With all that has come across the anti-Israel transom these days, you may have missed the recent appearance by author Benjamin Moser at the New York Public Library, where he was invited to talk about his new book Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History.
It would be easy to dismiss both his appearance and his book, which is a 396-page screed whose rhetoric of revulsion at the national movement of the Jewish people has already been echoed to the point of cliché in university classrooms, street demonstrations, a multitude of podcasts, and now, statements from some members of Congress and candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.
Moser’s presentation featured an anti-Israel fellow traveler, Rashid Khalidi, who acted as the moderator. Khalidi, a fixture of the “demonize Israel” movement for decades, is the author of, among other books, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. He also served as editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies. This made him the perfect warm-up act for Moser.
Moser, who is Jewish, dedicated his book to the Palestinian people: “Grant to them the Fatherland of their desire, and make them again citizens of Paradise.” The rest, as they say, is commentary. He discards context for polemics; cites and expounds on a dozen intellectuals who rejected the idea of a Jewish state; and enthusiastically advances the idea that the founders of the Zionist movement and all who followed are colonizers.
Somewhere along the line—in 2016, to be exact—Moser visited Judea and Samaria, and came away smitten by a Palestinian narrative that, over the course of a decade, produced the handbook for eager anti-Israel provocateurs and their foot soldiers we encounter each day online, on university quads and increasingly in the worlds of culture, entertainment, the arts and sports.
Moser’s comments at the library suggest an unabashed self-loathing. According to reports, he is annoyed by the “poor me” comments of supporters of Israel, which is not far from streamer Hasan Piker’s assertion that our support for the Jewish state invites violence against Jews. Moser collectively accuses Jewish organizations of supporting genocide. He flicks aside the Anti-Defamation League’s monitoring of acts of antisemitism.
To make sure you get the message, he has said: “Nothing makes Jews look worse than Zionism.”
He has clearly been drinking the Kool-Aid of self-hate and swallowed whole the objective of erasing the idea—and the reality—of a sovereign Jewish state. It also appears that he genuinely doesn’t care about the vulnerability or continuity of his people.
We have seen the likes of Moser throughout Jewish history. What is both frustrating and reprehensible is that his worldview is gaining traction within our own community. The recent letter from 170 Jewish Hollywood actors, filmmakers and others in support of anti-Israel activist Mark Ruffalo falls into this category.
What started with organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, with its incessant anti-Israel rants, is now spreading and, as it moves from the margins, is becoming normalized. In the process, such rhetoric buttresses those outside our community who peddle the genocide charge and other blood libels nonstop.
Not that long ago, the New York Public Library would never have scheduled a Moser-Khalidi discussion. Once among New York City’s cultural crown jewels, it has soiled its reputation by opening its doors to such unabashed haters.
This is not, as the library maintains, an issue of free speech. The institution chooses its programs and offerings. It is under no obligation to invite anyone and everyone who seeks a prestigious platform to defame and demonize, even if the speaker is, like Moser, a Pulitzer Prize winner.
This is especially true in New York City. Moser’s appearance is yet another insult tossed not just at Israel, but at a community that has given so much to the building of what the late author Harry Golden—in the title of his excellent history of the Jews of New York—called “the greatest Jewish city in the world.”
Moser brings shame on himself. He clearly does not care, but we should, because he and his book have given additional tools to those who seek both to erase our history and work toward Israel’s demise.
