M.J. Rosenberg Assails ‘Mondoweiss’

M.J. Rosenberg Assails ‘Mondoweiss’

MJ Rosenberg
M.J. Rosenberg

This recent Tikkun Daily blog post by M.J. Rosenberg, “Mondoweiss & Is Anti-Semitism Dead?,” drew a sharp rebuke from Tikkun’s editor Michael Lerner. (Please be reminded that views presented on this blog are not official positions of Partners for Progressive Israel unless stated as such.) Rosenberg went on to do a few more posts at the Tikkun blog, written in his usual feisty manner, as these web-linked titles indicate:
    •    Lobby Fights To Boycott, Sanction & Divest From Free Speech
    •    The Official Goal Of BDS Is Ending Israel, Not Just The ’67 Occupation
    •    Palestinian Unity Will Be A Big Step On Path To Peace
    •    Kerry Peace Plan Insults Palestinians & Israeli Peace Camp

By the end of April, feeling discomforted by Lerner’s defense of Mondoweiss, Rosenberg has mostly sent out his writings independently, including this on the surprise primary defeat of Eric Cantor: Cantor’s Defeat Is Great News On Iran & Israel

We share the following recent piece of his in its entirety:

When Anti-Zionism Crosses To The Dark Side

Readers keep asking me if my views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have changed over the past year. They haven’t. As always, I favor negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians (including Hamas) leading to an end to the occupation and the establishment of two fully sovereign states, one Israeli and one Palestinian, with a shared capital: Jerusalem. 


What has changed is my growing contempt for segments of the supposedly anti-occupation and anti-Zionist movements that in my opinion reek of contempt for Jews. 

This is from today’s edition of the leading anti-Zionist site, Mondoweiss. It is written by Phil Weiss himself. You should read the whole thing to get the full effect. But this should suffice: 

The body of Israel is fetid in the back room of American Jews. They haven’t been there but it’s stinking up the joint, and it pollutes their view of the world. Max Blumenthal  tried to tell them what it is, but the Zionists ran him out of town using the Nation; so instead we got Ari Shavit praising anonymous sex in Tel Aviv nightclubs as the latest Zionist revival of the “miracle” that is Israel. When it really is this intolerant rightwing society that rails against intermarriage and beats up journalists of a different race. That’s what it is. And it’s foreign. That’s why American Jews need to let it go. 

Note the language in that paragraph. Israel is a fetid corpse that is “stinking up the joint.” This is nothing compared to BDS leader Ali Abunimah but Weiss is a Harvard educated Jew so he is more subtle. Also, he is not a hater.  But come on.

“Let it go.”  Where?  Who knows? Just gone, like the stinking corpse it is. Imagine if  Jews talked that way about Palestine or Palestinians. But, of course, some do. Far right settlers. Kahanists. Pam Geller.  Crazies and haters.


But Weiss is neither a crazy or a hater. He is a liberal, tolerant man. Except on the subject of Israel and Jews who think it should exist.

Welcome to the world of “anti-Zionism” (and the movement it spawned: BDS). 
By | 2014-06-11T15:59:00-04:00 June 11th, 2014|Blog|3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. Anonymous June 11, 2014 at 7:57 pm - Reply

    Wait, so not only are you happily attacking Mondoweiss here, but, not satisfed with that, you’re also throwing in a potshot at Michael Lerner and Tikkun?

    “But by the end of April, he felt sufficiently uncomfortable with the narrow-minded confines of debate within Tikkun that he chose to end his relationship there.”

    And I guess in contrast the debate on Partners for Progressive Israel is broad-minded and edifying? So much so that few people even notice it exists? (sorry, but that’s the truth)

    Ted

  2. Partners' Blogmaster June 11, 2014 at 8:34 pm - Reply

    This is not the first time we’ve committed this “sin” of criticizing Mondoweiss. Nor have we always gone along with Lerner and Tikkun. (How dare we?)

    It’s a good thing Ted’s around to set us straight. And it’s nice to see Ted care about how broadly our blog gets circulated.

  3. Anonymous June 12, 2014 at 2:16 pm - Reply

    Lerner is a well-meaning guy but simple.
    Weiss is just mean mean.
    I can (sorta) tolerate Tikkun but Mondonweiss is just butt ugly.

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