Maureen Dowd meets anti-Semitism charge

[cali]

By DYLAN BYERS |
9/16/12 6:42 PM EDT

New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd set the Jewish political community on fire today with a column about the Republican ticket's foreign policy proposals that, according to her critics, peddled anti-Semitic imagery.

Dowd fairly observed that neither Mitt Romney nor Paul Ryan are experts in the field of foreign policy, but asserted their strategy was orchestrated by a "neocon puppet master" who was leading the neocon effort to "slither back" into power.

Such language, to say nothing of the questionable legitimacy of her claims, struck experts on American-Israeli relations as an inappropriate (though perhaps unintentional) appeal to anti-Semitic stereotypes, and especially offensive ahead of the first night of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

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"Maureen may not know this, but she is peddling an old stereotype, that gentile leaders are dolts unable to resist the machinations and manipulations of clever and snake-like Jews," Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic columnist and leading journalist on Israeli issues, wrote.

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http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/09/maureen-dowd-meets-antisemitism-charge-135700.html?hp=r1

I read Dowd's column. Now I don't like Maureen Dowd. I don't find her insightful or witty, but arch and shallow. I thought this column sucked because I don't think either Mitt or lesser twit are in thrall to the neo-cons. From everything I've read, these are Mitt's opinions and he drives the foreign policy crap coming out of his campaign. However, I didn't think her column was anti-semitic. Yes, I realize that it's an old anti-semitic trope to accuse Jews of being puppeteers but not all neo-cons are Jewish and Dowd didn't mention religion.

[magical thyme]

1. their claim that she referred to "Jewish" neoconservatives

is apparently based in the fact that she didn't mention Cheney, Rumsfeld or Rice in her column.

What they conveniently ignore is that Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rice are not on Romney's team.

Senor et al are consultants to Romney.

Furthermore, although post-convention, as his PR team is throwing him under the bus, we know that he does what he wants, not what they recommend. But what he ultimately chooses is based on input from Senor, et al.

Does he have any non-neocons on his foreign policy consulting team? No.

[CJCRANE]

2. The neocons are American.

They may be sympathetic to RW Israeli viewpoints but the neocons are not Israeli or Jewish.

[joeybee12]

3. No, gentile leaders are not dopes...neocons are dopes...

This is a stretch to say it's anti-semitism. A BIG stretch.

[BlueToTheBone]

4. Wolfowitz, Senor et.al are neocons.

And they are slithering out of the woodwork to try to weasel back into power and control of our country.