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Los Angeles Times: Criticize Israel? You're an Anti-Semite! (9/1/06) by Rosa Brooks
In the rarest of mainstream media occurrences, an op-ed asks "How can we have a real discussion about Mideast peace if speaking honestly about Israel is out of bounds?" Even executive director Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch—"America's largest and most respected human rights organization"—has found himself "subject of an all-out attack by neoconservative pundits and accused of rabid anti-Semitism" for exposing Israeli as well as Hezbollah war crimes in the Lebanon conflict.The backlash was prompt. Roth and Human Rights Watch soon found themselves accused of unethical behavior, giving aid and comfort to terrorists and anti-Semitism. The conservative New York Sun attacked Roth (who is Jewish) for...engaging in "the de-legitimization of Judaism, the basis of much anti-Semitism."... The New Republic piled on, as did Alan Dershowitz, who claimed Human Rights Watch "cooks the books" to make Israel look bad.... What's most troubling is that [these attacks are] typical.... Any serious criticism of [Israeli] policies is instantly countered with charges of anti-Semitism.... Don't voice those sentiments unless you want to be called an anti-Semite—and probably a terrorist sympathizer to boot.
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