Wrong on Chait

by on October 31, 2009 26

I just reread Jonathan Chait and realized my earlier post today was wrong and petty. Chait is taking a risk by going to J Street. His own editor, Peretz, calls J Street "a circle jerk," and Marty Peretz’s hitman, James Kirchick, does Peretz’s work for him by putting "a fork in J Street" today. They want to kill J Street, but Chait is actually very positive about J Street. He’s troubled by the left movement that J Street is feeding off of, but I welcome him into the conversation and urge him to examine more of his editor’s positions in a critical light.

About Philip Weiss

Philip Weiss is Founder and Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Beyondoweiss, Israel Lobby

{ 26 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. marc b. says:
    October 31, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    No, your initial impression was correct. Peretz and company will continue to fixate on J Street so long as it appears to be relevant. Chait’s appearance at the conference wasn’t a ‘risk’ in any sense, as there is no contradiction in Peretz’s flatulent criticism and Chait’s rooting through the garbage of influence. He couldn’t have insinuated himself into the J Street controversy and penned yet another mini-autobiography if he wasn’t there.

  2. Richard Witty says:
    October 31, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    It was however a careless character defamation. A shoot first approach.

    • Colin Murray says:
      October 31, 2009 at 12:38 pm

      Perhaps so, but Phil publicly corrected his assessment. When has any member of the Israeli Lobby even apologized for the many defamatory attacks on philo- or a-semitic non-Zionists, much less made a public retraction?

      Everybody makes mistakes. Stalwart and honorable people correct them. We have oranges and rotten apples here, Richard. Don’t shoot at the orange when the reek from the apples is permeating civil discourse.

    • Chaos4700 says:
      October 31, 2009 at 12:43 pm

      What, kind of like what you did to that other blogger here by debasing his own concept of his identity? Financier, heal thyself.

  3. US_Objector says:
    October 31, 2009 at 12:33 pm

    If you read Chait’s post, it is somewhat complimentary to J Street. There’s a lot of hand-wringing now that the monolithic Israel first mentality has been shattered into several sub-groups. Everyone is trying to find the right fit for their identity. Amazing times.

  4. Richard Witty says:
    October 31, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    Chait wrote of a bloggers’ panel at the conference.

    Did that occur?

    What was discussed? Was it well attended?

  5. Nolan says:
    October 31, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    link to mondoweiss.net

    Frankly, it seems to me that Chait’s use of what he called “creepy” to be a cheap shot at discrediting Philip’s positions.

    And in the end, if J Street is just like the Ma’arach government or Kadima as Chait seems to believe. Then the Goldstone Report, the colonial expansion and the apartheid wall will continue to enjoy the silent endorsement of J Street, as well.

    Chait wrote that Philip will always be far far to the left of his own political views while endorsing J street.

    So, I don’t see how you could have been “wrong”, Philip.

  6. DICKERSON3870 says:
    October 31, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    RE: Peretz calls J Street “a circle jerk,”

    MY COMMENT: Well, after all, TNR is Marty “Macho Man” Peretz’s ‘personal plaything’; so his calling J Street “a circle jerk” is probably just some variant of what Freud termed ‘psychological projection’. He just naturally assumes that all organizations incorporate TNRs “circle jerk” methodology. God forbid, he should “f^^k with the Jews.” *
    * link to salon.com

    P.S. Has “The New Republic” ever had a female writer/journalist since Peretz’s Singer® Sewing Machine heiress/wife bought it for him back in the 70s? “Enquiring Minds Want To Know!”

  7. GalenSword says:
    October 31, 2009 at 2:59 pm

    I wonder how different J-Street is from Breira either in goals or in ultimate fate.

    From The AJC Attacks:

    Nowadays successful communal suppression of divergent American Jewish opinion often includes the purging of the historical record. Even relatively recent (not very) dissenting Jewish organizations like Breira (See Torn at the Roots, The Crisis of Jewish Liberalism in Postwar America, by Michael E. Staub, link to tinyurl.com
    and New Jewish Agenda (link to tinyurl.com
    as well as their leaders have vanished from award-winning histories of the American Jewish community like American Judaism by Brandeis Professor Jonathan D. Sarna.

  8. OhioJoes says:
    October 31, 2009 at 4:29 pm

    It’s nice that Phil admitted he was full of shit, and in that same spirit Id like to retract an earlier statement I made about Phil allegedly “fellating” Tony Judt in Washington Square Park. It was tremendously unfair for a number of reasons. First, the soon-to-be-late Professor Judt is presently in no position to resist said sexual favors, thus he cannot justly be described as a participant, second what I witnessed would be better characterized as a handjob, and finally it took place o
    in Washington Mews, where the blessed Tony Judt has, subsidized by NYUs largely Jewish donors, a private townhouse. That is two full blocks north of Washington Square Park! Again, I apologize.

  9. OhioJoes says:
    October 31, 2009 at 6:31 pm

    Considering that anytime you say ANYTHING the Philippinas scream “kill the Jew” I would have thought you would have found this idiocy refreshing!

  10. OhioJoes says:
    November 1, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    Good points guys. By the way, since I divulged my real name, would y’all be willing to do the same?

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