You often hear of the “nakba” (also transliterated “naqba”) — the “disaster,” or “catastrophe,” that befell the Palestinian Arabs in 1948. Every year, the nakba is marked. On Wednesday, the Associated Press published an article headed “Palestinians mark 76 years of their dispossession as more catastrophe unfolds in Gaza.”

It need not have been this way. In 1947, the United Nations offered a partition: one state for the Arabs of the land; another state for the Jews of the land. The Jews accepted; the Arabs . . .

I have never heard a better statement of these elementary facts than one made by Tzipi Livni in 2008. She was then the foreign minister of Israel. She was speaking at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. I recounted what Livni said in this post.

The Palestinians could be celebrating the 60th year of their state! she said. It did not have to be a nakba. And it is not too late, if . . .

If what?

The Arab–Israeli conflict is endlessly complicated, people will tell you. But the conflict boils down to something rather simple: Will Israel’s neighbors agree to peaceful coexistence? Or not?

In my view, the true nakba of the Arabs is their refusal to accept peaceful coexistence and get on with life.

• I saw a headline: “Interior Dept staffer becomes first Jewish Biden appointee to publicly resign over war in Gaza.” I thought, “Oh: The staffer thinks that Biden has betrayed Israel.” But no.

The article says,

An Interior Department staffer on Wednesday became the first Jewish political appointee to publicly resign in protest of U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Biden is truly screwed, politically. Lots of people are furious at him for being too pro-Israel, as they see it. Lots of other people are furious at him for being anti-Israel, as they see it.

Left-wing protesters chant “Genocide Joe.” At a recent Trump rally, people stood behind the candidate chanting “Genocide Joe.” Trump said, “They’re not wrong.” He said it three times.

What a cracked period, we’re in.

• Jonah Goldberg had a column headed “Joe Biden’s Bad ‘Vibes.’” Its subheading was: “Voters aren’t in the mood for the president’s policy-focused campaign.” I thought of a conversation I had in 2007. It taught me a lesson about politics, or rather confirmed one.

I was talking with a corporate lawyer, a sharp fellow. Very well educated. This was not a dolt. Far from it. Conversation turned to the presidential campaign, then in its early stages. The lawyer said he was interested in two candidates: Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

To me, of course, those candidates were starkly different. (Indeed, they would be rival nominees in 2012.) But I’m a political journalist and a political obsessive. My lawyer friend was a more normal person. And he thought those two politicians were interesting.

Policy preferences. “Vibes.” Politics is a funny realm.

• President Biden and Donald Trump have agreed to debate. Trump will not say that he will accept the results of the election. (He would not say in 2016 or 2020 either.) Other Republican politicians have followed suit — especially those hoping to be Trump’s running mate.

The Republicans had a rule, in their presidential-primary debates: You could not participate unless you promised to support the eventual nominee. (Trump, of course, did not participate in any of the debates.)

Maybe there should be a rule in the general election? No debating unless you agree to accept the election results?

• Some fads are harmless, whimsical — pet rocks; lava lamps. Are you aware of this nasty fad? “Actor Steve Buscemi is OK after being punched in the face in New York City.” (Article here.) There has been a rash of punching — random punching. Assault. Here is a fad to be cracked down on, hard.

• In March, a container ship ran into a bridge in Baltimore, causing the bridge to collapse. Of an eight-man maintenance crew, six were killed, and two were rescued from the river. Reading news accounts, I noticed something about the men: They were all immigrants. I thought this said something about America. So did León Krauze, who has written a column, here. (Mr. Krauze is the son of Enrique Krauze, the famed Mexican historian.)

• I wish to recommend an article — a long article — by Annie Ma, of the Associated Press: here. Its heading reads, “Seventy years ago, school integration was a dream many believed could actually happen. It hasn’t.” Highly interesting. I would have thought the issue of school integration was settled. A matter of history. Not a matter of the 2020s! But . . .

• Have you seen the new portrait of King Charles? You can see it here, in an article. The portrait is by Jonathan Yeo. Striking and unusual. I like it. But I must tell you: I was one of the few who liked Lucian Freud’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth (2001). A very unusual portrait. But arresting and involving, I thought. Most people railed against it or jeered at it.

• I had a touching conversation with a friend. The man she calls her “father” is technically her stepfather. “My angel,” she calls him. Lincoln adored his stepmother (and vice versa). Sometimes — rarely, maybe, but sometimes — these relationships work out. And more than work out.

• Recently, I was writing about a new work, a new piece of music — by Olga Neuwirth, an Austrian born in 1968. It has a complicated title (Keyframes for a Hippogriff — Musical Calligrams in memoriam Hester Diamond). But we need not examine that now.

The work has a countertenor, who stands for the adult world, more or less, and a children’s chorus, which stands for idealism and righteousness. The youngsters are determined to set things right. The grownups have made a hash of things. Time for them to move aside and let the rising generation clean up the mess.

You know how it goes.

At one point, the countertenor sings, “The children meek?” and the chorus retorts, “We are not meek!”

Allow me to sermonize for a second . . .

Meekness is widely misunderstood. It is mistaken for weakness or softness. (Same with humility.) People associate meekness with the New Testament, I suppose. This is understandable. But the quality of meekness — its importance — is emphasized throughout the Bible.

“Blessed are the meek,” begins a Beatitude. Yes — and it comes from Psalm 37, which says that “the meek shall inherit the earth.”

Jesus was a model of meekness, as people largely understand (and no one has ever been stronger). But how about Moses, way back? According to Numbers, “Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”

End of sermon . . .

• You want Murray Perahia staring right at you? What a look! He begins Op. 109 (Beethoven) at :21. Be ready for :34 — here.

• “Jim Simons, Math Genius Who Conquered Wall Street, Dies at 86.” A gobsmacking obit. A gobsmacking life. I mean, the talent that’s out there . . .

• You know what makes life sweeter, or lends a sparkle to it? Folkways. A report begins,

Despite the threat of dislocated fingers and strained muscles, over 150 Bavarian men came together Sunday to compete in Germany’s unique national championship of “Fingerhakeln,” or finger wrestling.

The “finger wrestlers” met in a big beer tent in the small southern village of Bernbeuren. Around 1,000 visitors cheered on the all-male contestants as they gulped down their national beer and world-famous German sausages while Bavarian live music filled the air.

That report is here. And the picture is the cherry on top of the sundae.

• Tiger Woods has something in common with Jack Nicklaus. Well, many things, but I am thinking of one thing, in particular: He is a superb analyst of golf. He is a superb articulator. He is a superb teacher. This is not true of all greats. But it is true of Jack and Tiger, both.

Here is Tiger talking about the two best players in the world (currently):

• Michelin has awarded a star to a taco shop in Mexico City. Really? Really. To borrow a slogan: Make a run for the border. (That’d be a switch: true.)

Later on, my friends.

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