Which illustrates Lerners point. Other groups can routinely charge mass movement leaders with being racists, sexists, homophobes and so on, and they are not forced to publicly recant their charges in order to participate or speak at events.
But if the charge is antisemitism, then its considered a crank charge that reflects badly only on the speaker. They can't maintain their view of the situation, even if possibily erroneous, and must apologize.
In mainstream politics, the reverse is often true-- those who make even mildly antisemetic remarks are banned from polite society until they flagelate themselves in apology, while ongoing racists never need apologize unless they go far over the line (Trent Lott the exception that proves the general rule).
But the fact that the left movements marginalize charges of antisemetism in a reverse mirror of the way that America's political and media culture overhypes them is no credit to them.
And demands that Lerner recant is all the more proof of his point.
-- Nathan Newman