mobius1ski

The Z-baggers are at it again, going out of their way to misrepresent and defame J Street, manufacturing controversy where none exists. The latest brouhaha centers around a blog post by doctoral student Omri Ceren, which seeks to uphold the alleged pernicious anti-Zionism of J Street U Jerusalem’s new campus organizer, Drew Cohen, as further evidence of J Street’s perfidy. Ceren’s post got picked up yesterday by Shmuel Rosner at the Jerusalem Post, setting off yet another anti-J Street hissy-fit across the right-wing Zionist blogosphere.

Whether authored by left-wing anti-Zionists alleging Mossad conspiracies or right-wing Zionists alleging anti-Israel conspiracies, every time I read a post like this, I’m reminded of that scene in A Beautiful Mind where Russell Crowe’s wife goes out to the shed only to discover that her husband is a delusional maniac who spends his time fabricating conspiracies out of whole cloth by drawing connections between dots where no such connections exist. As a blogger who himself has been prone to such rants, I’m sympathetic but increasingly wary.

As former publisher of Jewschool, from where the overwhelming majority of Ceren’s citations come, and as a friend of Drew’s of several years, I would say that if you cherry-pick his posts and present them out-of-context of the fact that he’s a religiously observant yeshiva student who has been living in Israel for several years, volunteering with Israeli NGOs, and who is uninhibited in the expression of his commitment to the existence of a just, progressive Israel, then perhaps yes, to your average winger that doesn’t read past others’ mischaracterizations, Drew looks like your typical anti-Zionist stooge.

I’m sure if I were to trawl through everything Ceren has ever written, I could also cherry-pick the posts that would discredit him as an anti-Arab/anti-Muslim bigot. It would be an ugly picture to paint, for sure, and it wouldn’t necessarily be a fair one. But for Ceren and the like, whose modus operandi is character assassination rather than reasoned discourse, this is the point. The goal is to create effective propaganda that diminishes the hand of one’s political opponent—not to pursue either truth or justice.

The plain fact is that if you look back at Frank Luntz’s reports, “Israel in the Age of Eminem” and “America 2020,” Drew’s positions are not at all radical, but actually increasingly reflective of the views of American Jewish youth who have been alienated from Israel by Israeli and American Jewish communal policy (also per Beinart). The difference is that instead of tuning out and disengaging from Israel as most do, Drew actually moved there and every day puts his money where his mouth is, standing up for the Israel he believes in. Which is what Israelis always say they want: “Don’t criticize us from afar. If you care so much, move here and fix things.” Well Drew did, and still, he’s the enemy because he’s publicly struggling with his relationship to Israel instead of touting the official propaganda line that Israel is forever perfect.

Yet because Drew’s perspective is so exemplary of where so many Jewish youth are coming from, there are actually few people in a better position to run a campus organization for young Jews who wish to pursue Middle East peace. Because so often our Jewish communal professionals don’t ask questions, don’t make room for challenging the status quo, don’t tackle the issues head-on, and instead berate students with right-wing talking points and propaganda when they ask questions, we find our Hillel directors incapable of connecting with young people and furthermore incapable of steering those young people’s energy towards positive engagement with Israel. That’s what has made so many students turn their backs on Hillel, making J Street U even viable on campus.

Ceren may believe Drew’s writings exhibit antipathy for the Jewish state, but in my estimation it’s just the opposite: By working to help Israel become a nation in which we can all take pride, and by empowering young Jewish people to take part in that process, he shows precisely the love and concern for Israel’s future our leaders and institutions spend millions annually trying to invigorate. By denouncing Drew and those like him, disenfranchising them from the pro-Israel community for opposing the occupation and Israel’s human and civil rights infractions as part of their expression of loving Israel, all Ceren and his ilk are doing is ensuring that in ensuing generations, there are fewer and fewer American Jews remaining under the pro-Israel tent. 

Ultimately, the Israeli electorate will have to decide which is more worthwhile: Continuing the occupation or preserving the support of the American Jewish community.

Sadly, if yesterday is any indication of tomorrow, I’d say it was nice knowing you, but…