January 24, 2002

The Free Marketplace of Ideas

The Free Marketplace of Ideas

More on British anti-Semitism. This Forward article (via InstaPundit) is a report on a recent New Statesman cover story called "A Kosher Conspiracy" about the influence of The Jew on the British media and government. I remember reading about this article awhile back in an op-ed by Barbara Amiel; at that time, I couldn't find it on their web site. Now, it's listed, but you have to pay for it, which I'm way too cheap to do. In this case, the Zionist conspiracy "wins" the admittedly modest contest for Blogs of War links by making their spin on the article public and free, while the original version is not. Power to the people. (The NS article's opening displayed on the click-to-pay page, is a none-too-promising reference to this silly Independent op-ed, which I've mentioned previously...)

Barbara Amiel's observations on the French ambassador's anti-Israel comments, and upon anti-Jewish sentiment in high-falutin' London society, are by now well known. As Forward points out, her piece was roundly denounced in the left-leaning British press, for reasons of propriety (publishing comments made at a private dinner party-- it just isn't the done thing...); and now, in the New Statesman, as proof of a powerful Zionist conspiracy dedicated to undermining the media and controlling the government.

I can't speak for high society, but from my own experience in "middle society" in England, I'd say that if this supposed Zionist conspiracy exists, it hasn't been all that successful in swaying public opinion. Arafat is generally accorded much more credibility and sympathy in England than he is in the US. You often hear people (left, right, and center) express the sentiment that Arafat "is doing all he can, which is more than you can say for the Israelis." England has a long history of enthusiasm for Arab nationalism, which recent events do not appear to have dampened overmuch. Anyway, it seems to me that, in this case, the more successful slant is the leftish one of fostering unthinking support for "the underdog" (i.e., whoever opposes US policy or interests) regardless of the circumstances. Can someone (like Amiel) disagree with the conclusions resulting from this overarching formula without being part of a sinister conspiracy? It's not a surprise that the Independent and the New Statesman can think of no other way to account for the fact that people disagree with them. But that doesn't make it so.

Posted by Dr. Frank at January 24, 2002 07:02 PM | TrackBack