Shortly after the United Nations voted in 1947 to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, the Arab world was incensed. Syria’s then president Shukri al-Quwatli threatened to “eradicate Zionism.”

A Supreme Court justice once said, in the context of the death penalty, that when a judge feels unable to apply a law because of his or her personal views, it’s time to resign and either launch a political campaign or lead a revolution.