The Perfect Ought Not Be the Enemy of the Good. But Still…

Victim of Campus antisemtism, Cassandra Blotner (merit pages)

Back to back home runs! How about that? Just as in yesterday’s post, in today’s post - Jonathan Tobin has again hit it out of the park.

First the disclaimer. I did not watch the antisemitism special hosted by Dana Bash on CNN. So I am not really qualified to comment on that show directly. Tobin however did watch it and based on his description, I think he nailed the way the antisemtism is treated by the mostly left wing mainstream media (like CNN).  Which is if they mention it at all – it as a poor third cousin to the larger issue of racism.

Tobin therefore gives that program and CNN credit for tackling an issue that is hardly on their radar.  He even notes that the program acknowledged that antisemitism exists on both the right and the left. But still there were omisions and distortions that undermine the good it could have done:

 …the program demonstrated that even when a network gets a lot of the story about anti-Semitism right, the omissions, as well as distortions of the truth that they allow in, can undo a lot of the good they might have otherwise done.

Although the program dealt with campus antisemitism, it did not bother to explain why its progressives hurl antisemitic invectives at supporters of Israel. As I have often alluded to in the past, Tobin notes that it is the nature of the left (progressives) to divide ‘the world into victims (as in Palestinians) and victimizers (as in Jews)’. 

Case in point. Cassandra Blotner a Jewish student at SUNY founded a support group for survivors of sexual abuse and was kicked out of it because she is a Zionist. She then received threats from which the school failed to protect her. Tobin also notes the following: 

...the hateful messages that were directed at Cassandra Blotner made clear that in the view of fashionable opinion on the progressive left, who fit into these categories—no matter the issue or the nature of the conflict involved—are related. So, it made sense for (SUNY) progressives to think that anyone who expressed support for Israel’s existence, even while also avowing concern for the rights of Palestinians, is simply an oppressor because they falsely label the Jewish state in that way. In this way, they were able to convince themselves that it is reasonable to accuse a victim of sexual abuse of being a victimizer. 

What CNN did not do is explain why the progressive left thinks this way. This, says Tobin, is where Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality come in. They act as a permission slip for antisemitism:

These toxic myths consider Jews and Israel to be possessors of “white privilege,” even though this nonsensical formulation ignores the fact that the majority of Israeli Jews are persons of color because they trace their origins to the Middle East. 

There is a lot more to contemplate about what Tobin says. Based on his explanations, I believe his views about what was right and wrong with that program is right on the money. I am no fan of Donald Trump (to say the least) but even Tobin’s assessment of Trump’s controversial comments about Charlottesville is true, in my opinion. 

Tobin’s article must be read in its entirety. You can read it here.