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Loving Jews Wisely, Not Too Well

Do Jews control the media? Yes and no.

by
Marc Tracy
July 10, 2012
The cover of Abraham Foxman's Jews & Money.(Amazon)
The cover of Abraham Foxman's Jews & Money.(Amazon)
I think that’s the real reason most Jews are so afraid to admit that there’s something inherently powerful and good about them. Not because they’re afraid of being special. But because they’re afraid of being responsible. …



The time has come, though. We no longer have to change our names. We no longer have to blend in like chameleons. We own a whole freaking country.



Instead, we can be proud of who we are, and simultaneously aware of our huge responsibility—and opportunity.



* * *



This article was written under an assumed name.



“Jews DO Control the Media” by Manny Friedman

Does “Manny Friedman” contradict himself? It’s not very well then. His essay is about the phenomenon of Jews at once claiming deep pride for their achievements, of the sort that allows them to have heavy prevalence in the media, and on the other hand Jews bristling when people say things like “Jews control the media” or “Jews control the U.S. government’s policy on Israel.” But we should stop with the bashfulness! “The truth is,” s/he writes, “the anti-Semites got it right. We Jews have something planted in each one of us that makes us completely different from every group in the world.”

But that’s not what the anti-Semites say! They define us solely as Jews and they say we are inherently, perhaps even biologically malicious. The reality is that much of what the anti-Semites hate us for are admirable qualities that are historically associated with the Jews, but which nevertheless don’t entirely define any individual Jew. What doctrinaire anti-Semites (and doctrinaire philo-Semites) fail to grasp is that everybody has multiple identities—even Jews.

The anti-Semites aren’t right, but they’re winning, because “Manny Friedman” is afraid to be seen as who s/he really is and instead has to hid behind an ostentatiously Jewish name, self-defining as an anti-Semite would. Be proud of who you are!

Jews DO Control the Media [Times of Israel]

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.