Bari Weiss Makes Her Case
The controversial New York Times opinion writer takes on anti-Semitism — and her detractors
To say that New York Times opinion writer Bari Weiss is controversial is an understatement. One Daily Beast columnist dubbed her the “New York Times hate-read specialist,” and Times staffers themselves have been known to spazz out over her transgressions. In certain parts of Twitter, she could say “Good morning, everyone” and get mercilessly dragged. (“It takes some incredibly tone-deaf privilege to suggest that it’s a good morning in Trump’s America — for everyone, no less!”) So a book from Weiss on one of the biggest lightning-rod topics — How to Fight Anti-Semitism — is sure to cause intense reactions. When University of California-Berkeley professor Judith Butler panned it on the progressive website Jewish Currents, leftist Twitter erupted in jubilation best summed up as “Judith Butler DESTROYS Bari Weiss!”
(Disclosure: Weiss edited two of my articles, one at The Wall Street Journal and one at The New York Times.)
In fact, Weiss has written a smart, thoughtful book that defends increasingly embattled liberal values. That means it has something to offend both major political tribes right now. It’s pro-Israel and against the “social justice” progressivism currently dominant on the left. It’s also…
