I appreciate this piece very much. I think the one thing I would note is that, though rare, there are those non-Jews on the “progressive” end of the spectrum who are supportive of us in the case against the anti-Zionist flavour of antisemitism. One such person can be found on @Pat604Johnson aka Pat’s Substack. (Pat Johnson smacks down antisemitism, anti-Zionism and general hypocrisy from a progressive, gay, Canadian perspective.) So I’m not inclined to toss out those who actually see what is going on and speak up against the hypocrites on the Left as well as on the Right. The Pats of the world (I’m afraid, off the top of my head, I can count … two) are not in the category of the bile-inducing sensation I had watching the lunatic Kristi Noem at the Wailing Wall on the news last night and then speaking about antisemitism.
Antisemitism from all points on the spectrum, its casualness, “normalization”, internalization, redefinitions and appropriation is deeply disturbing.
I should add - from experience - that even if you were allowed into Gaza for a few hours with a journalist visa, Hamas would tell you exactly where to point the camera and where not. If necessary, at gun point. Gaza has never been a place for independent reporting, war or no war.
Yes. Briefly a couple of times. It used to work exactly as described above. Unless Hamas has identified you as a useful idiot that will write in their favour, then doors fly open.
I have started writing about the West Bank experiences for now, as I have much more experience there. Matti Friedman has covered these bits on Gaza extensively.
You should be writing for the Times, not Michelle Goldberg. This column is far more relevant, valuable and important than anything she’s ever written on antisemitism and antizionism, and I’ve read countless of her columns, before canceling my subscription in disgust not long after October 7. Not that the NYT editorial staff ever would have the courage or integrity to run this essay, but they should.
Well done on yet another essential smackdown of these useful fucking idiots.
Thank you for this. I have so much to say I don’t even click on Michelle Goldberg columns anymore. The person I have had my eye on is Aaron Boxerman. I feel like every time I see a NYT article with a misleading headline, he’s on the byline. And maybe more dangerous than Michelle because his articles are “news“ and not “opinion.” I don’t think I have read a single article about a Jewish person in the New York Times since October 2023 that did not feel the need to mention Gaza or Hamas somewhere buried in the article. There was a study published somewhere recently, although not peer reviewed I think about how biased they are in coverage of this war. I’ll stop now. I wish I had been following them in detail all along because I think there’s a dissertation in it… especially how they change up their headlines all the time.
Gentry Jewish liberals like the apex AWFL Michelle Goldberg hate Trump more than they hate Hamas because Trump and American conservatives are their real out-group (the people they define themselves in opposition to), whereas she knows she'll never have to worry about Hamas on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and that no matter what she'll always be safe behind the NYPD.
The newest delusional liberal gaslighting campaign is that Trump and his people aren't really fighting anti-Semitism but only using it as a pretext and that his policies will inevitably backfire—as opposed to their campaign of writing strongly worded letters that also condemn "Islamophobia".
It's hard enough for liberals to ever admit that conservatives might be right, as they define themselves personally, socially and professionally as being intellectually and morally superior to any kind of conservative, but getting liberal Jews to admit that they stood by and did nothing while our most famous campuses became Hamasnik playgrounds while their opponents are taking concrete steps to protect Jews—this they can never and will never admit.
The NYT has always been the home of upscale Ashkenazi intellectuals who think of Israel and Zionism as a bit gauche and reeking too much of religion. Their real faith and home is in Western liberalism, which has been very good to them and their families.
To be clear, antisemitism is just as pervasive on the right as it is on the left, though maybe expressed in a slightly different manner. But as you state correctly the problem with people like Michelle Goldberg are that they feel under a professional obligation to call out ones on the other team just for being on the other team, while ignoring the ones present on their own. That is dangerous.
I also love how she takes it upon herself in the article to state "most Jews are against Hamas." Ummmm...isn't that a given?
"antisemitism is just as pervasive on the right as it is on the left"
Absolutely yes, but in the past few years we've seen the extent of the reach of both sides.
Redneck Jew haters: best they could achieve was a stupid tiki-torch march where someone got run over and everyone looked like an ass at best;
Liberal Jew haters: turned Columbia into the Edward Said School of Applied Jihad, took over the entire Ivy League, and every organ from journalism to Hollywood to publishing have refused to stick up for Jews and instead support the obviously biased BDS campaign, which targets Israel in a way no other country is targeted.
When and if this war ends and we look back at who did and said what, Western liberal Jews will have nothing to be proud of—except you! (and a few others)
Good point Jill. This doesn’t include the many other right wing anti semites who silently harbor such hatred of Jewish people and espouse their vile, vituperative venom with like minded people in secret meetings or in the darkest most sordid corners of the internet.
I have to say I find this statement perplexing: "I personally do not trust non-Jews who spend an inordinate amount of energy focusing on Jews or Israel, whether it’s out of purported solidarity or out of hate. It’s the hyper-focus on us that’s the problem." So you do not trust Douglas Murray? I hope you watched the Munk debate where he and Taibbi resoundingly defeated Michelle Goldberg and Malcolm Gladwell, with the audience changing their vote by the end of the debate. I think the point is not whether the right argument is made by a Jew or a non-Jew but whether the argument is right or wrong. And if I were a Jew, I would be (as I think most Jews are) very happy that Murray spends an inordinate amount of energy focusing on Jews and Israel, not to mention that he risks his life in the process.
OK. Then I guess I should say not introduce you to my substack because I am also not a Jew and although all my books are about other matters, I am losing friends and opportunities because of my views on Israel and Jews. Why do I do this? Because I care about the truth and I don’t like bullies. I would react the same way if another tiny minority, say, the Zoroastrians or the Jains, were being vilified and hounded.
While I am sorry that you are experiencing that, please keep in mind that what you are describing is what millions of Jews like me are also going through. I wouldn't describe it as "risking our lives," but it's painful nonetheless.
What Ruth Vanita and other Israel supporting gentiles face is not quite the same as what millions of Jews like us are going through, and differs even from Jew to Jew as Hasidim and Orthodox face it much worse since they appear outwardly Jewish so suffer disproportionately. Just look at the almost daily attack for "Walking while Jewish" the Jews face in Crown Heights and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Reform Jews and those not outwardly Jewish needn't deal with it to the same extent. Jewish supporting gentiles, as gentiles can walk way. They are to be commended for not walking away and for being willing to endure what "millions of Jews like me" are going through. Thus the honor bestowed at Yad Vashem on "Righteous Genitles." Gratitude. Genesis 12:3
Are the Zoroastrians and Jains occupying and stealing land from the indigenous people and killing them by the tens of thousands at a time? I had not heard that. And they don’t even have their own country. Same with the Bahais. Maybe God didn’t tell them it was OK?
Ronen Bergmann sold himself out when he went study in the UK. He then wrote enough anti-Israel articles to be offered his dream job of house Israeli for the "I'm embarrassed to be Jewish " NYT
Excellent article! Michelle Goldberg is a terrible columnist and a self hating Jew
I appreciate this piece very much. I think the one thing I would note is that, though rare, there are those non-Jews on the “progressive” end of the spectrum who are supportive of us in the case against the anti-Zionist flavour of antisemitism. One such person can be found on @Pat604Johnson aka Pat’s Substack. (Pat Johnson smacks down antisemitism, anti-Zionism and general hypocrisy from a progressive, gay, Canadian perspective.) So I’m not inclined to toss out those who actually see what is going on and speak up against the hypocrites on the Left as well as on the Right. The Pats of the world (I’m afraid, off the top of my head, I can count … two) are not in the category of the bile-inducing sensation I had watching the lunatic Kristi Noem at the Wailing Wall on the news last night and then speaking about antisemitism.
Antisemitism from all points on the spectrum, its casualness, “normalization”, internalization, redefinitions and appropriation is deeply disturbing.
I should add - from experience - that even if you were allowed into Gaza for a few hours with a journalist visa, Hamas would tell you exactly where to point the camera and where not. If necessary, at gun point. Gaza has never been a place for independent reporting, war or no war.
Yes. Briefly a couple of times. It used to work exactly as described above. Unless Hamas has identified you as a useful idiot that will write in their favour, then doors fly open.
You should write about that experience and post it for the public.
I have started writing about the West Bank experiences for now, as I have much more experience there. Matti Friedman has covered these bits on Gaza extensively.
Have you been to Gaza?
You should be writing for the Times, not Michelle Goldberg. This column is far more relevant, valuable and important than anything she’s ever written on antisemitism and antizionism, and I’ve read countless of her columns, before canceling my subscription in disgust not long after October 7. Not that the NYT editorial staff ever would have the courage or integrity to run this essay, but they should.
Well done on yet another essential smackdown of these useful fucking idiots.
If the folks at the NYT want to offer me a nice cushy job there, I'll take it! =P
Yes you are so much smarter than that hack Michelle.
Good comment, except I find the "fucking Idiots" on the NYT editorial staff to be useless rather than useful.
"As a Jew" Jews drive me nuts. Michelle Goldberg is one such person.
Thank you for this. I have so much to say I don’t even click on Michelle Goldberg columns anymore. The person I have had my eye on is Aaron Boxerman. I feel like every time I see a NYT article with a misleading headline, he’s on the byline. And maybe more dangerous than Michelle because his articles are “news“ and not “opinion.” I don’t think I have read a single article about a Jewish person in the New York Times since October 2023 that did not feel the need to mention Gaza or Hamas somewhere buried in the article. There was a study published somewhere recently, although not peer reviewed I think about how biased they are in coverage of this war. I’ll stop now. I wish I had been following them in detail all along because I think there’s a dissertation in it… especially how they change up their headlines all the time.
Good morning. As usual a great column incisively written. Rule of thumb. If Michelle Goldberg wrote it, it’s wrong.
Gentry Jewish liberals like the apex AWFL Michelle Goldberg hate Trump more than they hate Hamas because Trump and American conservatives are their real out-group (the people they define themselves in opposition to), whereas she knows she'll never have to worry about Hamas on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and that no matter what she'll always be safe behind the NYPD.
The newest delusional liberal gaslighting campaign is that Trump and his people aren't really fighting anti-Semitism but only using it as a pretext and that his policies will inevitably backfire—as opposed to their campaign of writing strongly worded letters that also condemn "Islamophobia".
It's hard enough for liberals to ever admit that conservatives might be right, as they define themselves personally, socially and professionally as being intellectually and morally superior to any kind of conservative, but getting liberal Jews to admit that they stood by and did nothing while our most famous campuses became Hamasnik playgrounds while their opponents are taking concrete steps to protect Jews—this they can never and will never admit.
The NYT has always been the home of upscale Ashkenazi intellectuals who think of Israel and Zionism as a bit gauche and reeking too much of religion. Their real faith and home is in Western liberalism, which has been very good to them and their families.
To be clear, antisemitism is just as pervasive on the right as it is on the left, though maybe expressed in a slightly different manner. But as you state correctly the problem with people like Michelle Goldberg are that they feel under a professional obligation to call out ones on the other team just for being on the other team, while ignoring the ones present on their own. That is dangerous.
I also love how she takes it upon herself in the article to state "most Jews are against Hamas." Ummmm...isn't that a given?
lol and most chickens are against KFC
"antisemitism is just as pervasive on the right as it is on the left"
Absolutely yes, but in the past few years we've seen the extent of the reach of both sides.
Redneck Jew haters: best they could achieve was a stupid tiki-torch march where someone got run over and everyone looked like an ass at best;
Liberal Jew haters: turned Columbia into the Edward Said School of Applied Jihad, took over the entire Ivy League, and every organ from journalism to Hollywood to publishing have refused to stick up for Jews and instead support the obviously biased BDS campaign, which targets Israel in a way no other country is targeted.
When and if this war ends and we look back at who did and said what, Western liberal Jews will have nothing to be proud of—except you! (and a few others)
You're forgetting the type of Jew-haters from the right like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, etc.
Good point Jill. This doesn’t include the many other right wing anti semites who silently harbor such hatred of Jewish people and espouse their vile, vituperative venom with like minded people in secret meetings or in the darkest most sordid corners of the internet.
oh yeah, they suck.
I forgot them bc I click away as soon as they appear anywhere.
Carlson seems evil, Owens seems stupid, but Jew hate is always a big enough tent to contain multitudes.
ugh!
All true.
I have to say I find this statement perplexing: "I personally do not trust non-Jews who spend an inordinate amount of energy focusing on Jews or Israel, whether it’s out of purported solidarity or out of hate. It’s the hyper-focus on us that’s the problem." So you do not trust Douglas Murray? I hope you watched the Munk debate where he and Taibbi resoundingly defeated Michelle Goldberg and Malcolm Gladwell, with the audience changing their vote by the end of the debate. I think the point is not whether the right argument is made by a Jew or a non-Jew but whether the argument is right or wrong. And if I were a Jew, I would be (as I think most Jews are) very happy that Murray spends an inordinate amount of energy focusing on Jews and Israel, not to mention that he risks his life in the process.
I like Doug Murray overall but even with him, I question the motives behind his obsession with Israel.
PS he doesn’t “risk his life in the process”—at least not more so than any Jewish person doing similar work.
OK. Then I guess I should say not introduce you to my substack because I am also not a Jew and although all my books are about other matters, I am losing friends and opportunities because of my views on Israel and Jews. Why do I do this? Because I care about the truth and I don’t like bullies. I would react the same way if another tiny minority, say, the Zoroastrians or the Jains, were being vilified and hounded.
While I am sorry that you are experiencing that, please keep in mind that what you are describing is what millions of Jews like me are also going through. I wouldn't describe it as "risking our lives," but it's painful nonetheless.
What Ruth Vanita and other Israel supporting gentiles face is not quite the same as what millions of Jews like us are going through, and differs even from Jew to Jew as Hasidim and Orthodox face it much worse since they appear outwardly Jewish so suffer disproportionately. Just look at the almost daily attack for "Walking while Jewish" the Jews face in Crown Heights and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Reform Jews and those not outwardly Jewish needn't deal with it to the same extent. Jewish supporting gentiles, as gentiles can walk way. They are to be commended for not walking away and for being willing to endure what "millions of Jews like me" are going through. Thus the honor bestowed at Yad Vashem on "Righteous Genitles." Gratitude. Genesis 12:3
Are the Zoroastrians and Jains occupying and stealing land from the indigenous people and killing them by the tens of thousands at a time? I had not heard that. And they don’t even have their own country. Same with the Bahais. Maybe God didn’t tell them it was OK?
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTj9mxjc9/
Ronen Bergmann sold himself out when he went study in the UK. He then wrote enough anti-Israel articles to be offered his dream job of house Israeli for the "I'm embarrassed to be Jewish " NYT
Bergman the self appointed revealer of Israeli secrets for his own careerism.
Strange World n'est pas Jill