Jiří (or Georg) Mordechai Langer forsook his bourgeois Jewish upbringing in Prague for a life of strict religious observance, studying in the hasidic centers of Poland. He later became a committed Zionist. But he is best known for his books on Jewish mysticism, which helped introduce hasidic thought to Western Jews, and for his friendship with Franz Kafka, whom he tutored in Hebrew. Langer was also a talented Hebrew poet. A collection of his poetry has now been translated into Hebrew, along with a biographical study, by Elana Wolff, that also explores the previously unexamined subject of his sexuality. Kenneth Sherman writes:

The collection Piyyutim ve-Shirei Yedidot is a sequence of sixteen poems written in Hebrew. . . with titles such as “Handsome Lad” and “To My Companion.” Their homoerotic imagery point[s] to the fact that Langer was gay—an item not mentioned by any of Kafka’s biographers. Langer’s older brother, František, who knew of his brother’s sexual orientation and whose Foreword to the English translation of [Langer’s] Nine Gates remains a prime source of biographical information, is also mum on the subject. The omission would hardly matter, except that Langer’s sexuality was an essential part of his art and philosophy. [His biographer Elana]Wolff calls Langer’s disclosure of his homosexuality through his poetry “a daring act of self-expression.”

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.