I spent most the past week in Montreal at a conference and so have been lax about posting. Among the items that I have been meaning to mention here is this recent essay in the NYRB by Peter Beinart entitled "The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment." The essay has gotten some positive comment elsewhere - such as this column by Eric Alterman at The Nation. And this week Beinart and Abraham Foxman engaged in this exchange on the initial essay, also at the NYRB.
This strikes me as an essential debate. It is hard to see how Israel can continue on its current course. And it is even more difficult to see how it might be diverted from that course without the constructive intervention and critical posture of the American Jewish community and of others here in the U.S. - among whom I count myself [1] - who, even as they support Israel, lament the increasingly, unjustifiably aggressive stance that the Israeli government and military have taken on multiple occasions.
