Politricks | Daniel Sieradski

09/16/09

UJC: We speak for you whether you like it or not

The following is a conversation between me and William Daroff, Vice President of Public Policy at the United Jewish Communities (the umbrella organization of America’s Jewish federations), which took place the morning of Monday, September 14 via Twitter.

The discussion began after I challenged some strong remarks Daroff had made condemning J Street’s position on the diplomatic engagement of Iran. What ensued was an immensely revealing dialogue that exposes the chutzpah of our so-called national Jewish leadership, who operate as self-appointed arbiters and representatives of Jewish public opinion.

08/15/09

J Street celebrates the Juicebox Mafia

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I’m in Pittsburgh, PA at Netroots Nation, where last night J Street held a happy hour to both hob-knob with other progressives committed to a just two-state solution, and to honor three bloggers who have stood alongside J Street in its cause: Spencer Ackerman, Matthew Yglesias and Matt Duss.

Together with Ezra Klein and a few other progressive Jewish bloggers and columnists, these gentlemen compose a clique pejoratively deemed “the Juicebox Mafia” by the likes of The New Republic and Commentary magazine.

05/28/08

Right-wing hypocrites blame Left for "Terror" fashion trend initiated by GOP donor

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Cruller hu akbar!
The rightwingosphere piled on Rachel Ray this week for sporting a keffiyeh (well, actually a paisley scarf that only kinda looks like a keffiyeh) in a Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, accusing the homemaking TV star and her glazed with sprinkles benefactors of shilling for terrorists.
Little Green Football’s Charles Johnson, who led the charge, complained [...]

05/04/08

Righteous Indignation keynote

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After two days with the American Jewish Committee down in Washington, D.C., I am now in Newton, Mass., at the Righteous Indignation conference.
The train up from D.C. took seven hours(!) and I arrived rather late in the day. Thus, the only content I have to share with you at the moment are the following [...]

04/22/08

Wisdom no longer comes with age

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A thought:
One out of every seven Democratic party voters was not registered as a Democrat at the beginning of the year, and 60 percent of them cast their ballot for Obama, according to the exit polls.
[...]
Clinton got the support of older voters, with 61 percent of those 65 years or older backing her, according to [...]

04/17/08

For your reading pleasure

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Roger Cohen in the NY Times on “Race and American Memory”
Why has the U.S. produced a magnificent Holocaust Memorial Museum before opening an institution of equivalent stature dedicated to slavery and segregation?
Offered at the behest of agent MK Ultra

04/15/08

And then there was J Street

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Sign-up for this new MoveOn-style coalition for Middle East peace now at JStreet.org.
More on today’s launch: The Nation, The American Prospect, Mother Jones, WaPo, Al Jazeera, JPost, Jewish Week, Haaretz, The Forward, and of course JTA.
The most revealing quote of all comes comes from former AIPAC executive director Morrie Amitay who exposed his utter douchebagginess [...]

04/08/08

The New Yorker takes aim at the Zionist Thought Police

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“The Petition: Israel, Palestine, and a tenure battle at Barnard,” [PDF] Jane Kramer’s piece this week in The New Yorker, is a rather engaging and thoughtful read that echoes a sentiment I’ve been expressing often, as of late, in my conversations with Jewish community professionals on the tone and substance of pro-Israel activism, both on- [...]

03/17/08

Jeff Sharlet on Jeremiah Wright and the Prophet Jeremiah

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In contextualizing Jeremiah Wright’s “God damn America,” it might be worth remembering another Jeremiah who expressed similar sentiments: namely, Jeremiah. As in, the prophet of the Hebrew Bible, or the “Old Testament,” if you prefer.
Why does that matter? Because it reminds us that a core function of one who attempts to speak in a prophetic [...]

03/11/08