US Jewish liberals at war
JVL Introduction
Yakov Hirsch continues to chronicle the battle between Peter Beinart and Bari Weiss which, he believes, is going to shape Jewish and in turn American politics on Israel
In the latest round Weiss attacked Beinart for debating with BDS supporters, whom she presents as “enemies of the Jews”.
Beinart is having none of it and believes the time for backing off is over.
“This dehumanization [of Palestinians] masquerading as realism is a cancer. It not only turns Palestinians into Nazis, it turns anyone who takes up the Palestinian cause into a Nazi sympathizer, guilty of antisemitism until proven innocent.”
This article was originally published by Mondoweiss on Fri 25 Dec 2020. Read the original here.
Bari Weiss’s narrative of Jewish victimhood just lost again
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Thankyou for this excellent article JVL. It is relevant to the debate here in the UK about the true nature of the state of Israel and what actually constitutes antisemitism.
It’s heartening to hear that American Jews are fighting back in this war of hearts and minds. I seem to remember Margret Thatcher reportedly said “if they are calling you names it means they have lost the argument “. This abhorrent use of antisemitism, to attack freedom, is despicable.
At the risk of seeming to go off at a tangent; I am reminded of the following exchange in Joe Orton’s “What the Butler Saw”.
RANCE: […] Who was the first man in your life?
GERALDINE: My father.
RANCE: Did he assault you?
GERALDINE: No!
RANCE: She may mean “Yes” when she says “No.” It’s elementary feminine psychology.
[…]
RANCE: […]Answer me, please! Were you molested by your father?
GERALDINE: No, no, no!
RANCE: The vehemence of her denials is proof positive of guilt. It’s a textbook case!
What is both funny – and terrifying – about this exchange is the fact that once someone has decided on some dogmatic truth, no actual evidence will makes the slightest difference to their mindset.
Beinhart is going through exactly what Jeremy Corbyn has/is, these pro Zionists don’t see that being critical of Israel and Zionism is FAR away from antisemitism.
I believe we will win eventually because the younger Jews around the world don’t have the “closed minds” of their parents, we on the left have the answers and the right know it.
SOLIDARITY with Jeremy Corbyn and PJP FOREVER
This article is interesting, because it illustrates a pattern of behaviour by the come-what-may defenders of Israel. I’ve also noticed here in GB that they will never actually discuss anything, but simply resort to abuse and accusations of antisemitism.
We do need to keep pointing this out and try to shame them into engaging with the issues – but I’m sure this is a deliberate tactic because they are pretty sure they would lose any objective debate, so not holding my breath!
This article is a splendid case of standing up to bullies. Its message is for Britain, too.
The current British Labour Party leaders need to shrivel up in shame with what they have done to the Party and their betrayal of the British people.
The 2019 election might well have gone differently without the malign efforts of the saboteurs and Britain would have been on the way to a better future instead of having to rely on money-laundering and tax-dodging to keep (barely) afloat, while not caring for the most needy.
The British Establishment and the self appointed leadership of the, “Jewish community” don’t want a debate on the nature of the state of Israel and its impact on the daily lives of the Palestinians. It’s off-limits, taboo and an existential threat to the “Jewish community” in the UK. If you dare question this we will call you all sorts of nasty things. An antisemite, a supporter of terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism or even a Nazi. If you are an anti Zionist jew you are disloyal, a traitor or a collaborator with the enemy of the Jewish people. This is how we intend to avoid dealing with the difficult questions about ethnic cleansing and the system of apartheid that exists in the territories controlled by the state of Israel.
We need to stop all these criticisms of the Israeli state and the BDS movement. If ritual defamation doesn’t work we need another strategy. Let’s concoct a new definition of antisemitism which delegitimises the anti colonial struggle of the Palestinians.
Heaven forbid, diaspora Jews and Palestinians calling for a single democratic and secular state in the holy lands. Before you know it, this might catch on in Israel – Palestine. We can’t have that!