“One of the greatest paradoxes of ‘the American Jewish establishment’ is that it is only believed to really exist by those who fear or despise it”

One of the greatest paradoxes of “the American Jewish establishment” is that it is only believed to really exist by those who fear or despise it, to whom it is a rhetorically helpful bogeyman. Inside said establishment are deep, essential divisions and a widespread belief that its institutions are ideologically, financially, and politically free-agents. As a result, I tend to read conspiratorial criticism of “the establishment” as saying something more about the self-perceived powerlessness of the critic than “the establishment” itself. In general, organizations and institutions with something coherent to say and an intelligent business plan on how to say it can be heard in the free market of the Jewish community. That’s not to say there aren’t forces at work shaping the market; but the conspiracy stuff is badly overplayed by those trying to play up their own powerlessness.

Yehuda Kurtzer, Facebook post (15 July 2018) [https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10156685860962174&id=537972173]