MONDOWEISS LAUNCHES ANTI-SEMITIC ATTACK ON NEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ‘THE ATLANTIC’

[shira]

....And then there was the anti-Israel hub Mondoweiss, which attacked the appointment because it whitewashed the fact that Goldberg was a Jew.

This remarkable broadside came from no less than the site’s founding editor Phil Weiss, in a post entitled “‘Atlantic’ rebrands new editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, leaving Israel, Jews, and Iraq off his resume.” At first glance, the piece appears to be a critique of Goldberg on policy grounds, which is an entirely legitimate exercise when approaching a journalist’s work, especially one as prolific, influential, and opinionated as Goldberg. But seven paragraphs in, Weiss veers into entirely more disturbing territory.

“The word Jew made no appearance in the Atlantic announcement,” he complains. He then accuses The Atlantic of cleansing Goldberg’s religious background from the announcement of his professional appointment:

Here’s the cleansed resume paragraph from Atlantic media...

<snip>

....Apparently, Weiss is under the impression that without a giant neon sign shouting “JEW,” The Atlantic‘s new editor might be confused for one of the many Episcopalian Jeffrey Goldbergs in journalism.

But more seriously, the insistence on publicly labeling individuals with their religious background in order to darkly impugn their motives and delegitimize their standing is textbook bigotry, and the classic recourse of the anti-Semite. It is the same ugly impulse that fuels the far-right fever swamp’s attempt to slur top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin as a Muslim Brotherhood conspirator. It is exactly the sort of anti-Semitism Trump mouthpiece Breitbart News stoked when it attacked a Washington Post columnist by citing her Jewish heritage. Normal people critique their political opponents on policy grounds. Racist people critique their political opponents based on their ethnic or religious backgrounds.

In other words, the reason The Atlantic did not mention that Goldberg is a Jew in its announcement of his appointment is the same reason it would not mention a Muslim writer’s faith in such a context: it is not a racist publication.

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/216052/mondoweiss-launches-anti-semitic-attack-on-new-editor-in-chief-of-the-atlantic