MORAL CLARITY The people who know nothing know everything Nachum Kaplan July 17, 2026 The dinner was being held in an immaculate apartment overlooking the city. The furniture was Scandinavian, the lighting was flattering, and the books had been arranged not alphabetically but morally. Edward Said sat beside Frantz Fanon. Judith Butler leaned against a large volume on de-colonising architecture. There were several books about Israel, none by Israelis, historians, military analysts, Arabic speakers, Hebrew speakers, or anyone who had recently burdened themselves with the region’s chronology. The apartment belonged to Oliver and Beatrice, who had invited 12 people for what they called “an evening of food, friendship and necessary conversation.” I had been included, I later realised, as the necessary conversation; the one in need of “education.” Beatrice greeted me at the door with the expression of a person welcoming a recently rehabilitated extremist. “We’re so glad you came,” she said, touching my arm. “We were worried you might feel uncomfortable.” READ MORE