Legal Commentary

Forthcoming TNR Piece on Human Rights Watch

By David Bernstein

Word on the street is that the next issue of The New Republic will have an extensive investigative article on Human Rights Watch and its hostility to Israel, written by young journalist named Ben Birnbaum.

On cue, Philip Weiss of Mondoweiss?a Nation Institute sponsored anti-Israel and often anti-Jewish blog (really, how many ?introspective? posts by founding blogger Weiss about how haughty and obnoxious Jews are as-he-learned-growing-up-Jewish-until-he-was-taught-better-manners-by-his-Gentile-wife does one have to read before one notices a pattern?)?launches a preemptive attack on Birnbaum.

Weiss has longstanding journalist-source ties to Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whitson, who [in both senses] shares with him an interest in analyzing Jewish psychology. (In fairness, Whitson has never expressed the same hostility to Jews, Judaism, and Jewish culture that Weiss frequently does.) In turn, Whitson?s Facebook page has listed ?Mondoweiss? as one of her very few favorite ?Pages.? Leading to the question: Can?t HRW find a more credible attack dog than Weiss?

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on April 23, 2010 (boomark / email).