Yishai Schwartz
Yishai Schwartz
Recent Stories
SCHWARTZ: In Hartford, incoherence on the death penalty
If our moral intuition indicates that those who rape and burn alive an innocent 11-year-old girl ought to die at the hands of the state, why deny justice to future victims of similar brutality?
SCHWARTZ: Take responsibility
The Gadfly
Reflect on how you have contributed to society’s troubles, and give thanks for all that we have been given.
SCHWARTZ: Admissions and empty pride
The Gadfly
The front page of last Friday's News trumpeted "Admit rate hits all-time low." A year ago, the News' front-page headline blared "Class of 2015 admit rate lowest ever." For most Yalies, these are not mere statements of fact; these are badges of pride. And therein lies the problem.
SCHWARTZ: More than a wrinkle in time
The Gadfly
Last Saturday night, Ezra and Maayan announced their engagement. They're close friends of mine, completing their second and third years of college.
SCHWARTZ: In Iran, prepare for the worst
The Gadfly
We return from break at a dangerous time for the United States and for the world. Iran's internal politics are murky and unstable, and our intelligence services are reduced to guesswork as the Iranian nuclear program rolls forward.
SCHWARTZ: Enough with leadership
The Gadfly
American society, and Yale in particular, has a leadership fetish.
SCHWARTZ: Writers need shame
The Gadfly
The possibility that students are being subjected to ethnic slurs and feel unsafe should alarm the entire Yale community. Regardless of one’s position on the relative merits of the NYPD’s recently revealed anti-terror tactics, basic civility, tolerance and student safety should be completely uncontroversial — and non-negotiable.
SCHWARTZ: Freedom in the modern state
The Gadfly
The political brouhaha over a government mandate for coverage of contraception continues. On Friday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops rejected President Obama’s compromise proposal, arguing that pregnancy is not a disease and that those with moral or religious objections to various forms of birth control should not be compelled to sacrifice their principles.
SCHWARTZ: Masters and role models
The Gadfly
Yesterday morning, Pierson Master Harvey Goldblatt sent an email to the students of his college explaining his decision to host Harvard Professor Harvey Mansfield for a master’s tea on “Manliness.” Last night, Branford College unveiled a new portrait of its long-serving former master Steven Smith and hosted a reception in his honor.
SCHWARTZ: Separating service and politics
The Gadfly
“Social justice” is an increasingly popular yet disturbingly slippery term. The phrase serves as a rallying cry for a diverse collection of groups; soup kitchens, tax reform advocates and everyone in between seem to jump at the label. The diversity of those on the social justice train certainly doesn’t help define the term, but it does present fundamental challenges that should make thoughtful people nervous.