Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Should PCG Trust Michael Oren?

While listening to one Trumpet Hour program they mentioned Micheal Oren's book Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide. Michael Oren used to be the Israeli Ambassador to the United States. They mentioned it in a positive manner.

But should PCG's leaders trust what he says? Maybe they should compare what he says with what others who should know happen to say as well.

One person, Leon Wieseltier, has taken issue with what Oren said. Wieseltier even says that Oren failed to understand an ironic comment.
The renowned liberal writer and editor Leon Wieseltier blasts his description in Michael Oren’s new book, dubbing it “outrageous,” “risible” and “cheap and ugly.” He said that he is “outraged and offended” for being depicted as a self-hating Jew, and that he intends to “strike back, because that is what we do.”

Wieseltier also disputed Oren’s account of a conversation in which the former New Republic literary editor is said to have conceded that “his hatred of Bibi had become pathological,” as Oren wrote. “Of course I was speaking ironically,” Wieseltier said, “making fun of what Michael thought. My mistake… irony left the subject of the discussion about Israel many decades ago.” ...

Wieseltier recounted his give and takes with Oren on this matter, which he had assumed was harmless banter. “All jokes aside, I don’t take kindly to being called anti-Semitic and I don’t take kindly to having Jewish self-hatred attributed to me,” Wieseltier responded. “It’s cheap and it’s ugly and he knows better...” (Chemi Shalev, Wieseltier 'outraged' by Michael Oren’s 'cheap and ugly' depictions, Haaretz, June 25, 2015.)
Now it is not possible for me to verify things one way or the other. Frankly I have no interest in this dispute except to encourage people to search out a matter instead of just taking one man's word for granted.

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