Published on City Journal “High Holidays” refers to the ten-day period of repentance spanning the Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement, when—according to the Torah—the names of the righteous are inscribed in the Book of Life, and the names of the wicked are inscribed in the Book of Death. Not so long ago, the…
Category: Liberalism
The Vanity of Bernard-Henri Lévy [NATIONAL INTEREST] BHL's latest tract, "The Genius of Judaism," is a polemic masquerading as intellectual history.
Published in The National Interest Bernard-Henri Lévy has been the recipient of vast quantities of acclaim, a copious dose of scorn and even a handful of projectile pies. This likely would have been the destiny of any semiprominent ex-Marxist French intellectual who openly (and practically unilaterally) turned against the European Left, calling it out for its…
The Left’s Anti-Semitism is More Widespread than the Alt-Right’s [FEDERALIST] According to the numbers, the average Jewish-American millennial will first encounter sustained and systemic anti-Semitism at college.
Published on The Federalist Although the fight against anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry must be nonpartisan, my attempt to draw attention to left-wing anti-Semitism triggered a depressingly partisan response. I was labeled a “liberal” by self-avowed anti-Semites and an “anti-Semite,” among other hateful terms, by self-avowed liberals. Clearly, many readers weren’t willing to seriously grapple…
The Alt-Right Distracts Many Jews From a Left-Wing Threat [FEDERALIST] There's a dangerous adversary on campus driven by anti-Zionism and intersectionality.
Published on The Federalist Much of the Jewish-American community is fixated on the “alt-right.” Over the past year, countless op-eds have been penned and declarations made comparing the United States to the Weimar Republic and intimating, à la Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, Plot Against America, that concentration camps are just around the corner—from Main Street. (A search…
Do Jews Defend Their Values by Helping Anti-Semites Immigrate to America? [TABLET] The ADL says most people in the Middle East harbor anti-Semitic views. But American Jews are largely in favor of offering safe haven to them.
Published on Tablet Where does American Jewry stand on the Obama administration’s admittance of 10,801 Syrian refugees to the United States in fiscal year 2016? A poll hasn’t been conducted, ostensibly because the mere conception of one would convey an improper presumption that Jews, by virtue of being Jews, should feel differently than other Americans about…
The Problem with the “Jewish Vote” [LA TIMES] Jewish Americans don't vote with Israel in mind, they vote as liberals.
Published in The Los Angeles Times Although Jewish Americans represent just 2% of the population, politicians — and would-be politicians — have long considered the “Jewish vote” a prize worth pursuing. That’s actually not irrational. Jews contribute a disproportionate amount of money to political candidates and causes; many Jews live in the swing states of Florida…
Hillary and the Democratic Party’s Dove Problem [NATIONAL INTEREST] This election is shifting the fault lines on war and peace.
Published on The National Interest In foreign policy, it’s starting to look a lot like 1992 again. That was the election year a number of second-wave neoconservatives contemplated casting votes for then governor Bill Clinton. A few did actually end up crossing party lines—once again, that is. But today, it doesn’t bode well for Secretary Hillary…
To the Founders, “All Men” Meant All Women Too [WEEKLY STANDARD] Despite what Meryl Streep and Cory Booker have to say.
Published on The Weekly Standard “Within the context of the times it is clear that ‘all men’ was a euphemism for ‘humanity,’ and thus those people, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, who used the Declaration of Independence to demand equality for African Americans and women seized the historical as well…
Will the Democrats’ Philadelphia Love-Fest Last? [NATIONAL INTEREST] Hammering away at compassion and unity might not work in November.
Published on The National Interest For weeks, the vanguard of the media confidently predicted that the Democrats’ nominating gathering in Philadelphia—Greek for “brotherly love”—would be “the quiet convention.” Yes, both political parties to an extent have been divided this campaign between grassroots activists and Establishment praetorians. But journalists and pundits were going to ensure it was…
Who Are the Ex-Conservatives? [AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE] Perhaps it is easier to move right than left.
Published on The American Conservative The May/June issue of The American Conservative featured Jonathan Bronitsky’s review of Daniel Oppenheimer’s new book Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century. This is the second installment in a series of articles responding to the original review. Be sure not to miss Oppenheimer’s “Why…