• Why past presidents have saved peace for their final years in office, and why President Obama may prove no exception. [Time]
• The dozen or so Senate Jews are backing a letter Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is sending to Ambassador Michael Oren expressing grave concern over the conversion bill. [JPost]
• The latest Kabbalah red-string wearer? Gov. David Paterson of New York. [Daily News]
• The IDF has established the Nahshol, “the world’s first female-only unit dedicated to combat intelligence missions, combin[ing] the fighting capabilities of combat forces with advanced intelligence-gathering skills.” That is so insanely hot. [Ynet]
• Israeli political scientist Asher Arian died at 72. [JTA]
• Contributing editor Gary Shteyngart on how technology alienates us from each other. [NYT Book Review]
They say, ‘Sing while you slave,’ I just get bored.
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.