Today on the Dish, Andrew took stock of a week of commentary he characterized as “Israeli derangement syndrome” – a fiery take here and a cooler, more considered take here. Reader responses here, here, and here. Beinart challenged Gaza supporters to stick up for Israel’s captive soldier, Greg Sargent was aghast at Harry Reid’s response to the flotilla, Yousef Munayyer zoomed in on the blockade, Ackerman addressed Israel’s unprecedented unilateralism, Greenwald vented over liberal progressives who make an exception for Israel, and Exum shared an unsettling anecdote. Ugliness here, here, here, and here.

In Gulf coverage, the first effed-up images of oil-covered birds emerged. More visuals here and here. Rob Young doubted Jindal’s berm strategy, Niraj Chokshi looked at the downsides of not drilling, and Ryan Avent anguished over the inability of politicians to even talk about a gas tax. Gabe crapped on James Cameron’s role while a reader came to his defense. Car talk here and here.

New employment reports here and here. Iran updates here and here. Uganda update here. An unhealthy dose of Palin here and here. Andrew discussed the Dish brand, TNC had some parting words for Artur Davis, and Joshua Alston described Facebook’s power of outing. More on the career counselor thread here and here. Creepy ad here and coolness here. MHB here, VFYW here, and FOTD here.

Andrew’s on Bill Maher tonight.

Thursday on the Dish we discovered that an American died on the flotilla and that Israel backpedaled on its claims of an Al Qaeda connection. Yaacov Lozowick called on Bibi to make the case for the blockade and Wieseltier responded to the row. Dissent of the day here. Andrew despaired over the Church’s decision to target gays in the workplace. Bush said he’d torture again.

In Gulf coverage, Michael Coren wondered if BP’s gonna pay up, John Calfree explained the downside of investigating them, Dickerson and Lehrer thought about thinking about the spill, and Copyranter went to town on the company’s PR campaign. Palin penned the foreword for a think tank study, the Wasilla paper apologized to McGinniss, and Sarah haunted Andrew’s dreams.

In assorted commentary, Douthat delved into the finer points of empathy, Andrew and Dreher discussed tradition and culture, Andrew addressed the rudeness of Brits in pop culture, Virginia Postrel processed Obama’s glamor, Steinglass studied the shifts in Western conservatism, Liz Halloran tallied up the new women running in the GOP, and the Economist imagined car-less cities. Nate Silver made a deal with the NYT and Taegan Goddard shared his thoughts. The Dish recognized the Green Movement’s birthday.

Malkin awards here and here. More retirement talk here. Readers kept the job-hunting talk going and Drum chimed in. Another serving of crack and cleavage here and another dose of Dishness here. MHB here, VFYW from Israel here, and FOTD here. Feel-good video here. And one of Andrew getting tackled by his beagles here.

Wednesday on the Dish we learned that BP has been criminally culpable for years and that Palin has more chutzpah than we thought. With the help of Noah Millman, Andrew took a long look at the Israel dilemma. Readers dissented en masse. We also heard from a friend of the young American who lost her eye protesting the flotilla, we learned how harmless its cargo was, and we watched some right-wingers rub it in. Larison laid into Israel for blockading Gaza, Jim Henley clarified his point about Israel “winning,” Thomas P.M. Barnett turned the klieg light on Turkey, and Pareene parodied Palin.

In other coverage, Phillip Smith saw some good signs for legalization in California, an NRO contributor gave props to Obama for his drone policy, and we rounded up some racial commentary on Artur Davis’ loss in Alabama. Maureen Dowd demanded that Obama be more like daddy, Reihan rolled his eyes at the call for an oil spill czar, Leonhardt looked at worst case scenarios, Bernstein balked at majority rule, and Andrew agreed that we should prune benefits for senior citizens.  David Runciman examined the UK’s unraveling and ITN reported on a rampaging gunman.

Paul Bloom discussed our attachment to fictional characters, P.J. O’Rourke recommeded live obituaries, and Michelangelo sketched brains on God. Steve Jobs dissed blogging, Steve Coll had some parting words on the medium, Nick Carr criticized links, and Dave Coverly drew an accurate conclusion. Ken Layne spotted manbearpig. Beard sighting here. Cracks and cleavage here. Recession view here and cool ad here. MHB here, VFYW here, and FOTD here. Holy shit! moment here.

Tuesday on the Dish we focused most of our attention on the flotilla fiasco. Reax here. Passengers spoke out, a commando was quoted, the Turkish PM fumed, Israel’s foreign minister stood firm, Washington went along, Bibi’s cabinet appeared in disarray, the Mossad chief chimed in, Ahmadi smirked, Sarah Palin twittered, and Ha’aretz huffed. Andrew raged against the necon response, David Grossman anguished over the actions of Israel, Bernard Henri-Levy lamented the media fallout, Packer piled on, Beinart blamed the embargo, Jim Henley acknowledged US impotence, and Michael Rubin shrugged at the death toll. Chait mostly concurred with the Dish, McArdle did as well, and a reader not so much. Drezner compared Israel to North Korea, Robert Mackey brought up the Exodus, and Exum provided some dark humor.

Oil leak updates here, here, and here. Joyner assessed the latest death of al-Qaeda’s No. 3, Exum protested over the perception of drone kills in Pakistan, Joel Wing saw some signs of optimism in Iraq, and Michael Yon was not hopeful about Afghanistan. The Malawi couple was pardoned but still in peril.  Al and Tipper split.

Jesse Zwick gushed over Jindal, Greenwald went after Ron Paul’s critics, and rapper M.I.A. went to war with a journalist. A reader shared some expertise on job hunting. This photo of a sinkhole in Guatemala City is unbelievable. Malkin Award here, epic SATC2 review here, MHB here, and incredible stunt here. More Dishness here and a dose of Ptown here.

Lake Anna, Virginia, 12 pm

Monday on the Dish, the holiday weekend erupted with the attack of Israeli commandos on a flotilla of aid activists bound for Gaza. Dramatic footage here. Israeli version of events here, a foreboding sign from Turkey here, and an unconfirmed report of a blinded American here. Gideon Levy compared the incident to the 2008 assault on Gaza, Goldblog responded with angst, and Andrew posed a counterfactual. Readers reacted here. Before the incident, a reader reflected on how Israel responds to its enemies and Time told us what really happened during that supposedly contentious meeting between Barack and Bibi.

In other news, the Guardian reported on the resurgence of the far right in Britain, Joel Wing worried about Iraqi refugees, and Graeme Wood investigated the widespread use of witch trials in Africa. Joe McGinniss broke his silence to Weigel, TNC tackled Lanny Davis, and Andrew criticized George Will’s reasoning over Obama and the spill. He also examined the latest victim of the closet.

In spiritual coverage, John P. Meier explained the Jewishness of Jesus, a Protestant reader discussed death and faith, another reader enriched the debate over Christ’s divinity, another delved into the deeper meanings of Frost, an Orthodox Christian tried to apply original sin to bonobo apes, and atheist David Sloan Wilson went after Dawkins. Olivia Judson looked at man-made DNA, Bailey defended man-made organisms, and Ryan Sager summed up some studies on happiness.

In assorted coverage, Nick Carr kept up his crusade to save our attention spans, a reader countered, Mike Konczal critiqued online education, and Kottke came up with a great use for the iPad. Swimming pigs made it into an MHB and a few readers provided parting words for Ralph. Cool ad here, cool map here, and a heartbreaking map here.  Lots of amazing images of animals here.  And the Dishness was strong with this reader.

— C.B.