The Sideshow on anti-semitism and anti-zionism:
The religious aspects of the situation can be terrifying, but let’s not pretend that it’s only the Islamic world that’s being horrible and bigoted about it. The Pentecostal Christians who “support” Israel with such fervor are possibly even more nasty and dangerous than Israel’s overt enemies. Virtually all of them are extremely anti-semitic, and the outcome of their planned “defense” of Israel is even worse for Israelis than merely dissolving the state. We’re talking about people who aspire to seeing virtually everyone in the Middle-east, Muslims and Jews alike, wiped out.
So let’s be clear: You can not distinguish anti-semitism merely on the basis of support for Israel – and I’m not just talking about the particular policies of this or that Israeli government: I mean any degree of Zionism or anti-zionism at all. There are plenty of Zionists who are anti-semitic, and there are even anti-zionism who would be perfectly happy to have their daughter marry a Jew just as long as Israel itself no longer existed.
Body and Soul:
Diary of a blogging hiatus:
Day 1: Life is better if you don’t read the New York Times.Day 2: We are burdened by the obvious and nevertheless absurd idea that nonfiction is real and fiction is false. Newspapers are full of lies and there is nothing as honest as a Raymond Carver or Alice Munro story. I don’t think I ever want to bother reading nonfiction again.
Day 3: The New Yorker’s fiction isn’t as good as it used to be.
Day 4: I should at least look at the headlines. I mean, I’m still a citizen and all, right? I ought to have some notion of what’s going on in the world. It doesn’t require me to express an opinion or anything.
Day 5: I should save that article. I might want to write about it if I start blogging again.
A VOTE FOR JEB IS A VOTE FOR MORE DEAD KIDS: The Miami Herald has just published an explosive report on the appalling state of Florida’s Child Welfare system under Jeb Bush.