I’m not that old.
But I’m old enough to remember when Jennifer Rubin was pro-Israel and Republican. (I’m not old enough to remember when Peter Beinart was pro-Israel.) I doubt either Rubin or Beinart believe anything. But Beinart acts like he stands for something, even if it’s hating Israel. While Rubin appears to stand for nothing except cash and cowardice.
Once upon a time, Rubin and yours truly were being mentioned in the same breath. Or at least the same articles.
This op-ed by Binyamin Korn is an interesting time capsule that points to the problem.
William Kristol is now better known as a Fox Television commentator than in his role as founding editor of The Weekly Standard. Charles Krauthammer also reaches a far larger audience at Fox than even as a syndicated columnist based at The Washington Post. Jennifer Rubin, formerly of Commentary, now reaches a much larger readership with her Right Turn blog at The Washington Post, and Jonathan Tobin, executive editor of Commentary, has transitioned to being full-time editor of its web log, Contentions.
Tobin retained his integrity. But it doesn’t seem as if media presence did anything all that good for the rest of the people on this list.
Rubin’s problem was obvious all along. She was sloppy and not a very good writer. But she made up for it by appearing to be more fanatical about whatever it was that she was writing about. She’s retained all of those qualities in the anti-Trump era.
Let’s go back in time 9 years, to Rubin’s Commentary days, and one of her posts most criticised by the Left. It’s titled, “What Would He Have to Do to Get Below 50 Percent?” and the “He” is Obama.
And still, 58 percent like what they see. It is indeed a “sick addiction.” There’s no denying it: a majority of American Jews are willfully indifferent to the fate of the Jewish State. It is a sad affirmation that the liberal agenda — of which Obama has been a stalwart, albeit incompetent, standard-bearer — takes precedence over the survival of the Jewish state, and in turn, the Jewish people. (Do we imagine Jewry would survive if Israel does not?)
For those Jews whose priorities are a bit different, a word of advice: find new friends, new allies. There are millions who will make up for and far exceed the numbers of Jews for whom abortion-on-demand and eliminating the Bush tax cuts trump defense of the Jewish state. And for Jewish leaders of pro-Israel groups: you occupy a minority position in American Jewry, so stop chasing the Obama-infatuated. An undiluted and unapologetic defense of the Jewish state, and candor about the president most of you voted for, is in order. Unless of course, you are part of the 58 percent.
Fast forward to 2019, and to Rubin, Israel is dispensable. Hating Trump and supporting Democrats isn’t.
First, Rubin attacked Israel for denying entry to Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib. “The Netanyahu government is more short-sided and politically tone deaf than we feared. Rather than try to broaden the perspective of Israel’s critics Netanyahu is pushing them into an ever-more radical position,” she bizarrely claimed.
As if Rep. Omar and Rep. Tlaib can be reached and it’s Netanyahu’s fault for not reaching them.
Now she’s attacking Netanyahu, Israel and Trump in a new screed which contends that Trump, “violates most every political and moral tenet the overwhelmingly Democratic Jewish American community holds dear.”
That’s hilarious coming from a woman who found employment by accusing American Jews of having a “sick addiction” to the Democrats.
The same woman who indicted Obama and American Jews for supporting him, now squeals that Israel “barring entry to two U.S. congresswomen” is “an act of grave disrespect to Congress and to the democratic principles that many American Jews regard as the foundation of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
Who has the sick addiction here?
Is there any Democrat anti-Israel agenda too extreme for Rubin to diverse from? After her positions on Iran’s nukes and Jerusalem, the answer is obvious.
Rubin has a sick addiction. Not to the Democrats. Or she wouldn’t have worked at Commentary. But to working in the media.
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