The Jewish “Civil War”

 

Conflict

Interesting article in the New Republic, The Coming Jewish Civil War Over Donald Trump, by Eric Alterman. In it, Mr. Alterman says that Trump is dividing American Jews into two hostile camps: on the one hand, those who accept Trump’s leadership and interpret any criticism of Israel as antisemitic, and on the other, those who pursue progressive ends.

It is a thoughtful and disturbing piece. And you have to suspect that there’s more than a little truth in it. Already, it seems, American Jews who support Israel, and who are in no way anti-Zionist, but who disapprove of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are being demonized by what Atlerman calls “legacy” Jewish groups, such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee ( AIPAC).

In the long term, Alterman concludes, the partnership of the Legacy groups with Trump will be particularly destructive. Such organizations will never be able to escape the taint of corruption which comes along with their support for this benighted administration.