Realist Mike Desch has a good piece on AIPAC in the Chicago Tribune that describes the presidential nominees' speeches as a "bidding war" for Jewish support that does not serve Israel. And meantime in a dialogue with Richard Silverstein, Carla Cohen, the owner of Politics and Prose bookstore, dismisses realists Walt and Mearsheimer's book:
I am curious as to why you consider the book progressive. It is anti-Aipac to be sure, but it is really out of this world, or at least out of my world. Do you think the media is controlled by Jews?
This is an important question. Answer, please:
Walt and Mearsheimer don’t say that. In fact, I go a lot further, saying that Jews like myself (privileged meritocrats) tend to dominate certain sectors of the media, and that we bring sometimes unconscious pro-Israel agendas to this work. Oh but FSG published Walt and Mearsheimer and the Trib publishes Desch! True. Other voices get in now and then. But Carla Cohen’s question seems to me to reflect a real lack of introspection. Carla: What does it mean that Jews have as much cultural/political power as we do? You own an important book store. I bet Tom Friedman comes there, he lives nearby. He helped pave the way for the Iraq war with his columns on Iraq’s threat. He is a big deal, and he’s hardly alone. I wonder if Ken Pollack comes by your book store. He had the run of the NYT op-ed pages to make the case for war, with his foolish claim that Israel/Palestine was not a big issue in the Arab world. My old classmate Fred Hiatt runs the Washington Post editorial page and has been surprisingly hawkish these last few years. Another friend, Nick Goldberg, runs the LAT editorial page, which has been the best page in the country for diversity on the Middle East; he’s a true progressive, though I bet he’s got a little Zionism whirring away in there. As do you. The other day I was at the New York Theatre Workshop, whose board intervened two years ago to censor the Rachel Corrie play. Now NYTW is amending that error, and god bless it. But what does all this say about Jewish success? And your censorship of Makdisi, to your great credit now rescinded, is reflected in the many censorships even at Harvard of these views. The author of that article knows that we are part of the elite.
Your statement to Richard is flip, Carla. Flipness doesn’t become the great Jewish tradition of serious consideration of such important questions.
Related posts:
- ‘Haaretz’ runs a piece on anti-Zionist Marc Ellis, when will the ‘NYT’ get there?
- J Street: ‘We’re Not Anti-AIPAC’
- Another piece deploring the new anti-Semitism while expressing no horror over ‘what Israelis are doing now’
- AIPAC should invite Walt and Mearsheimer to a debate at its spring policy conference
- Isolationism’s Back! HuffPo Runs Favorable Piece on Buchanan’s Anti-WW2 Book
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I think it implausible that Jews "control" the media. In contrast, it seems to me very apparent that they are over-represented in the media.
Two pieces of news strike me today:
1) http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jun/10/voinovich-backs-sen-mccain-despite-clashes-on-key/
The story linked above discusses how George Voinovich has told a Regional Chamber of Commerce in Ohio that "we need to get the hell out of Iraq!" Fiscal conservatives understand that the war is bankrupting the state, and that there are certain limits that reality imposes on such an adventure, that voices in the press cannot affect.
2) http://www.nypost.com/seven/06112008/business/chrysler_bldg__on_the_block_115016.htm
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1813198,00.html
These two stories are about an Arab sovereign wealth fund that is buying the Chrysler building and an Italian company buying the Flatiron building in NY. Both the Arab countries and most European countries have enormous current account SURPLUSSES in contrast to the vast deficits we run year after year.
My point is that reality is setting in, and no amount of media spin will change that. If there is still an old establishment (and I have doubts that one still exists), it better step in fast and preserve American wealth or this country is going to be seriously hurting after another year of this dead-end war. And if another war is started with Iran, you can kiss our dominance goodbye. Recall that Great Britain was one of the "winners" of WWII, spent the 50s as a spent force on foodstamps issued by the US gov't.
"Do you think the media is controlled by Jews?"
This question is a canard, framed as a provocation. Being amply overrepresented in management posts throughout print, broadcasting and film, Jews don't need "control" to have their cultural sensitivities reflected. There's nothing remarkable or conspiratorial about this commonplace situation.
So the purpose of the question is to provoke its target into foolishly answering, "Yes, they do." Then the target can be summarily dispatched (following the ad hominem route) as a loony-bin anti-semite who doesn't deserve a reasoned response. Mission accomplished!
Carla Cohen's below-the-belt question is the equivalent of pulling a knife on somebody in the midst of a heated argument. She may own a bookstore. But she's a lowdown abuser who fights dirty.
this is for the sword of gideon and all the other stalwart american zionist apologist….at what point will you take americas side in the issue of zionist spies in the u.s.a…
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=12972
The Office of Special Plans was one of several neocon-created "parallel institutions" designed to circumvent the ordinary vetting process for intelligence gathered by U.S. agencies. Two analysts from the neocons' DoD policy shop, Harold Rhode and Larry Franklin, were assigned to the Rome meetings. Franklin was once Douglas Feith's top Iran analyst. His career ended in 2005 when he was convicted of stealing U.S. state secrets on behalf of Israel.
and there is more…..just remember that at some point the united states will resent this suppression by oppressive means…caveat emptor….dont buy what the zionist are selling you.
http://amconmag.com/2008/2008_06_02/cover.html
Virtually every U.S. government body concerned with security has confirmed that Israeli espionage takes place, though it is frequently not exposed because FBI officers know that investigating these crimes is frustrating and does no favors for their careers. But Israel always features prominently in the annual FBI report called “Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage.” The 2005 report states, “Israel has an active program to gather proprietary information within the United States. These collection activities are primarily directed at obtaining information on military systems and advanced computing applications that can be used in Israel’s sizable armaments industry.” It adds that Israel recruits spies, uses electronic methods, and carries out computer intrusion to gain the information.
Phil, youre a media man, why dont you take a head count of the movers and shakers in u.s media and give us the tally…we'll create our opinions based on reality on the ground.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/06/10/lichtblau/index.html
NYT circulates fear-mongering claims on FISA debate
(updated below)
The New York Times' Eric Lichtblau has a long, prominent article today on the pending debate over FISA and telecom amnesty — headlined: "Return to Old Spy Rules Is Seen as Deadline Nears" — that features (and endorses) virtually every blatant falsehood that has distorted these spying issues from the beginning, and which is built on every shoddy journalistic practice that has made clear debate over these issues almost impossible. The article strongly suggests that a so-called "compromise" is imminent, a "compromise" which will deliver to the President virtually everything he seeks in the way of new warrantless eavesdropping powers and telecom amnesty.
Desch should apply some realist analysis to AIPAC.
Organizations like AIPAC belong to those who fund them and not to the entities on whose behalf the organizations claim to act.
Once again another serious American scholar simply does not take Jewish history, economics, politics, and sociology seriously.
Here is a recent short blog entry on Yiddish studies: http://eaazi.blogspot.com/2008/06/lies-of-yiddish-studies.html .
"Do you think the media is controlled by Jews?"
This is the equivalent of American Zionist rhetoric such as "Do you think there's a Jewish conspiracy to put Israel first?" or "Do you think there was a Jewish conspiracy to lie America into the Iraq war?"
Even though the technical answer to all is "yes" (just as there was a Nazi conspiracy to elimante Jews and, prior to that, a Communist conspiracy to eliminate Christians), once one answers yes, they automatically become "a conspiracy theorist." (It's interesting how that label never applies to those who beleive ALL Germans knew about and endorsed the Holocaust, and how most Americans are still ignorant that there was a Communist conspiracy to eradicate Christianity — all of which goes to who is actually writing and shaping the national narrative.)
Jewish ideologues are expert at negatively labeling their opponents so they can be safely dismissed and marginalized as beyond the pale, and in the case of Palestinians, safely eliminated (ie Islamofascist, anti-Semite, bigot, terrorist), but when they themselves are labeled (ie Jewish Zionist, racialist, Judeofascist, Ziofascist) suddenly all bets are off and their critics are motivated by "hate" and probably the desire to perpetrate another Holocaust.
Why then aren't Jews critical of Christianity motivated by "hate" and the desire to eliminate Christians in the tradition of the Jewish Bolsheviks?
Because Christians don't "control" the media.
The very fact that criticizing organized Jewry and its agenda is taboo is evidence enough of who wields the real power in the media today.
Jews don't "control" the media. They are just overrrepresented in control positions and in the ownership of the media. See the difference?
Neither do I.
the jews contolling the media? what a crazy idea. sulzberger you say? paley? sarnoff? metro goldwin mayer? warner brothers? what the hell are you talking about? never heard of them.
is it "good for the jews" that i have to look at Joe Lieberman's face everyday shilling for McCain after stint as Democratic VP nominee? (for that, i blame only Gore…)
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I think Scorpio has an important point there. If the Ashkenazi conspiracy is so allpowerful, why cant they silence the awful senator lieberman?
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maybe he is sort of a black operation, cooked up to lull the goyem into believing that jews are dumb.
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or maybe in fact he is what the goyish voters want, and he would not seem so odd if he were goyish.
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maybe in fact he is not dumb at all, but simply projects dumbness to make himself electable. maybe he is a highly effective dissimulater comparable to obama.
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but most likely he is real. God knows there are plenty of dumb jews in the world, and it would be totally racist to think otherwise. maybe it is we who are the fools, with our snobbish expectations that senators should have iqs above 100. he would not bother us if we saw him behind a window in the post office.
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so it is back full circle. lieberman is on balance good for the jews, because he shows the average joe that the jew can be a regular guy.
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only in america
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"Do you think the media is controlled by Jews?" Do you? Do you think Politics & Prose bookstore is controlled by Jews? Do you? Do you think media hit-squads like AIPAC and CAMERA StandWithUs and MEMRI and HonestReporting are controlled by Jews? Do you?
I mean, she SO nailed you on that one, Rich!
seriously though, i am convinced, after all i have learned about the issue of anti semitism and how the jews use that term to opress and terrify those whom they label thusly, that a jew would also have to be very careful in answering this question of "do you think that the media is controlled by jews?".
so lets take a headcount and name who in media are the movers and shakers, the deciders and the writers, and lets see if they tend to be predominantly of the jewish persuation with neocon pedigree.
http://amconmag.com/2008/2008_06_02/cover.html
In 1996, ten years after the agreement that concluded the Pollard affair, the Pentagon’s Defense Investigative Service warned defense contractors that Israel had “espionage intentions and capabilities” here and was aggressively trying to steal military and intelligence secrets. It also cited a security threat posed by individuals who have “strong ethnic ties” to Israel, stating that “Placing Israeli nationals in key industries … is a technique utilized with great success.” The memo cited illegal transfer of proprietary information from an Illinois optics firm in 1986, after the Pollard arrest, as well as the theft of test equipment for a radar system in the mid-1980s. A storm of outrage from the Anti-Defamation League led to the Pentagon’s withdrawal of the memo, an apology that predictably blamed the language on “a low-ranking individual,” and a promise that no similar warning would be written again.
But the issue of Israeli spying would not go away.
one day i hope these chickens come home to roost.
i am still astounded at how much evidence there is out there that shows clearly as all hell how the zionist never cared about the jews in europe…why in G-ds name do you, who call yourself jewish still insist on selling yourselves out to this movement.
there is just no defense, none, zilch, nada, zero.
http://jewsagainstzionism.com/
Rabbi Stephen Wise
As late as 1943, while the Jews of Europe were being exterminated in their millions, the U.S. Congress proposed to set up a commission to "study" the problem. Rabbi Stephen Wise, who was the principal American spokesperson for Zionism, came to Washington to testify against the rescue bill because it would divert attention from the colonization of Palestine.
This is the same Rabbi Wise who, in 1938, in his capacity as leader of the American Jewish Congress, wrote a letter in which he opposed any change in U.S. immigration laws which would enable Jews to find refuge. He stated:
"It may interest you to know that some weeks ago the representatives of all the leading Jewish organizations met in conference. … It was decided that no Jewish organization would, at this time, sponsor a bill which would in any way alter the immigration laws."
…"Our Shomer 'Weltanschauung,"' Hashomer Hatzair, December 1936. Originally published in 1917, Brenner, Zionism, p. 22.
Someday the consequences of ZOG and Jewish media manipulation are going to come crashing down and all Jews will suffer. Every country in the world knows that Israel is carrying on a Nazi-style ethnic cleansing and liquidation campaign against the Palestinians. Every country but the US of A. Could Jewish control of our media, financial sectors and government have something to do with that? Gee, I don't know Beav, what do you think, Lumpy?
Someday the consequences of ZOG and Jewish media manipulation are going to come crashing down and all Jews will suffer. Every country in the world knows that Israel is carrying on a Nazi-style ethnic cleansing and liquidation campaign against the Palestinians. Every country but the US of A. Could Jewish control of our media, financial sectors and government have something to do with that? Gee, I don't know Beav, what do you think, Lumpy?
Do Jews control the media? How can I say for sure, since I don't know a single person in the media. That being said, it is obvious that Jews have far too much influence in what is presented as news and entertainment.
Maybe I am wrong, but I seriously doubt that WASPs would be all that excited about constant holocaust talk, Israel support or injecting Yiddish wherever possible.
I'm in my car about 45 minutes a day, and hardly a day goes by that I'm not treated to several stories on Jewish culture or life in Israel on public radio. I just don't believe that the majority, or other minority groups, are that mesmerized by Jewish life.
As bad as the old WASP northeasterners were for the rest of the country, Jews are worse! The old northeastern WASPs at least didn't want to tear the nation apart by destroying everything from demographic cohesion and traditional religion and culture, as Jews in the media and academia seem inclined to do.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm not alone. Even Ben Stein agrees. What Stein calls influence and creating the American self- image, I call the destruction of the host culture for tribal benefit.
Why is it important to you what we think about Jewish power, Phil?
todd, i think its important to everyone how elites operate. i began as a journalist engaged by wasp elites.
i dont see the sharp distinction between host culture and jews. i think everyone contributes to american culture
though i feel the exact same irritation you do at public radio. it's smug and overwhelming. yesterday i heard elie wiesel being interviewed by bob edwards, piously. id like to hear other narratives, palestinian ones, gypsy ones.
"i dont see the sharp distinction between host culture and jews."
I guess it's just upbringing, Phil. There has to be a reason that I prefer BBC over NPR.
I suggest that the question be framed like this:
Is the content of media publication and broadcasting influenced by:1) Jewish ownership,Jewish personnel in–managerial,operative, and editorial positions,and 2)Israeli Lobby organizations (whose purposes is to generate a flood of complaints when Israel is criticised and feed think-tank generated talking points to media outlets)??
The answer is: Yes, the combination of these factors seems to act to promote a pro Israel agenda in the media…
I think a relalted question is why don't the corporate moguls,such as CEO's of the energy companies,banks,defense related firms,etc
organize in oppositon to this situation, ..?
"id like to hear other narratives, palestinian ones, gypsy ones." – Phil Weiss
could the reason you cant be that Jews control the media?
"as a "bidding war" for Jewish support that does not serve Israel." Desh
'does not serve Israel'. That is how it sneaked in. One still needs be concerned about the health/security of The Shit One.
"todd, i think its important to everyone how elites operate. i began as a journalist engaged by wasp elites."
Phil, that doesn't really explain why you care about our opinions on Jewish control of the media. I guess it does on a surface level, but I think there is more to it.
Also, if you are right about Jewish power, how great is the control. How long have Jews been in a position of power?
I realize that Jews aren't operating in a vacuum, but I would like to know how much influence you believe they have, and how it is used. Surely, Israel isn't the sole focus of Jewish influence.
The United States has changed drastically over the last decades, and change is constantly promised by politicians at every level. How much of this change do you believe has been pushed by the Jewish elites, and why? What is the intent? What will be the likely results?
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