One of the fascinating things about Israel is that as the Jewish state produces a more and more rightwing and intolerant discourse over there– inevitably, in an embattled ethnocracy– even staunch Zionists in the U.S. are beginning to feel they’ve broken off on an ice floe. Abe Foxman complained of this to Haaretz two days ago:
“he detests the ‘ugly’ criticism leveled at him by ‘super-Jews’ on the right.”
And over the weekend Alan Dershowitz was booed at the Jerusalem Post conference in New York– and attacked by wingnut Israeli Caroline Glick– for urging a restart of the peace process (a stance for which Ehud Olmert was also booed). Note how unreserved was Caroline Glick’s upbraiding of Dershowitz, boldface mine. And she’s popular over there:
Dershowitz was booed loudly after telling audience members they are “part of the problem” for laughing at his new framework for negotiations.
“You’re proving my point,” Dershowitz hit back. “You are part of the problem, not the solution.”
Post Senior Contributing Editor Caroline Glick, who was also on the panel, told the audience that she “need[ed] to catch my breath for a second” after Dershowitz’s comments.
“It’s very nice to come in here and smack down your audience.”…
“If you want to say that people who devote their lives to defending the Jewish state are illegitimate voices, then what do I care what you have to say?” she asked Dershowitz.
Toward the end of the debate, Dershowitz alleged that those who booed him and former prime minister Ehud Olmert were not representative of American or Israeli Jewry and are “foolish.”
Beware of answered prayers. Beware of the monsters you create.
Ya gotta love it when a hateful bigot isn’t enough of a hateful bigot in the opinion of a roomful of hateful bigots. Where’s Koresh when we need ‘im?
Wow, they booed the Dersh, the Dersh, mind you! The same man who has been nothing but a staunch apologist for Israel from time immemorial. The man who has had their back and written book after book defending their right to do whatever they damn well please.
Karma is indeed a Bitch.
I knew Dershowitz in the early 80s in my participation in a group that discussed Israel. At the time I thought he was genuinely interested in some kind of solution to the IP problem that would provide the Palestinians with some autonomy and civil rights. He was of course so obsessed with Israeli security that it was difficult for him to show much empathy for the Palestinians.
After the collapse of the Oslo process in Camp David in 1999 and especially after cast lead in 2009, I listened to his continued defense of Israel. I was puzzled about one thing — was he dissembling and dishonest when I knew him or had he changed in the meantime to an unrepentant annexationist.
This is an interesting story here with his reception in NY. My either/or explanation looks like it was wrong, there is a third possibility that he was as deceived as I was in 1980 about Israel’s intentions and has continued with the delusion since. This is not really that surprising since those us of who knew him then did not consider him one of the sharpest knives in the drawer when it came to complex analysis. Glib to be sure and very fast on his feet with the clever retort but beyond that not too smart. And quite entertaining in any group.
Phil writes re: Caroline Glick, she’s popular over there. Not. Caroline Glick is not popular in Israel. She writes in English. Her newspaper column is carried by Jerusalem Post which has a minor circulation. Is she translated into Hebrew and carried by any other newspapers? Only Makor Rishon, another minor paper. So, she is not popular over there. Her point of view is too popular over there: as evidenced by Naftali Bennett’s party’s 12 seats. But Caroline Glick herself? Not. The average Israeli never heard of her.