences as an oleh ḥadash, or new immigrant, with his fellow economist and podcaster Tyler Cowen. Among the topics they cover are media, education, whether the IDF still needs universal conscription, the success of Israeli television, the benefits of ending the government monopoly on kashrut supervision, and why Homer’s Odyssey is the great book most relevant to becoming Israeli. Roberts, an Orthodox Jew, expresses his admiration for the piety of devout Muslims, and for Israel’s “vitality and national pride”—which he fears America lacks. (Audio, 77 minutes. A transcript is available at the link below.)

Last week, Jordanian police arrested sixteen members of the country’s branch of the Muslim Brotherhood for acquiring explosives, trying to manufacture drones, and planning rocket attacks. The cell was likely working in coordination with Hamas (the Palestinian offshoot of the Brotherhood) and Hizballah, and perhaps receiving funding from Iran. Ghaith al-Omari provides some background:

The Brotherhood has been active in Jordan since the 1940s, and its relations with the government remained largely cooperative for decades even as other political parties were banned in the 1950s. In exchange, the Brotherhood usually (but not always) supported the palace’s foreign policy and security measures, particularly against Communist and socialist parties.

Relations became more adversarial near the turn of the century after the Brotherhood vociferously opposed the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. The Arab Spring movement that emerged in 2011 saw further deterioration. Unlike other states in the region, however, Jordan did not completely crack down on the MB, instead seeking to limit its influence.

Yet the current Gaza war has seen another escalation, with the MB repeatedly accusing the government of cooperating with Israel and not doing enough to support the Palestinians.

Jordanian security circles are particularly worried about the MB’s vocal wartime identification with Hamas, an organization that was considered such a grave security threat that it was expelled from the kingdom in 1999. The sentiment among many Jordanian officials is that the previous lenient approach failed to change the MB’s behavior, emboldening the group instead.