There has been an outpouring of loving, affectionate, and cheeky commentary on the death and life of critic and writer Christopher Hitchens, described in his JTA obituary as an “iconoclastic critic (who) discovered his Jewish heritage late in life.”
Here are a few choice (and certainly not the last) items abiout Hitchens, who died at 62 on Dec. 15 of esophageal cancer:
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Vanity Fair, where Hitchens was a contributing editor: “Christopher Hitchens was a wit, a charmer, and a troublemaker, and to those who knew him well, he was a gift from, dare I say it, God.” – Graydon Carter
Find much more about Hitchens on other Vanity Fair links here.
Haaretz: “…if Christopher could be a withering and, at times, unfair critic of Israel, he was also one of the most eloquent foes of anti-Semitism and anti-Semites.” – James Kirchick, fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and contributing editor for The New Republic.
If Hitchens was able to read this piece, he’d have a field day mocking my grammatical errors and lack of intellect. But guess what? He’s dead, and unless he was wrong about that whole “there is no god” thing, he can’t read a damn thing. And given the fact that he is now a corpse, it’s also safe to say that he is no longer the amazing writer he once was. So for the first time in my life, I am technically a better writer than Christoper Hitchens! Take that you old scotch-swilling limey!
Now, I bet you’re wondering why I’m being so insensitive about Hitchens’ death, especially given that he hasn’t even been gone for 24 hours. Well, I’m simply proving a point. While everyone, friend and foe alike, lines up to kiss his ass, let’s remember that Christopher Hitchens was never one to pull punches, even in the wake of someone’s death. In fact, he had absolutely no qualms with speaking ill of the dead if he felt they deserved it. – Jame Gumb
The author goes on to link to five “scathing” obituaries Hitchens himself wrote about other larger than life figures: Ronald Reagan, Osama Bin Laden, Bob Hope, Jerry Falwell, Mother Teresa and Princess Diana (the women come in a two-for-one package).
The Eulogizer highlights the life accomplishments of famous and not-so-famous Jews who have passed away recently. Write to the Eulogizer at eulogizer@jta.org.
