Commentary magazine sees a new split in the black-Jewish alliance

Charles Dunst
Published June 15, 2018

(JTA) — Commentary, the conservative Jewish magazine, weighed in on black-Jewish relations in its June issue, and some are crying foul.

The issue features articles on Black Lives Matter, intersectionality and anti-Semitism in the black community, but it is its stark cover — featuring the words “African Americans vs. American Jews” — that has some accusing the magazine of fomenting a previously non-existent race war between the two communities.

Many drew a comparison to Norman Podhoretz’s 1963 Commentary article “My Negro Problem—And Ours,” in which the author described a similar conflict between the black and Jewish community, citing anecdotes from his Brooklyn childhood. Podhoretz, now 88, served as Commentary’s editor in chief for over three decades, from 1960 to 1995. His son, John, is Commentary’s current editor in chief.

The June issue elicited criticism from many left-wing figures, including The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer, The New Republic’s Jeet Heer, VICE’s Eve Peyser and The Forward’s Ari Feldman.

Jewish Currents, the secular Jewish magazine, also mocked Commentary’s cover on its Twitter page, drawing comparisons to the notorious Norman Podhoretz article. 

“Commentary’s work on race has evolved little since Norman Podhoretz’s infamous 1963 polemic, ‘My Negro Problem—and Ours,’” Jewish Currents Editor Jacob Plitman told JTA. “Stoking black-Jewish antagonism harms black Jews, hinders multi-racial organizing and only serves those invested in bigotry on both sides, whether Commentary magazine or Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam. Neither are earnestly dealing with the systems that oppress us all.”
“But at least the Nation of Islam gives out free food,” he added.

When contacted by JTA, John Podhoretz said that the cover line was not intended as sensationalist, but that the line and graphic were simply reflective of the June issue’s content.

“Commentary’s June issue features four articles that reflect on enduring conflicts between African Americans and Jews, from fights over the New York City schools in 1968 to Black Lives Matter and the way its leaders talk about Jews and Israel in 2018,” Podhoretz said. “The cover line groups these articles together. The pieces themselves are available for readers to consider and reflect upon at commentarymagazine.com.”

The waxing and waning of the black-Jewish alliance has been a perennial subject at least since the 1950s, when Jewish groups and activists worked closely with African-American leaders of the civil rights movement. Relations were strained when the Black Power movement pushed out white allies, and when many in the civil rights community embraced the Palestinian clause. Commentary includes an article on the 1968 New York City schools strike, which drove a wedge between Jewish school teachers and African-American parents. In the years to come some Jewish groups would turn against affirmative action.

More recently, Jews have been critical of the black intellectuals and politicians who have either embraced or tolerated Louis Farrakhan, the virulently anti-Semitic leader of the Nation of Islam. Black Lives Matter alienated many Jewish allies when it adopted a plank endorsing a boycott of Israel and accusing Israel of the “genocide” of the Palestinian people.

A 2016 Anti-Defamation League study reported that 23 percent of African-Americans demonstrated anti-Semitic views. The study subsequently notes that “anti-Semitic propensities within the African-American population continue to be higher than the general population,” also adding, however, that these propensities “are in decline.”

Whether that amounts to a grudge match between the two communities is unclear. Both groups are among the biggest supporters of the Democratic Party, and, at least among the majority of Jews who are not Orthodox, tend to share a common foe in Donald Trump. In The New Republic, Jeet Heer suggested Commentary seemed more interested in advertising anti-Semitism on the left than dealing with a bigger problem on the right, including white supremacists and anti-Semites who appear emboldened since Trump’s election.

“In the age of the alt-right, fighting anti-Semitism is an urgent problem,” wrote Heer. “Unfortunately, Commentary magazine doesn’t seem interested in the most politically potent form of contemporary anti-Semitism. Instead, the magazine seems to be serving up the 1960s, reheated.”