Israel/Palestine

I did take a look at the allegations of anti-Semitism, and I don't think the allegations stick at all, at least the way I define anti-Semitism. I do think the fiction in the New Yorker and the subsequent fiction contest in Mondoweiss was tasteless, all of it.

I can't help but feel that this is an allegation in line with BS definition of "new anti-Semitism", and that it's an attempt to smear Mondoweiss for political purposes. While it's good that that things that are improper are highlighted, like that story on Vittorio Arrigonni (http://mondoweiss.net/2011/04/gaza-mourns-vittorio-arrigoni.html), and the New Yorker fiction parody contest (http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/read-25-entries-in-new-yorker-fiction-parody-contest), the level of impropriety is much lower than for example MEMRI or the Jerusalem Post. Now when I come to think of it, I don't know of any pro-Israel website that's less partial and biased than Mondoweiss...

However, with the reservations above, I think that the Mondoweiss rebuttal of the article by Rosen refutes his criticism pretty well:

Responding to ‘the Atlantic’ smear on Mondoweiss
Source: Mondoweiss, July 16, 2012

Armin Rosen’s attack on Mondoweiss on the Atlantic website is about nothing more than policing the discourse on Israel. Rosen’s article on alleged anti-Semitism is a shoddy attempt at smearing Alex Kane, Mondoweiss and Peter Beinart. It was sparked by the fact that a mainstream publication, The Daily Beast (on Beinart’s Open Zion blog), had the audacity to publish two articles by Alex that speak in favor of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Rosen argues The Daily Beast should never publish someone associated with Mondoweiss (or, we’re sure, with the Electronic Intifada, or any other website that pushes the boundaries of our lacking discourse on the Middle East). Why? Because Mondoweiss “often gives the appearance of an anti-Semitic enterprise,” and thus “by vilifying and dehumanizing one side of the conflict, the poison of anti-Semitism makes a constructive, forward-looking discourse far more difficult to achieve.” This coming from someone who defended the term “Islamo-facism.” Usually we’d ignore the kind of shallow and unsubstantiated attack on this website, but the piece appeared in the Atlantic, and Rosen is an Atlantic fellow, so we will meet fire from this quarter with a strong defense.

On Twitter, Rosen promised the “definitive bitch-smacking of Mondoweiss.” You’d think that in order to characterize someone as anti-Semitic (which is actually a libelous accusation, when unsupported), you’d have to really bring the goods. Here are Rosen’s charges as to why Alex Kane should not be published by The Daily Beast:

Phil Weiss wrote an article for the American Conservative which has been associated with Pat Buchanan

Phil Weiss writes about the Israel Lobby

Mondoweiss published a piece from Refaat Alareer a writer in Gaza that questioned the role the Israeli government could have played in the death of Vittorio Arrigoni

Mondoweiss published a piece by Max Ajl which puts the deaths of the Fogel family in the Itamar settlement in the context of the violence of the occupation

Mondoweiss published a piece by Jack Ross (who Rosen implies is a Holocaust denying Nazi sympathizer)

Mondoweiss claims “Iran has never officially denied the Holocaust,” which Rosen admits is factually true
Phil Weiss writes about the role of American Jews in the establishment


Read more: http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/responding-to-the-atlantic-smear-on-mondoweiss