Phony accusation of anti-Semitism

IT IS QUITE painful for a proud, practicing pro-Zionist Jew who had a Bar Mitvah, educated in Israel, lights candles on Shabbat, attends shul regularly, contributes to the Forward, and educates his own child into the religious tradition, to be accused publicly of anti-Semitism ("When Jews wax anti-Semitic," op ed, Feb. 7).

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The accusation of anti-Semitism, like that of anti-Americanism, can be employed by people to stifle debate and stigmatize points of view with which they disagree. In this case Cathy Young seeks to silence anyone who recognizes the reality of Jewish responsibility for Palestinian suffering.

This is unfortunate, for many reasons. One cannot hope for peace in the Middle East without a mutual recognition of the pain the conflict has caused. But more to the point, phony accusations of anti-Semitism have the effect of weakening societal strictures against the real thing. By saying such things about me, Cathy Young is actually aiding and abetting the anti-Semites by robbing the term of any coherent meaning.

ERIC ALTERMAN
New York, N.Y.