Richard Silverstein writes about the demise of Jewcy, a Jewish internet portal featuring original writing about the arts, culture and politics. He writes, “When I first encountered the site I was quite excited because when it comes to Jewish media, there is very little that is hip, unconventional or provocative. Jewcy appeared to fit that mold with bold graphics, outrageous headlines, challenging ideas.”
Silverstein says he was offered a deal to move his blog to the site a few months ago, accepted the offer and then waited for the final contract.
Then the Gaza war happened. For some reason (I never spent much time reading the Jewcy site), I looked at the politics section of the site to see how Jewcy was covering the war. Of the 20 or so stories on the main page, only one by Dan Sieradski (which announced a demonstration), was remotely critical. The rest more of less savagely denounced Hamas and cheered on Israel’s assault. There was no doubt and certainly nothing remotely approaching criticism.
I began thinking about the role David Corn and Marc Cooper had played as house liberals when Pajamas Media first launched. I wondered whether perhaps I was being used to provide a liberal veneer on an otherwise right-wing pro-Israel site.
Ultimately, Richard was “disinvited.” I know Ali Eratez was a Jewcy contributor. I would be interested in his perspective, and whether he ever felt like he was a “house Muslim” used as “veneer” for an organ otherwise described (He has written nothing for them since before the start of the Gaza attack, though he remains a presence on their website).
