Mere Rhetoric: Economist Publishes Anti-Zionist Rant, Gives Demonstrably False Excuse

We originally passed on debunking the Economist's Jan 11 exercise in wishful thinking, "Second thoughts about the Promised Land" aka "Jews Starting To Reject Those Evil Zionists". But on second thought, it's just so factually and demonstrably incorrect - and so obviously an attempt to comfort Israel haters with the thought that Zionism is beyond the pale - that we're going to take a whack at it a week late.

First, the central claim from the Economist article:

Jews all around the world are gradually ceasing to regard Israel as a focal point. As a result, many are re-examining what it means to be Jewish... Most diaspora Jews still support Israel strongly. But now that its profile in the world is no longer that of heroic victim, their ambivalence has grown. Many are disturbed by the occupation of the Palestinian territories or more recently by images of Israeli bombing in Lebanon; some fear they give grist to anti-Semites.

Then the article goes into a litany of excuses that its readers can use for not supporting Israel - ultra-orthodox control of Israeli society, the military presence in the West Bank, the fact that Arabs want to kill Jews (no seriously - that's a reason they give!). But here's the trick: the Economist couldn't just publish their "Zionism is evil" list without seeming like they were pushing an agenda. So they made up this frame of how worldwide Jews are rejecting Israel.

And by made up, we mean they are not saying things that are justified either by evidence or logic:

Retired Israeli diplomats are new faces in the Jewish organizations. It is interesting to examine what is behind the three cases. Are Israeli diplomats taking the place of the veteran Jewish leadership, or are these only functional appointments?... It would appear that more than anything else, the appointments of Eran, Ayalon and Merhav express the great increase in Israel's importance in Jewish politics. After a decade in which Holocaust property claims were the main focus, it now appears that Israel is the only subject that succeeds in arousing interest on the general Jewish arena.

That last passage was from last week's Ha'aretz. It's about how the central Jewish issue of our time - as recognized by the leading Jewish organizations on the planet - is the health and survival of the Jewish State. This is a claim justified with actual evidence (rather than a litany of internationalist reasons why Jews should obviously be rejecting Zionism, because it's obviously bad) - evidence that speaks both to trends and decisions being made on the ground by actual community leaders speaking for actual communities.

Then again, when you need a pretext for publishing over 2,500 words on why Israel is bad... well, if you're a journalist for a major outlet of political and economic sophistication, it seems like any pretext will suffice.

Previously: At This Point, Journalists Are Literally Just Going Through The Motions Of Covering Up Their Bias, LA Times Can Give You Anti-Israel Cycle-Of-Violence Framing. Full And Accurate Reporting, However, Is Not Their Forte., Reuters Pretends That History Is What Reuters Would Like History To Be