Novelist Michael Chabon delivered a diatribe against Jewish “in-marriage” as well as Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, in a commencement speech at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles (“Writers Block: Responding To Critiques From Philip Roth And Michael Chabon,” Between the Lines, June 1).
He went on to mock the “800 zealots living in an IDF-secured ghetto” in Hebron. The denial of Jews’ right to security and self-defense, with dead Jews being the result, is the preferred moral choice in his world. He gushed empathy for the Arabs who are inconvenienced at Israeli security checkpoints.
Chabon emphasized that he rejects all walls, barriers and borders … any “gated community.” He opposes any unique identity or separation. If the Jewish people disappear it will be all for the better.
Now, I understand that there are some very disturbed, self-loathing Jews amongst us. But what about a major Jewish institution inviting and applauding him?
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