For the second time in a week, the Washington Post has teed up the Jews-and-power issue in a defensive manner. Yesterday it was a long piece by Ruth Wisse saying that Jews are a historically powerless people who had to take up subservient roles in gentile society. We don’t have enough power, she writes. Look at poor little Israel. Last week it was a column by Dana Milbank on Jewish intelligence, where he seemed to say, Jews are smarter but keep your voices down.
If you’re going to talk about it as much as the Post is, in these opinion pieces, why doesn’t the paper do real journalism? How much power do Jews have in the new establishment? This is a real and interesting question. The Post would better serve its readers by trying to establish facts, not just by printing opinion.
Also, both these pieces were attacks on Walt and Mearsheimer. Wisse at least mentioned them plainly, though she writes, unfairly, that they say American foreign policy is controlled by a "Jewish cabal"–an antisemitic canard. I believe the Post has run a series of critical pieces on M&W. Shouldn’t they give the authors or those who agree with them space to defend their point of view? (My sources tell me the Post has rejected a couple of pieces that would have backed M&W up…)
