As we’ve seen from the recent Flotilla brouhaha (although, clearly, “brouhaha” is an inappropriate word for that, but it’s the word I’m using anyway) Israel is one of those particularly divisive topics in world and American politics, and not just among the Jews. Although, clearly, it takes on added significance among them. So, woe betide anyone who should think to offer up a reason for why Israel acted the way it did, and doubly woe betide anyone who should think to parallel it to an overall examination of the Jewish psyche.
Nonetheless, Pulitzer Prize Winning author and Jewish Hipster (although, I’m sure he’s not aware of that), Michael Chabon, did exactly that in the New York Times earlier this week.
Exhibit A: Chabon with some of his "writing aids." Again, this man won a Pulitzer prize.
He wrote what I thought, not being Jewish, was an insightful and well thought-out op-ed that got at that crux of the Jewish identity: uniqueness. He suggests the idea that the Jewish people pride themselves on being “special,” whether that means smarter or more successful or whatever than the general populace, but when they find a non-Jew reflecting this idea back to them, it becomes extremely uncomfortable, for when the Gentiles have usually singled out the Jews as being special, it’s generally been to justify doing the worst things imaginable to them. Now, I’m not going to comment as to whether or not I agreed with everything Mr. Chabon wrote or not, I’m just saying that it provided some food for thought.
Nonetheless, the letters that appeared in the Times (all of which came from Jewish readers, not something I fault, simply something I observe) in response seem to have been overwhelmingly negative. Most of them start with faux-agreement such as “Michael Chabon was right in one respect…” and then taking him down a peg. One Israeli letter writer suggests that the Jewish people are exceptional for their powers of self-analysis, although I’d like to point out that we Americans fill bookstores full of books we’ve written about why we’re the best fucking country ever.
The award for best letter, however, goes to Steven Cohen of New York for this little gem:
I respect the brutal bluntness in Michael Chabon’s essay that some Jews may think they’re smarter than everyone else.
Of course we’re not!
But how can he convince my 82-year-old mother without tearing her heart out?
All I can say is: I hope his mother doesn’t read the NYTimes.
