Exhausted by the Israel discourse? Blame backlash fatigue

I’d mostly forgotten about Ivan Boesky when I heard he died Monday at age 87. But news of his death brought me back to some of my earliest assignments as a Jewish journalist — and how they relate to this week’s controversial Washington Post story about a group of Jewish machers seeking to influence the debate over Israel.In 1987, Boesky, a high-flying investor with a lifestyle to match, pleaded guilty to insider trading. Not every crime perpetrated by a Jew is a “Jewish story,” but because Boesky was a generous donor to Jewish organizations, Jewish leaders freaked out.I remember reporting on anguished internal conversations about accepting philanthropy from tarnished donors, but if anything the “external” discourse was ...

Jerusalem Post     May 26, 2024