It was a far better title than the one I had originally given the piece. A Diplomatic Thaw, my analysis of Shimon Peres’ visit to the UK last month was published this morning in The Guardian. Coinciding with Monday’s decision by the European Union to upgrade its overall relationship with Israel – on economic, diplomatic and security grounds – the timing of the article’s publication turned out to be absolutely stellar.

A friend who is a seasoned Comment is Free Israel contributor warned me that the piece would definitely push some buttons, particularly given the deliberately dry, ironic voice I wrote it in. To that end, this time out, progressives are having their way with me in the comments section.  Compare that with the right-wing folks who leaned in on my Independent Jewish Voices piece, and its a completely different experience.

I’ve worked with a number of editors and journalists who hate reading comments on articles. They make their blood boil, especially when they’re responses to their own pieces. My feeling is the more, the better. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes they’ll even make you laugh, like the guy who attacked me in Haaretz for being an Israeli who lives in a gated community in the United States. That was awesome.