The only way to determine David Myer’s fitness for heading the Center for Jewish History is to examine his record, which was done in a detailed 7,000-word report by ZOA’s Mort Klein. Instead of showing a middle of the road reasonable respect for Israel even with its warts, the report found a consistently unfairly negative treatment of Israel and unfairly positive treatment of the Palestinians.
Myers writes about Israel’s creation from the Palestinian point of view — a Naqba, or “catastrophe,” with expulsions. Missing is the context expected from a respected historian, including Israel’s acceptance of the Arab Palestinians in her Declaration of Independence, invasions of seven Arab armies, the killing of one percent of Israel’s population, and Jewish leaders calling for Arabs to temporarily leave, etc.
Myers continues his defense of the Palestinians while criticizing Israeli actions to defend its civilians, even from Palestinian suicide bombings.
Turning over America’s preeminent post for writing Jewish history, so inextricably bound up with Israel, to an historian with such documented unprofessional contempt for the Jewish State, is a disastrous, but fully preventable, legacy to future generations of young Jews and gift to our enemies.
Manhattan
