A buddy of mine recently forwarded a very interesting book review by Michael Walzer of David Nirenberg's Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition in the New York Review of Books.
This was my brief response:
Hi Justin,
thank you for this.
From my perspective the most prevalent form of anti-Jewish racism in the world today, outside of the Muslim Middle East, comes from the western progressive-left, which is why Walzer's review begins with a discussion of Marx.
The very political movement that the Jewish diaspora has done the most to bolster is also the political movement that does the most in the west to provide venues and support for anti-Semitic anti-Zionists.
Diaspora Jews have spent most of the last fifty years supporting the efforts of non-Jewish minorities to attain full and equal civil liberties and I am very proud of Jewish participation in efforts such as the Civil Rights Movement.
However, I am convinced that it is now time for the Jewish people to look out for the well-being of the Jewish people. What that means is opposing BDS, the movement to boycott the Jews of the Middle East, and what that means is confronting the western left.
There is simply no way around it.We do not need to oppose western-left notions of universal human rights and social justice. On the contrary, the Jewish people throughout the diaspora over the last one hundred years have done as much, if not more, than anyone in promoting such values that, in the United States, primarily came out of the progressive-left and the Democratic party.
At this point, unfortunately, to support either the progressive-left or the Democratic party is to support a political movement that provides encouragement, financial and otherwise, to enemies of the Jewish people via providing venues for the BDS movement.
Jews support the Left and the Left supports the enemies of the Jewish people.
Perhaps it is time to think in creative ways about reorienting diaspora Jewish political inclinations. We should continue to support social justice and equality of rights, but we must not continue to support political parties or political movements that undermine the well-being of the Jewish people.
We are taken for granted by our false friends on the Left and it is long past time that we make them aware that we will no longer put up with it.
