For those of you who missed the latest in our country's slow descent into idiocracy, Ann Coulter recently took to Twitter to complain about the number of references to Israel in the Republican debate, resulting in "Exhibit A" below:
How many f---ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) September 17, 2015
Somehow, Philip Weiss, the founder of Mondoweiss, thought this would be an opportune time to make the very original and constructive point that conservative Jewish donors have captured the Republican party. See, that was irony because it is neither an original point (I am pretty sure there is a book about it or something) nor is it very constructive (because it does not propose any way to change the status quo).More importantly, it is utterly perplexing to me that Weiss — whose website has always been vehemently critical of the occupation, but often in a thoughtful and evidence-based way — would step up to defend Coulter for posing "a fair question", "leaving aside the invective". Many of us are unable to leave the invective aside. I feel like that is quite reasonable. But, even if we were, this is not a fair question and Weiss's is not a fair response. First, he defends Coulter by arguing that Jewish voters comprise a tiny proportion of the electorate, even in states like New Jersey and Florida (5.9 and 3.3 percent, respectively). The implication of this argument is that only Jewish voters can care about Israel and US policy toward it, and the amount of attention devoted to Israel by the Republican candidates is therefore outsized. Even Weiss admits that "there are a bunch of evangelical Christian Zionists out there", so it is pretty essentialist to even engage with Coulter's point about numbers.
Second, he goes on to argue that: "The point is, [t]he candidates are bending over backwards for Sheldon Adelson’s money, not for primary voters." There is obvious truth in this statement. But, hang on a sec...that point has nothing to do with Coulter's tweet. Nice bait-and-switch there, but forgive me for still being hung up on the actual language of the tweet, which I am pretty sure was about how there aren't even enough "f---ing Jews" in this country for us to care about Israel in the first place.
So, I ask Weiss: What if, in a parallel universe, the largest Jewish donors were leftists, like Weiss, and were assiduously lobbying for the United States to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel for its policies in the occupied territories? Then, would it matter that the Jewish population only comprises 2.2 percent of the electorate? Would Weiss be dismissive of this effort, or instead might he tout the lobbyists, perhaps noting that "even Jews" can see what is wrong with Israel's policies? My bet is on the latter.
Instrumentally appealing to an ethno-religious group identity only when it suits your particular policy objectives is kind of smarmy, but I guess it's not unprecedented. However, I would offer that it is downright disturbing to argue that an ethno-religious minority group has too much influence on policy when you disagree with the policies that some powerful members of that group are advancing. It is fine to say that powerful special interests have too much influence over some aspect of U.S. policy. In this case, we might label this group "conservative, hawkish Zionists". However, implying that the entire ethno-religious minority group (with which these interests identify) has too much influence is dangerous ground. Maybe I am missing something, but this seems pretty damn obvious to me. Moreover, it is strategically unwise for reasons I suggest above: why not just say Sheldon Adelson has too much influence on the party rather than "Jews" as a whole? By implying that policies should only represent the interests of ethno-religious groups if they are "large" enough, Weiss already potentially alienates all Jewish-American voters, even those who might have otherwise been swayed to support his policies. But maybe he doesn't really care. They are just a minority, after all.
Also, Weiss really needs to revisit some of the disgusting and hateful responses Coulter's tweet have provoked. Claims like: "the shoah was grossly exaggerated, also the Jews had it coming for backing communism", "the truth is anti-Semitic", and "Jews must leave." C'mon, Phil: These are not like the "sharp comments on anodyne New York Times articles", and this is not "what democratic discourse is all about." This is hate, as was Coulter's original tweet. We should all condemn it.
