> There is also a problem with the terminology of "establishment Jews."
> It's
> something like -- not the same, but like -- a Southern bigot talking about
> our nigras. Good Jews and bad Jews. People may be judged to be good or
> bad
> by their actions. Their religions are irrelevant, unless there is
> something
> in the religion that directly animates the objectionable conduct.
============================
This is a staggeringly unfair comparison. Criticism aimed at "establishment
Jews" is more akin to the charge of "Uncle Tom" leveled at black American
leaders, rightly or wrongly, by black leftists and their white allies, an
even more provocative characterization than "Establishment black" to
describe the likes of Condoleeza Rice, Clarence Thomas, Colin Powell, and
others. It isn't evidence of racism to define these leaders as they would
largely define themselves - as successful products of the black American
community who may still feel some identification with it and who are
perceived as its respectable representatives by the broader community. This
applies equally to the leaders of national black organizations, who are also
part of the black political establishment. By the same token it applies to
the politicians and leaders of the main Jewish-American organizations who
comprise the Jewish-American political establishment, and it is not
antisemitic to identify them as such.
You're confusing the proper identification of their political status to mean they are being judged as Jews or as blacks. But I've come across no one on this list who has referred to "Establishment Jews" or some variant of that description who is remotely like a Southern bigot, distinguishing between so-called good Jews and bad ones, good blacks and bad blacks. This might be the most offensive suggestion in the entire discussion to date. I think you can rest assured that we all judge the Leibermans and the Foxmans and the Sharptons and the Thomases exactly as you do - by their words and deeds and not by their skin colour or religious affiliation. To suggest otherwise suggests to me that you too. alas, have fallen prey to the all too casual indictment of the critics of the Jewish-American political leadership as being somehow "anti-Jewish", which is exactly what is at issue here.