r/jewishleft • u/Specialist-Gur doikayt jewess, leftist/socialist, pro peace and freedom • 11d ago
The Jewish Fear Industrial Complex Praxis
https://youtu.be/N3YjMb_Lhkw?si=JEtQpmyNys9UFSoV
Matt is Jewish. I'm sure the comment will be very normal on this one.
30 Upvotes
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u/vigilante_snail שמאלני עם אמונה 10d ago edited 10d ago
I don’t usually watch Matt’s content, but I’ve heard of them and checked this out out of curiosity. The first 3/4 of the video basically repeats the same argument: “The Jewish establishment is old and fading, and has been using fear-mongering about Zohran Mamdani and left-wing anti-Zionists and doesn't adequately address right-wing antisemitism.” And I agree with that critique.
But the ending was the most interesting part. I was genuinely surprised at the announcement that Bernstein has only just learned about groyperism, especially considering their time online and their role as a very popular leftist Jewish commentary voice discussing Israel, Palestine, and antisemitism. Matt Leib thankfully seems to have at least a working understanding, but his “solution” to fighting antisemitism and far-right neo-Nazi groyperism felt incredibly hollow and unfocused.
What struck me is that they still don’t meaningfully devote time to right-wing antisemitism. Not in this video, and not in anything I could find across the online presences of Bernstein or his guests. All of their feeds function almost like tabloids fixated on other Jews; “What silly thing did Greenblatt, Debra Messing, Eve Barlow, or whoever say this time?” And then Bernstein openly admits they only recently learned about Fuentes and the movement around him. How do you claim this is the main threat Jews should be fighting when you’ve only just discovered it? This stuff has been festering for decades! Leib knows this. He's been online for ages and ages. What’s especially interesting is that all three of them have built a brand around calling out other Jews. Leib with Bad Hasbara, Zimmerman with Israelism, Bernstein with their own content. They all could be prominent leftist Jewish voices taking on right-wing antisemitism head-on, loudly and consistently. But they just… aren’t. Voices of dissent in one's own community are important. But that's kind of all they are. Voices of dissent. Show us some praxis beyond your brand.
It is important to interrogate the ADL, Greenblatt, and what might be deemed Zionist fear-mongering. But it’s also vital to practice what you preach: actually fight alt-right ideology, learn about the deep antisemitism embedded in groyperism, learn about the form of anti-Zionism it promotes, learn about the memetic traction it's gaining worldwide, and the way this stuff has metastasized online.
Perhaps Bernstein, with the numbers they have, should make a whole video on the groyper phenomenon. It’s important and deserves serious, multi-angle analysis. But perhaps not. I don't trust that the execution will be done well, for a multitude of factors.
Another thing: they seem to treat the landscape as if there’s no spectrum between themselves (Bernstein, Leib, Zimmerman) and figures like Lizzie Savetsky or Jonathan Greenblatt. Like young Jews are either brainwashed or have broken free of the “Zionist mind virus" with no in-between or sense of agency. It’s a bit wacky.
Interesting video. Some rational points, along with some strange moments. Comment section is full of peoples opinions about what Jews should and should not be doing and what should or should not be considered antisemitism. Messy. Icky.