Sent to you by Sean McBride via Google Reader: Let 100 Cabals Bloom via Mondoweiss by Philip Weiss on 10/14/08 Yesterday I noted that Foreign Affairs turned to an Israeli, Shlomo Ben-Ami, to positively review Israeli Benny Morris's book 1948 (a book I wasn't wild about). One of my tipsters sent me this squib from two years back, in which a smart cookie, Brian Hennessey (there used to be Yiddish jokes using that name), makes something of the fact that the Washington Post assigned Michael Oren to review Haim Waitzman's book, and Waitzman to review Jeffrey Goldberg's book, and Goldberg to review (and of course trash) Jimmy Carter's book--Oren, Waitzman, and Goldberg being Americans who emigrated to Israel. (Goldberg returned to prosecute his career, Oren seems to have exercised the revolvingdoor option). Hennessey asks us to imagine a "cabal" of Afrikaaners writing about apartheid books in American publications in the 80s. Well they wouldn't have got their nose into the tent. Morris's book was reviewed in big publications by Jews, so was Walt and Mearsheimer.
My point is not to establish quotas, or diminish these writers. The ones I've read, Ben-Ami, Morris, and Goldberg, all have their points. The issue is simple: diversity. Do you ever see an Arabist reviewing this stuff in major American publications? An Arab? A non-Zionist? (I recommend the playwright David Zellnik. A comer, and all heart.) Things you can do from here: - Subscribe to Mondoweiss using Google Reader - Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites
