Dr. Neal Rosendorf

Recently retired IR professor @NMSU; migrant/refugee rights activist; writing about soft power and El Paso immigration issues. Opinions my own and glittering.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

My new opinion piece for @USC’s Center On @PublicDiplomacy: “‘Mr. Biden, Tear Down This Wall!’ America’s Soft Power Depends On It” @NickCull @SimonAnholt @TimNaftali @zacharykarabell https://t.co/HRbDBJ5Dlu

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

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[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

.@NealRosendorf

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Lowes has been bringing in one pallet after another of bottled water, while Panda House has been serving meals to everyone at the site. To provide food and drink to the hungry and thirsty is a quintessential example of “Gemilut Chassadim”—Acts of Loving-Kindness. This Is El Paso.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

It has been three years since the massacre perpetrated at an El Paso Walmart by a white fascist who killed 23 mainly Latinx shoppers. El Pasoans were deeply traumatized, but we are unbroken. I made a pilgrimage to the site two days later and tweeted a thread on what I saw there:

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Although it’s over 100°F in El Paso today, hundreds of mourners have converged on Walmart’s vicinity to pay their respects. In this painful circumstance even Hooters, that most foolishly named of eateries, maintains a certain degree of unaccustomed dignity.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

.@NealRosendorf

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Grieving visitors—all of us—are here to pay tribute—some tangibly, with flowers, stuffed animals, balloons, and handmade signs, some intangibly. Standing on this hallowed ground I quietly recited Kaddish, the ancient Jewish prayer for the dead, which never once refers to death.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

.@NealRosendorf

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Twenty white crosses inscribed with the names of the murdered victims have been placed in a row, a motif poignantly echoing the French and Belgian Great War military cemeteries that quietly remind visitors of century-old carnage. As of today two more such crosses must be hewn.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

.@NealRosendorf

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

As a Jew I find myself perpetually attuned to the myriad ways decent people perform Mitzvot, the righteous acts of care and attention that contribute to Tikkun Olam, the Repair of the World. These professional trainers have brought their service dogs to Walmart as comfort-givers.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

@PublicDiplomacy @ZelenskyyUa @nmsu @TheAcademy @APUkraine .@PublicDiplomacy Many thanks for the opportunity to discuss #Hollywood’s lost opportunity to aid Ukraine—and support the international system that sustains the US film industry—when @TheAcademy snubbed President @ZelenskyyUa at the 2022 #Oscars. @SeanPenn @MilaKunisv @amyschumer

[USC Public Diplomacy @PublicDiplomacy]

Hollywood undermined its #SoftPower capacity with the #Oscar's rejection of @ZelenskyyUa's request to speak, writes @NealRosendorf, @nmsu international relations professor. Read on the CPD Blog: https://t.co/ZDwoxTQkuy

@TheAcademy @APUkraine #PublicDiplomacy

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

The invasion of Ukraine’s geopolitical import: “Allowing the norm against territorial conquest to wither away would mean taking the lid off territorial disputes around the globe and making millions of civilians more vulnerable to indiscriminate targeting.” https://t.co/hRxechLCfi

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

.⁦@WarOnTheRocks⁩:“There are readily available artillery systems in NATO member and partner arsenals that would allow Ukraine to thwart Russian objectives [which] could begin taking the field as early as May—if Western policymakers act with urgency.” https://t.co/VDKctrNDxy

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Ta-da! #SinkTheMoskva

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Not only did #Ukraine inflict heavy damage on the #MoskvaCruiser, the flagship of Russia’s #BlackSeaFleet, it evidently did so with a domestically-produced #NeptunAntiShipMissile. It’s time for the Ukrainian postal service to produce a new commemorative stamp to succeed this one:

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Alas, a comedy god has died. I briefly met Gilbert Gottfried when he came to El Paso. I’m proud that I got an amused smile to play across face when he asked me if I wanted to buy a copy of his comic memoir or his stand-up DVD, to which I replied, “I’m Jewish—I’ll take the book.”

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Bravo once again to ⁦@EliotACohen writing in ⁦@TheAtlantic⁩: “Putin will order offensives that, if confronted by a well-resourced Ukrainian foe, can effectively destroy his own army. The challenge for the West is to ensure that this is its fate.” https://t.co/2PltRMjSYK

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Bravo #GeorgePacker, who illuminates today’s @GOP⁩’s heart of darkness in ⁦@TheAtlantic:⁩ “[T]he most immediate threat to Ukraine’s support in the U.S. is an American political party with a strong attraction to autocracy—even to Putin’s Russia.” https://t.co/y2AeVEv1oR

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

Shkoyach ⁦@Heidiphotos: ⁩“I’ve covered decades of conflicts and wars as a photojournalist,but I’m struggling to find the words to express how horrified I am…by what is happening in Ukraine,what people have endured and their immeasurable resilience.” https://t.co/70UUWT7GCs

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

In a world spinning toward ever-deepening darkness, there is for a moment a glorious burst of light. Godspeed, #JusticeKetanjiBrownJackson.

[Dmytro Kuleba @DmytroKuleba]

My Norwegian counterpart @AHuitfeldt and I discussed current frontline developments and ways to put an end to Russia’s barbaric aggression. Humanitarian assistance needs to step up to alleviate the human suffering. Russian war criminals must and will be brought to justice.

[Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders]

Cancel student debt. All of it.

[Dr. Neal Rosendorf @NealRosendorf]

@haussamen My thoughts are with you in your health struggle—I know a thing or two about laboring to move from debilitation toward wellness and strength. My experience, for what it’s worth: one foot in front of the other; work it, but respect your limits; be patient with yourself; press on.