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Smearing Sam

March 7th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Hey, Matt? I’m looking back over what Noah Pollak has written about Samantha Power, and I’m just not seeing anything that can reasonably be interpreted as a claim that Power is an anti-Semite or “tainted by Jew hatred” or anything else like that. All I’m seeing is an argument that Power has some terrible ideas about how to approach Israel/Palestine policy. And judging by the article you linked, Power herself seems pretty unhappy with some of her own past remarks. We all get hoarse repeating that it’s unfair to call someone an anti-Semite just because they criticize Israel. But by the same token, I think it’s unfair to charge someone with playing the anti-Semitism card just because they criticize another person’s views on Israel.

Tags: Journalism & the Media · War


       

 

1 response so far ↓

  • 1 Michael J. Totten // Mar 7, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    Noah is a colleague and a friend. We’ve had many discussions about Samantha Power, which started when I recommend he read her book The Problem From Hell. It’s a good book.

    Noah has never said anything to me even in private about Samantha Power being a “Jew hater.” He knows she isn’t. The accusation is ridiculous. If he believed that, trust me, he would say so.