More than half of the world’s chess champions are Jews, but is there something particularly Jewish about the game itself? Yes, argues Nathan Lopes Cardozo:

The entire game takes place on a chessboard smaller than the size of a side table, but the game is larger than life. . . . [Its rules] may sound very easy, but what any player soon realizes is that these basic rules allow for thousands of combinations [and] maneuvers. . . .

But is chess rigid? Does it constrain? . . . Does it deny the player his freedom of thought or action? In one sense, it does. The player cannot move the pieces as he would like to. There are rules that make the game incredibly difficult. But that fact is exactly what makes this game so exciting. It leads to an unprecedented outburst of creativity. . . .

What makes [someone] a formidable opponent is his ability to use these rules to unleash an outburst of creativity, which resides deep within him and emerges only because of the “unbearable” limitations. He then strikes! One small move forces a major shift, creating total upheaval and causing the opponent to panic as never before. . . .

And that is why talmudic scholars, religious Jews, and secular Jews love this game and are often very good at it. Chess reminds them, consciously or subconsciously, of the world of [rabbinic] debate with all of its intrigues, its severe obstacles, and its seemingly deliberate tendency to make life more difficult and sometimes nearly impossible. The truly religious Jew loves it because it is these challenges that make life exciting and irresistible.

How did Qatar, an American ally, become the nerve center of the leading Palestinian jihadist organization? Natalie Ecanow explains.

When Jordan expelled Hamas in 1999, Qatar offered sanctuary to the group, which had already become notorious for using suicide-bombing attacks over the previous decade. . . . Hamas chose to relocate to Syria. However, that arrangement lasted for only a decade. With the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, the terror group found its way back to Qatar.

In 2003, Hamas leaders reportedly convened in Qatar after the IDF attempted to eliminate Hamas’s founder, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, following a Hamas suicide bombing in Jerusalem that killed seven people, including two American citizens. This episode led to one of the first efforts by Qatar to advocate for its terror proxy.

Thirteen years and five wars between Hamas and Israel later, Qatar’s support for Hamas has not waned. . . . To this day, Qatari officials maintain that the office came at the “request from Washington to establish indirect lines of communication with Hamas.” However, an Obama White House official asserted that there was never any request from Washington. . . . Inexplicably, the United States government continues to rely on Qatar to negotiate for the release of the hostages held by Hamas, even as the regime hosts the terror group’s political elite.

A reckoning is needed between our two countries. Congressional hearings, legislation, executive orders, and other measures to regulate relations between our countries are long overdue.