As long as there has been Jewish dissent and criticism of internal authority there has been the label of “self-hating Jew.” One of the most famous Jewish dissenters, Baruch Spinoza, was excommunicated from his community when he challenged the authority and control of his contemporary Jewish leaders. The leaders of the Jewish Enlightenment, Haskalah, were continuously attacked by mainstream Jewish authorities as self-hating and corrosive for the Jewish community. A form of the debate has now shifted from criticism of Jewish religious and communal authority to Israeli politics. James Kirchick has jumped into the debate about a contemporary Jewish dissenter, Max Blumenthal. He posted an opinion piece in Commentary about Max Blumenthal and our video ‘feeling the hate in Jerusalem”. For some strange reason, Commentary decided to remove the piece almost as fast as it was posted. After reading a cached copy of the article I can understand why. A passage:

“I don’t understand what possesses a Jew like Max Blumenthal to go to Jerusalem, film a handful of drunk American kids spouting stupid racist remarks, put the tape up on YouTube where it attracts 400,000 hits, and then claim that the inebriated ramblings of young tourists on Ben Yehuda St. somehow represents the dark soul of Israel. But then again, I don’t have a visceral hatred of my Jewish heritage, which seems to be a common factor among the Juicebox Mafia set; I don’t feel a need to criticize Israel relentlessly and unfairly in order to earn my keep with the bien pensant Left.”

You can read more of the article here.

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