Contrasting approaches

December 15, 2025

In his ‘ 2025 in Review’, Professor Stuart Rees begins with an attack on President Trump, an easy – and albeit often legitimate – target.

Most of his article relates to the genocide in Gaza. Professor Rees rightly refers to the cowardice of western leaders in not calling it out. However, he appears to place the blame for the crimes of the Israeli government on ‘religious zealots’ who ‘have undue influence in the Israeli cabinet’. He is not critical of Zionism itself, which is ultimately responsible for the genocide and wider wars in the Middle East.

Reference to the 1996 document ‘A Clean Break - A New Strategy for Securing the Realm‘, prepared by US neoconservatives for PM Benjamin Netanyahu could confirm this.

Professor Jeffrey Sachs references the ‘Clean Break’ document when he describes the wars in Iraq and Syria as ‘phoney wars’, wars waged at the urging of Israel and the Zionist lobby. The country left on Israel’s list for regime-change is Iran.

Ironically, on Iran, Prof Rees stands with Zionists and US warmongers like John Bolton. While on Ukraine, he seems to eschew analysis and diplomacy, something Prof Sachs welcomes.

Prof Rees fails readers of Pearls and Irritations.