Anyone who follows the criticism of the “Israel Lobby” hears the constant refrain that the worst thing about these pro-Israel groups is that they supposedly seek to silence their critics, hurt them financially, and ruin their careers. Longtime Israel critic and former Media Matters staffer M.J. Rosenberg is one such complainant, who took the accusation far enough to compare the Jewish Federations of North America—a philanthropic group primarily concerned with getting food and medicine to Jews in need here and around the world—to the worst tendencies of Joe McCarthy.
But it turns out that Rosenberg is actually a full-throated supporter of using people’s political opinions to render them silenced and unemployed–as long as it’s not anyone Rosenberg is friends with. Rosenberg has initiated a movement to get the Guardian to fire new columnist Josh Treviño before Treviño’s first column appears. (The Guardian’s decision to hire Treviño in the first place was one of the smartest decisions the paper has made.) That is, Rosenberg disagrees with Treviño’s views (more on that in a moment), and would like to be responsible for doing to Treviño what he has always regarded as reprehensible and undemocratic (Rosenberg usually uses slightly less diplomatic language, of course). This morning, Rosenberg tweeted this:
PROTEST Guardian hiring of White Supremacist Josh Treviño. Email woman who hired him. janine.gibson@guardian.co.uk
Now, Treviño is Hispanic, a vocal supporter of Latino immigration to the U.S., a critic of anti-immigration politicians, and was recently vice president of communications at a free-market-oriented think tank, so it’s safe to say he has worked pretty hard make the conservative movement more—not less—open to and inclusive toward racial minorities. So the casual smear from Rosenberg is quite clearly the opposite of the truth. (Treviño’s only geographical bias, as anyone who follows him on Twitter is aware, is in favor of the great state of Texas.)
Rosenberg also tweeted this: “Treviño is every Jew’s nightmare.Protest to Guardian. Creepy white racist.” In fact, one of the reasons people like Rosenberg and some of his more viciously anti-Zionist allies in this crusade against Treviño—like Ali Abunimah, whose site has gleefully compared Jews to Nazis—is that Treviño is not only an admirer, though not a practitioner, of the Jewish faith, but he’s also a staunch, unapologetic defender of Israel. And here we get to the crux of the “fire Treviño” bandwagon.
Treviño was among the vast majority of Americans to stand up for Israel’s right of self-defense against the “flotilla” movement seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Since the first such flotilla included a terrorist-funded boat full of armed extremists who tried to kill Israeli soldiers, Treviño was on fairly solid ground here—and most Americans felt the same way.
You can agree or disagree with Israel’s blockade—which even the United Nations declared was legal—but Treviño held a majority opinion (at least in the United States) and has nothing to apologize for. The totalitarian-minded mob that wants Treviño blacklisted for expressing conservative views on politics and broadly mainstream views on Israel has been gaining steam on Twitter and other social media platforms.
It is a movement that seeks to do harm to the Guardian and its reputation by bullying one of the most widely read newspapers in the world into submission. The Guardian, one hopes, will stand on principle even if they do not agree with all of Treviño’s views. That is the purpose of a free press in a free society. Based on the overall reaction to Treviño’s addition to the Guardian, the paper has already earned many new readers simply by signaling it would be a more inclusive newspaper with a wider range of opinion. As for Rosenberg and Co., they have finally unmasked themselves not as McCarthy’s foils, but as his heirs.
Treviño was among the vast majority of Americans to stand up for Israel’s right of self-defense against the “flotilla” movement seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza. Since the first such flotilla included a terrorist-funded boat full of armed extremists who tried to kill Israeli soldiers, Trevino was on fairly solid ground here—and most Americans felt the same way n nThe vast majority of Americans have never heard a thing about Israel's flotilla problems,and if they had,would be quite indifferent.
You know this how?
Nice of you to admit they attacked the Israelis without warning as they boarded the boat. If they had nothing to hide and were on a serious “peace” mission, violence should have been the last thing on their minds. Kind of hard to explain that one away, isn’t it?
Yes, those "extremists" trying to bring food and medical supplies to Gaza were armed – with objects they found lying around the boat. Don't make it seem like they were carrying actual weapons, because slingshots aren't exactly armor piercing, not much of a match for full tactical gear of the IDF. Many of them were also very young, including the Turkish-American 19 year old who was shot in the back and killed. But nobody here cares about that either.
Why was he breaking the law on the high seas, confronting an armed military? He was warned not to, no? The United Nations, no less, said he was breaking a legal blockade. n nWhy wasn't he on a flotilla to Syria, or, closer to 'home', on an aid mission to the Kurdish areas in Turkey? n nWhy didn't the flotilla organizers take up ISrael's generous offer to send the good through by truck? Gazans happy, Israelis happy, no dead Turkish American 19 year olds who thought they could enter a closed military zone. n nDo you know for a fact he did not attack a soldier with murderous intent? And if he was shot in the back, was it while he was running to pick up another metal weapon? Where you there? n nWhy aren't you running a flotilla to Syria right now? The Palestinians in Gaza are well cared for, most rather chubby, and with good dentition. The Syrians, no so much. n n n n
"Why aren't you running a flotilla to Syria right now? " nBecause the Syrians are not Israeli. They aren't even Jews.
Unless of course you count things like daggers as being arms. Or do most boats routinely keep shabiryehs among the equipment. I'd also like to know why you thing the ammunition that was found was NOT the kind the Israeli military uses. (Don't tell me, fals flag operation, right?) Or why these peaceful types announced before sailing that they were seeking martyrdom? Or why we are supposed to believe, in the face of many examples to the contrary, that 19 year olds cannot be terrorists and murderers. Or why it is wrong to shoot a 19 year old in the back while the 19 year old is trying to kill a wounded man lying in front of him.
What Whole Foods store is MJ Rosenberg working at these days? n nHow does he get time off enough to 'tweet'? n n
But seriously, what kind of anti-Israel venom must Rosenberg have stored up in the fat head of his for it to fuel the hurling of such heinous accusations against someone? n nA good Jew would be thankful for having someone on the side of Israel, in this hostile world, and not try and derail their career. n nUn-effing-believable. It's a sickness.
The same kind as rexford, apparently.
I was with you right up until the end. If you’re right, the Guardian must have ENORMOUS circulation outside the UK, because it’s way down the bottom of the British newspaper charts. See for yourself.
Still, they’re to be congratulated for hiring someone who isn’t, apparently, a cookie-cutter Marxist. They don’t do that often.
MJ is in the pay of whomever pays him to say whatever they want him to say. Don't expect virtue from a prostitute.
Well, they just got rid of the enchilada Kapo. Good riddance.