tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3523041.post184868702217188397..comments2024-02-08T00:38:57.594-05:00Comments on Talmud תלמוד by Tzvee Zahavy: Peter Beinart's Complaint Against the Imaginary EstablishmentTzvee Zahavyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15833902273722124103noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3523041.post-20716565313417060592010-05-23T10:39:19.934-04:002010-05-23T10:39:19.934-04:00Yes, the post is about our reaction to the essay. ...Yes, the post is about our reaction to the essay. We think he is wrong to criticize an artificially imagined establishment of a few self appointed professional lobbyists and pols for the tenuous affiliation of mainly young American Jews to the state of Israel. The transmission of lasting cultural values is a far cry from the manipulation of voters in a given election. We kinda hope that Beinart is concerned with the former more than the latter. But his ill expressed views don't convey that to us and hence our unease over the op-Ed.Tzvee Zahavyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833902273722124103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3523041.post-77183063484250813092010-05-23T00:57:53.203-04:002010-05-23T00:57:53.203-04:00A couple of comments:
The questions used by the A...A couple of comments:<br /><br />The questions used by the AJC study Beinart references are no more vague than most other surveys on other topics, which ask respondents whether they "approve" of the President's job performance or how "sympathetic" they are to illegal immigrants. In any case, as Beinart pointed out elsewhere, the question has been studied rigorously (for instance, by Cohen and Kelman, who control for life-cycle effects), and their results seem to be consistent with what Beinart describes. Maybe he could be less "impressionistic" in conveying these data to a general audience, but it would be nice to see some concrete suggestions how, rather than magisterial pronouncements that he's being vague.<br /><br />I should've thought it was obvious which groups Beinart is talking about when he refers to the "American Jewish establishment"; he specifically mentions AIPAC and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations as examples. In fact, you seem to know who he's referring to as well: they're the organizations to which the rich people will be reducing their donations.<br /><br />I don't see how the antepenultimate paragraph contradicts anything Beinart says. He mentioned on Jeffrey Goldberg's blog and elsewhere that he intends to inculcate love of Israel in his children, and in fact that his essay was sparked by that intention.<br /><br />The specific reason for the undeniable disenchantment many younger Jews feel is certainly open to debate -- besides Beinart's suggestion, supported by Luntz's focus groups, that they dislike AIPAC's refusal to side against the less liberal factions in Israeli politics, there are plenty of other plausible causes. But I really don't get the criticisms you're trying to make. They have more to do with how you feel about the essay than the actual content of the piece itself. (You don't care for his kind of carping? What kind of carping <i>do</i> you care for?)<br /><br />Finally, why is this post tagged with "islam"?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10945614164405587686noreply@blogger.com