Eric Alterman: When the accusation (anti-Semitism) says more about the accuser than the accused.

[marmar]

from The Nation:



Semites and 'Anti-Semites'
By Eric Alterman

February 25, 2010


As I've noted in this space before, the racist anti-Arab rants by New Republic editor in chief/owner Martin Peretz have undermined not only his magazine's reputation for liberalism but also the term "pro-Israel" itself. What I have not addressed, however, is the manner in which the magazine, no less cynically and purposefully, confuses the issue of anti-Semitism by deploying it for political purposes to try to silence those with opposing views about Israel and the Palestinians. Recent targets have included Jimmy Carter, Wes Clark, Juan Cole and the political scientists Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer. This tendency has finally spilled into polite discussion now that the magazine has turned on one of its own: former editor, and now Atlantic Monthly blogger, Andrew Sullivan.

At first glance, the episode appeared to offer a kind of rough justice. For Sullivan is no stranger to this very same tactic, having made it against yours truly, going so far as to compare something I once wrote to The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This was in addition to his infamous "Fifth Column" accusation against "the decadent Left in its enclaves on the coasts," as well as the outright lie that Susan Sontag and I had already announced our opposition to a US military response to 9/11, which, in fact, we both supported. (True to form, he has never apologized, or even admitted the falsehood of his claim.)

While many of the people who've commented on the Sullivan contretemps have focused on the pathos of the event--his accuser, TNR's legendary literary editor, Leon Wieseltier, was once his mentor--its true significance lies in its demonstration of the diminution of the accusation. Once upon a time, being accused of anti-Semitism over thousands and thousands of words in what was America's most prestigious liberal publication by its most imposing intellectual voice would engender severe consequences, personal and political, particularly in a field so well populated by Jews. But as far as I can tell, Wieseltier's attack is having the opposite effect. Sullivan has been turned into a kind of free speech hero. "We're the cops," Wieseltier said to me roughly twenty years ago when discussing the magazine's role in policing arguments over Israel. Given the response to this particular arrest, it appears long past time for those associated with TNR to turn in their badges.

So far, virtually the only journalistically significant voices to join in Sullivan's persecution are those of TNR senior editor Jonathan Chait and The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg, who enjoy regular appearances in Wieseltier's pages. To be fair, both writers distance themselves from the accusation of anti-Jewish animus. But rather than focus on the injustice of leveling so disturbing an allegation on the basis of all but imaginary evidence, each felt the need to devote most of his comments to a critique of Sullivan for what they deem to be his transgression of the boundaries of acceptable criticism of Israel. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100315/alterman