Professor and author Ernest Sternberg argues that the online magazine Counterpunch, a radical left-wing outlet, has crafted a “global fiend”—i.e., “the Zionist”—through its articles. But for what end was this fiendish figure created? Sternberg believes Counterpunch’s construction of the Zionist is necessary to achieve a convergence between neoprogressive and neofascist ideas perpetrated by the magazine and its various authors.
Counterpunch is by no means an insignificant publication hosting fringe viewpoints. Hundreds of academics have written for the publication, including some prominent scholar-activists from notable institutions, along with being featured in over 1400 citations in academic journals. In a piece for the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism, Sternberg dissects this worldview promoted by the outlet,
In its pages, the Jew/Zionist is a Nazi, genocidaire, child killer, murderer for body parts, follower of malicious Talmudic edicts, destroyer of the World Trade Centers, and false accuser seeking to tar its critics as antisemites. The site’s authors generally adhere to varieties of postcolonial, anti-capitalist, anti-globalization, anarcho-communist, or neo-communist points of view. Yet, some of the magazine’s most prolific contributors also write for white nationalist, conspiracist, and neofascist outlets, which hold the same animus toward Zionism. The difference between the two views is indiscernible in many Counterpunch articles.
In light of Sternberg’s analysis, what does this mean for the rise of anti-Semitism among academics and professors? What about the pervasive anti-Semitic behaviors on campuses around the nation, sometimes encouraged by scholars? How do scholars combat such perverted viewpoints and ideology regarding anti-Semitism when they are perpetrated by major publications?
Sternberg worries that “Counterpunch articles are building the ideological common ground for the cosmic battle at which the protectors of the indigene and defenders of the volk will march arm-in-arm against the Zionist fiend.” Will this come to fruition?
This event features Ernest Sternberg, professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo. He is the author of “At the Neoprogressive-Neofascist Convergence: Constructing the Zionist Fiend at Counterpunch” published in the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism. This event is hosted by Ian Oxnevad, Senior Fellow for Foreign Affairs and Security Studies at the National Association of Scholars.
Photo by Ilanit Ohana on Unsplash
