An Eroding Taboo

A couple additions from The Tablet on the subject of yesterday’s Limited Commemorations , pointing out that much of the worrisome statements comes from liberal organizations:

The Hitler Test , in which a Weekly Standard  writer argues that

The editors of magazines and newspapers have a responsibility as gatekeepers of polite society. It turns out the gatekeepers haven’t been vigilant. We live in a culture where the social taboo against anti-black racism is so fierce that violating the taboo means certain expulsion from polite company. But the very reverse process is taking place when it comes to anti-Semitism: The taboo is being rapidly eroded, and those who ought to confront it are enabling it.

And Sounding Off , in which a Wired  writer who describes himself as a Jewish leftist, argues that

Some on the left have recently taken to using the term “Israel Firster” and similar rhetoric . . . . “Israel Firster” has a nasty anti-Semitic pedigree, one that many Jews will intuitively understand without knowing its specific history. It turns out white supremacist Willis Carto was reportedly the first to use it, and David Duke popularized it through his propaganda network . . . . This is tiresome to point out. Many of the writers who are fond of the Israel Firster smear are—appropriately—very good at hearing and analyzing dog-whistles when they’re used to dehumanize Arabs and Muslims. I can’t read anyone’s mind or judge anyone’s intention, but by the sound of it these writers are sending out comparable dog-whistles about Jews.