Lena Dunham and Trevor Noah may be comedically challenged, but they’re
not bigots. Lena Dunham received plenty of criticism for her insufferable New
Yorker piece titled “Dog or Jewish Boyfriend? A Quiz.” In it, the creator of
Girls weighs the pros and cons of getting a pet or keeping her Jewish
boyfriend: “He doesn’t tip,” and “he never brings his wallet anywhere,” and so
on. The jokes may tell us something about her comedic abilities, her audience,
and The New Yorker, but despite much hand-wringing, it tells us nothing about
anti-Semitism.
The Anti-Defamation League’s national director, Abraham Foxman, the unelected voice of American Jewish conscience, argued, “The piece is particularly troubling because it evokes memories of the ‘No Jews or Dogs Allowed’ signs from our own early history in this country, and also because, in a much more sinister way, many in the Muslim world today hatefully refer to Jews as ‘dogs.’“
The Anti-Defamation League’s national director, Abraham Foxman, the unelected voice of American Jewish conscience, argued, “The piece is particularly troubling because it evokes memories of the ‘No Jews or Dogs Allowed’ signs from our own early history in this country, and also because, in a much more sinister way, many in the Muslim world today hatefully refer to Jews as ‘dogs.’“
“Anti-Semitism” is rooting for Hamas. Making fun of your nebbish
boyfriend is lame, but it should not make any rational person think of Iran’s
supreme leader. I’ve heard plenty of malicious and offensive anti-Semitic jokes
in my life, but it would be tough to conjure up the indignation to believe that
Dunham was flirting with anything resembling bigotry. Making fun of innocuous
stereotypes — and Dunham is part Jewish and lives in a world teeming with Jews
— in the pages of a friendly publication evokes memories of subpar Catskill
comedians, not long-dead nativists....To Read More....
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