Much to the chagrin of some of my readers, I rarely allow my hope for the future to be weakened by the worst parts of our past. And then again, from time to time, I come across a news item that leaves me shaking my head. Here's one from a Jewish Telagraphic Agency dispatch:
Ms. magazine Refuses Pro-Israel Ad
Published: 01/10/2008
Ms. magazine rejected a pro-Israel advertisement from the American Jewish Congress. The ad highlights successful women in Israel. It shows photographs of three prominent Israelis -- Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni and the president of the Supreme Court, Dorit Beinish -- above the words “This is Israel.” Harriet Kurlander, the director of the AJCongress Commission for Women’s Empowerment, said in a news release that she was told when she tried to place the ad that it “would set off a firestorm” and that “there are very strong opinions” on the subject, which she believed to mean Israel. “What other conclusion can we reach except that the publishers -- and if the publishers are right, a significant number of Ms. magazine readers -- are so hostile to Israel that they do not even want to see an ad that says something positive about Israel?” AJCongress President Richard Gordon asked. Ms. magazine's executive editor, Kathy Spillar, disputes that version, telling JTA the ad showed political support for one of Israel's parties and thus violated magazine standards. "We only take mission-driven ads," Spillar said. "Because two of the women in this ad were from the same political party," that showed favoritism, and the magazine's policy is not to get involved in the domestic politics of another country. Gordon noted that the magazine in its Fall 2003 issue ran a cover story on Jordan’s Queen Noor, and the Winter 2004 issue contained an article on the Ramallah Film Festival called “Images of Palestine.” Spillar responded that "ironically" this month's issue, just coming to newsstands now, has a two-page spread profiling Livni.
Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the bull not to charge you because you are a vegetarian.- Rabbi Harold Kushner
3 comments:
For all the suburban Jews who think that they have been accepted into the mainstream stories like this are a difficult reminder of the 800# gorilla that is always in the room. Sometimes that big beast is standing behind you, and you don't see it, but that doesn't mean that it is not there. There is still so much work to be done on all fronts of humanity. How are perceptions changed, more importantly how are prejudices eliminated? Any answers? Let me know. Jim
I think this story is just emblematic of the moral confusion of the left today, which has become the modern epicenter of apologia for Antisemitism. Unfortunately, there are many Jews (suburban or not) who willingly or inadvertantly are fellow travelers in this enterprise.
For an article backing up my previous comment, click here.
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