This Marty Peretz controversy is really good for pointing out double standards, isn’t it? Check out these editorials from the Boston Globe:
Helen Thomas: Bizarre end to a long career:
Helen Thomas, the longest-serving member of the White House press corps, retired abruptly but wisely yesterday after causing an uproar with her bizarre, offensive comments about Israel. . .
Thomas broke new ground for women in journalism, has been a model of longevity, and was, until now, an object of great affection in political and media circles. But to treat Thomas as a Washington institution, rather than as just another reporter, required everyone involved to overlook some unprofessional conduct on Thomas’s part. Thomas has now apologized for her comments, but they remain a sad coda for a groundbreaking career.
Marty Peretz: Not the sum of his sound bites:
IF HARVARD University were honoring someone who declared that “Jewish life is cheap,’’ one of the first voices to rise in indignation would surely be that of Martin Peretz, editor-in-chief of The New Republic. For the better part of four decades, Peretz and his magazine have policed the dialogue surrounding the Middle East with a sharp eye for anti-Semitism and double standards. But he’s also flung around some stereotypes of his own. . .
Peretz, like some others who’ve been castigated for intolerant views, is more than the sum of his sound bites. He purchased The New Republic at a low ebb in its fortunes and made it a force for thoughtful, centrist debate. Through his magazine, Peretz has been a defender of some of the most important American values, including free speech and (in most cases) tolerance. His support for Israel is heartfelt and intense. If it sometimes leads him to hyperbole and denunciation of Israel’s critics, others are free to disagree or ignore him. Despite his sometimes-offensive comments, he should not be treated like a pariah.
There is entirely too much intolerance in America today. Martin Peretz should be regarded in the full context of his career, and he should extend the same courtesy to others.
Maybe the Globe would have gone easier on Thomas if she had a lifetime of offensive comments, and not just one slip.
