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By M.J. Rosenberg | The Sunday Washington Post runs an oped by Ruth Wisse, a professor of Jewish studies at Harvard. Wisse is, to put it mildly, a hardliner on all matters relating to Jews. Her only bone of contention with Israel is that it is too gentle with its adversaries. In fact, she believes that Jews, in general, are still so averse to the uses of power that they suffer as a result. Wisse's area of expertise is the Jews of Europe in the 20th century and with the Yiddish language in particular. For her, it is always 1942, the Jews are always victims, the non-Jews are always out to get us. She has, in short, a pre-1948 mentality in which Israel, armed with 200 nukes and the 4th strongest military power in the world, does not exist. Paradoxically, its enemies do exist and they are everywhere. They are powerful and they are deadly. Jews must resist them by any means necessary. One of the means she uses is libel. Here is what Wisse writes about Steven Walt and John Mearsheimer in the Washington Post. "Mearsheimer and Walt allege that a Jewish cabal dictates U.S. policy in the Middle East, helping Israeli interests and hurting U.S. ones." She also lies about former President Carter, saying he "accuses Jews of having too much clout." Of course, none of them say that. They each specifically and repeatedly write and say that "there is no cabal" and that they are talking about the "Israel lobby which is made up on Christians, Jews and others." They say that over and over again. So why does Wisse lie about them? She lies because criticism of a lobby is legitimate but criticism of a "Jewish cabal" is raw anti-Semitism and therefore forbidden. She lies even though her words can be used to propagate anti-semitism. After all, if a former President and these professors from elite schools write about a "Jewish cabal," then a Jewish cabal must exist. So why does Wisse say it? She says it because she wants to stop all discussion of the lobby and all criticism of Israel. Period. I have many differences with Walt and Mearsheimer's book but I'll say one thing: the reaction to it by Wisse, Peretz, Krauthammer, Dershowitz and the gang confirm one of its theses. This is the only subject about which debate is proscribed. You can write a book calling the President a maniac, denounce the United States as murderous as the Soviet Union, attack France as a nation of cowardly panty waists and Germany as still Nazi to its core. But discuss this issue and the whole world comes down on your head (although only in this country, not in Israel, Europe or anywhere else). It's quite a phenomenon. Someone should write a book about it. Recommend this article...
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