There is one thing which is certain when reading comments beneath the line at Comment is Free.
Any use of the word “Jew” or “Israel” in even the most apolitical context within CiF commentaries will almost always elicit animosity, in some form or another, from CiF readers, towards Jews or Judaism.
Rabbi Naftali Brawer’s CiF essay, “Today is the time to ask what we are needed for, not what we need“, Sept. 30, is a case in point.
The fact that Brawer’s lucid meditation on the significance of the Jewish New Year – which suggests that this is a time for all people to ask what unique purpose they have in life – isn’t even remotely political presented no obstacle for CiF readers incensed by the mere suggestion of Judaism’s value.
First, there’s this completely off topic attack on Jewish tradition, which still hasn’t been deleted by CiF Moderators.
Then there was the suggestion, by another CiF commenter, of the problem of Jewish supremacism which also has not been deleted, despite being hateful, off topic and, as you’ll see, based on one single sentence from Brawer’s essay taken completely out of context.
Here is the full passage, from Brawer’s essay, which contains the sentence the CiF reader decided to focus on.
Such as the following passage from the Talmud: “A human being creates many coins from the same die and they are all identical; the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One blessed is He, coins all people from Adam’s die and not one looks like another. This is why every person must say ‘The world was created just for me’.”
So, do CiF moderators believe that the issue of “Jewish supremacism” is a legitimate question, and consistent with Guardian community standards?
Based on at least one Guardian report, by David Hearst, the answer would appear to be in the affirmative.
Some frank clarity on this topic is overdue.
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