I read a medium-length piece by Khalidi at one point -- trying to be open-minded -- and it was basically, "Never mention any fact at all that might make the Palestinian side look bad."
Well yes, if you run down a long list of everything that Israel's done, without ever mentioning anything that Israel's enemies have ever done to provoke these actions, it seems pretty shocking. And if you're a 20-year-old kid who literally knows nothing, it must be easy to get swept up in all of that.
But come on, whatever happened to having basic intellectual integrity and self-respect? I can respect people who weigh the balance and find it tilting in one direction or the other, but the kind of nutty propagandists who seem to dominate here are just not worth listening to.
I have both Roden cookbooks and they are treasures. This is intersectionality taken to its bizarre ends. It is a rare pleasure to read something that cuts trhough the Doublespeak and has some clarity. Good going Frank.
The "mistake," of course, was no such thing. The best possible spin on it is that, rather than being motivated by antisemitism, it was the work of a disgruntled employee who wanted to make his or her employer look bad to (and lose) a customer. However, I'd go with the more probable explanation.
Oh, and nice to see that Chomsky is suitably "cutting edge," "fearlessly principled" and what not. A classic example of why I stopped being impressed by the intellectual label ages ago.
Indeed. Of course there are others, like there have been before him and will be after him. I see such people, Jews or otherwise, as epigones of Lucifer, both tragic and horrible.
My favorite signatory to the letter condeming "PEN’s relative silence on the unfolding genocide [sic] in Gaza "(Dan Sheehan, writing for LitHub, https://lithub.com/over-600-writers-have-signed-this-open-letter-to-pen-america/) is "You're a Bunch of Clueless Antisemites," sandwiched between Mandy Moe Pwint Tu and Clara Olivo. I'm sure that's an accurate description in many cases. Otherwise, it reads like a roll call of well-meaning dolts, also known as useful idiots, some of whom, idiocy notwithstanding, might have been expected to know better than to sign this document.
But I wouldn't call it hebetude, Franklin. It's more small-mindedness, fashion victimhood and a kind of self-promotion or image-polishing aimed at a particular target audience, a potentially useful one.
Thank you so much for this perceptive and powerfully-written post. Regarding artists who have thus far been largely ignored: I have been trying to bring attention to the Israeli writers taken hostage or murdered by Hamas on October 7, including hostage Amiram Cooper (https://www.timesofisrael.com/musicians-read-sing-and-strum-to-poems-of-hostage-amiram-cooper-84-as-worries-mount/); hostage Oded Lifshitz (https://www.timesofisrael.com/taken-captive-oded-yocheved-lifshitz-drive-gazans-to-hospitals/); and Judih Weinstein Haggai, who was murdered October 7 and whose body is being held by Hamas (https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-american-judith-weinstein-was-murdered-on-oct-7-her-body-being-held-in-gaza-kibbutz/).
Again, thank you.
And thank you. May they come home soon.
I read a medium-length piece by Khalidi at one point -- trying to be open-minded -- and it was basically, "Never mention any fact at all that might make the Palestinian side look bad."
Well yes, if you run down a long list of everything that Israel's done, without ever mentioning anything that Israel's enemies have ever done to provoke these actions, it seems pretty shocking. And if you're a 20-year-old kid who literally knows nothing, it must be easy to get swept up in all of that.
But come on, whatever happened to having basic intellectual integrity and self-respect? I can respect people who weigh the balance and find it tilting in one direction or the other, but the kind of nutty propagandists who seem to dominate here are just not worth listening to.
I have both Roden cookbooks and they are treasures. This is intersectionality taken to its bizarre ends. It is a rare pleasure to read something that cuts trhough the Doublespeak and has some clarity. Good going Frank.
The "mistake," of course, was no such thing. The best possible spin on it is that, rather than being motivated by antisemitism, it was the work of a disgruntled employee who wanted to make his or her employer look bad to (and lose) a customer. However, I'd go with the more probable explanation.
Oh, and nice to see that Chomsky is suitably "cutting edge," "fearlessly principled" and what not. A classic example of why I stopped being impressed by the intellectual label ages ago.
Chomsky's a piece of work.
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2003/5/the-hypocrisy-of-noam-chomsky
Indeed. Of course there are others, like there have been before him and will be after him. I see such people, Jews or otherwise, as epigones of Lucifer, both tragic and horrible.
Thank you for this essay.
My favorite signatory to the letter condeming "PEN’s relative silence on the unfolding genocide [sic] in Gaza "(Dan Sheehan, writing for LitHub, https://lithub.com/over-600-writers-have-signed-this-open-letter-to-pen-america/) is "You're a Bunch of Clueless Antisemites," sandwiched between Mandy Moe Pwint Tu and Clara Olivo. I'm sure that's an accurate description in many cases. Otherwise, it reads like a roll call of well-meaning dolts, also known as useful idiots, some of whom, idiocy notwithstanding, might have been expected to know better than to sign this document.
Useful idiots exist, but I doubt they are as common as the willfully blind.
Claudia Roden’s book is excellent!
Part of me wants to collect her whole bibliography and spend several years cooking my way through it.
But I wouldn't call it hebetude, Franklin. It's more small-mindedness, fashion victimhood and a kind of self-promotion or image-polishing aimed at a particular target audience, a potentially useful one.