How would I characterize Jewlicious? As a blog that attempts to tap into the Jewish zeitgeist as supposedly hip, trendy youngish Jews would see it. It’s all over the map and doesn’t have any consistent voice that I can find (understandable considering its a multi-author blog) except that it’s always seeking to appear cool and sexy and looking for the “new, new” Jewish thing. In other words, it’s superficial, flighty and flimsy.

If you’re asking how I’d characterize it politically, I’d say its like certain American Jews: it seeks to be liberal on issues it doesn’t perceive to be core existential Jewish issues; and conservative on issues like Israeli security and its relations with the Arabs. which it does perceive to be existential.

To me, it’s easy to say as a Jew you value Jewish life. That seems a given. The true test for me is as a Jew or Israeli do you value non-Jewish life? Do you value Palestinian life? On this score, Abitbol fails. My Judaism doesn’t tell me Jews are superior to non-Jews. Abitbol’s does.

“Abitbol, a 42-year-old Jerusalem resident, said that to adopt a code of speech for the Jewish blogosphere would tamp down the free and open debate that gives it its zest. “There’s a lot of testosterone on the Internet, a lot of swagger,” he said. What makes “the blogosphere interesting is the fact that it is dynamic and anything can happen.””

Pardon me, but that does not actually seem to correspond to your assertion that he “self-admits that his style of argument is testosterone-infused.” It seems to me that he was merely making an observation and a fairly accurate one at that. The quote doesn’t say that he supports testosterone and swagger but rather that it exists and that he supports free speech. Hardly a remarkable stance.

Furthermore, what relevance does that have to his politics? You say that Sieradski has been intemperate and unfair with you but that he still has his heart in the right place.

I think we’ve progressed, separating the personal from the political, and recognizing that one can be liberal on one issue and right wing on another. How then would you now characterize Jewlicious? Calling it a right wing blog seems inaccurate. From a media buyer’s perspective (mine) these are interesting issues and the amateur political scientist in me is curious as well.

Might I perhaps suggest an approach where you state that a person is right wing or left wing on a particular issue? My confusion arose when you described Jewlicious as a right wing blog

That’s a pt. well-taken. Since I’ve only interacted w. Abitbol in the context of the I-P conflict & frankly don’t care what he says on any other issue since I believe he’s so discredited himself that nothing else he says lacks any legitimacy for me—I neglect to acknowledge that his views on other issues are more moderate.

Basically, he’s a security hawk on the I-P issue. But also a terrible bully who self-admits that his style of argument is testosterone-infused.

Regarding the image, his host removed it as it was compelled to do via my DMCA notice. Abitbol filed a notice of his intent to appeal the decision arguing fair use but never did. He took an image of me and my young children, erased my children & substituted the LGF logo of a green football supposedly hitting me in the head. It was quite childish, but par for the course as far as Abitbol is concerned.

I would never claim that all left-wingers are angelic souls. THere are plenty of people on the left who have as much bile as Ann Coulter & David Abitbol. And there are even bloggers & analysts on the right for whom I have respect. As long as someone attempts to be honest about the strengths & weaknesses of their political positions, I hold them in respect. It’s ideologues on both sides of the I-P conflict who claim their side is perfect & the other side demons personified to whom I object.

You stated that “the true test of someone’s political values is their views on the I-P conflict.” Might I perhaps suggest an approach where you state that a person is right wing or left wing on a particular issue? My confusion arose when you described Jewlicious as a right wing blog. Your later depiction, where you stated that some of the writers are “deeply right-wing regarding the Israeli-Arab conflict…” seems fairer – at least it’s not a blanket assessment.

I couldn’t find the image in question but the underlying post does not seem to praise Little Green Footballs for attacking you – he even called commenters on the site “clearly nuts.” But if the image included your children, I can understand why you might be very upset.

I find personal assessments, for instance the presence or absence of a heart, to be less than instructive however. Obviously you’ve had issues with this guy, and it seems to have gotten personal – I don’t know if you’ve consequently gained deep insight into his soul as a result. But broadly speaking, I am less interested in personal issues and more interested in the determination of one’s political identity. Not all left wingers are angelic souls possessed of a sterling character and gentle dispositions and not all right wingers are cold and heartless monsters. That’s why one ought to separate the personal from the political – for instance, I don’t know any Political Scientist who would situate Mao or Stalin on the right end of the political spectrum and yet many consider them to have been cruel and heartless monsters.

There I go straying way off topic again. Thanks for entertaining my musings.

Abitbol is in favor of targeted assassinations, the Separation Wall, continuing the Occupation till there is a “legitimate Palestinian partner,” etc.

American Jews can be quite liberal on all the issues for which you praised Abitbol & have absolutely hateful attitudes toward Arabs & right wing nationalist views of the I-P conflict. This is pretty close to where Abitbol stands. I’m much less concerned about where they stand on Israeli domestic issues (though it’s a good thing that their views aren’t right wing across the board).

To me, the true test of someone’s political values is their views on the I-P conflict. Jews (& others) have bifurcated political identities and can be liberal on most issues & yet totally contradict these values when it comes to issues that have a deep personal connection like Israel.

If Abitbol calls me an ‘extreme leftist’ with derision I don’t see how you can praise him for being supportive of “seemingly left-wing blogs” unless yr definition of left wing & mine diverge (which is possible). And btw, the copyright violation involved an image of mine in which he superimposed the logo of one of the most anti-Muslim, right wing pro Israel sites, Little Green Footballs, praising it for attacking me. In addition, Abitbol began his campaign against me when I criticized the Jewish Israeli Blog Awards founded by Israellycool because they were deeply skewed toward right-wing Anglo-Israeli blogs & featured almost no liberal/progressive blogs. So much for Abitbol’s “progressive” values.

Yes, Dan can be quite intemperate & has treated me quite unfairly once or twice (& admitted as much). He & I definitely have issues which we’ve discussed. But unlike Abitbol, Sieradski has a good heart & it’s in the right place most of the time.

Abitbol on the other hand is nothing but a self-promoter with no heart, no center & very few core principles. He loves the sound of his own voice more than anything in the world.

I’m afraid we’re straying away from the topic but that is an interesting issue. How does one define left wing and right wing in an increasingly complex world? It’s not uncommon here in Israel for people to be “left wing” on social issues and “right wing” on defense issues. Those quote marks are there on purpose because I believe those labels don’t really adequately convey meaning when applied broadly.

Feel free to tell me I’ve gone beyond the scope of this post by the way!

Abitbol is in favor of targeted assassinations, the Separation Wall, continuing the Occupation till there is a “legitimate Palestinian partner,” etc. He mendaciously calls me anti-Israel, extreme leftist or other misleading epithets. He stole an image of my young twins & myself and posted it on his site in violation of copyright & only removed it after I filed a DMCA notice with his host. One of his authors created a quotation out of whole cloth & attributed it to me.

You should also research the arguments he’s had with Dan Sieradski which are instructive as to Abitbol’s high-testosterone level in political debate & his general political attitudes & nastiness.