The Rise of Linda Sarsour and the Stagnation of Everyone Else

To everyone who is shocked at Linda Sarsour's rise to prominence and increasing legitimization by major institutions (albeit, as far as I see, it's still through traditionally hard left vehicles), I have one simple question.

If you have the power to promote alternative voices that you think contribute positively to the cacophony of increasing radicalization in the public sphere, what are you doing about it?
Are you identifying and recruiting new talents to write for your publications? Are you training pundits from various backgrounds to appear on TV the way the progressive organizations and Islamist institutions do?

Are you grooming the next generation of thinkers, activists, analysts and Jewish and conservative leaders to sit on panels and to organize and participate in events, to testify before Congress on relevant issues, to attend meetings with Important People, and to engage in our domestic and foreign policy? Or are you just waiting for someone else to do it? Are you just pushing the same types of people over and over again, waiting for someone to become a member of the "credentialed elite" before acknowledging them as a legitimate contributor? Are you evaluating potential influencers on the merits of their ideas and presentation or by how famous, connected, or affiliated they are?

I can tell you that while you are holding on to the old prejudices that may have worked to promote "your kind of people" 30 years ago, the world has long since moved on and you are losing this game. You are failing to promote new ideas, and to communicate messages that are relevant to the kinds of people you are targeting.

You are shooting yourself in the foot by choosing to reside in the world of ideological rigidity and a closed bubble of messaging dictated by the type of out outdated political operatives who should have retired a long time ago.

While you are holding out for corporate interests to dictate your op-eds, for a handful of "experts" to participate in your panel discussions, and for the same leaders of the same organizations to participate in your events and to organize them, the likes of Linda Sarsour proliferate and blossom and expand their horizons at a breathtaking rate.

Bye, Felicia

US and Israel are both withdrawing from UNESCO, after one anti-Israel resolution too many.

Indeed, one rightful criticism of UNESCO is that it's abandoned its mission of preserving historic heritage and promoting arts, sciences, and ideas in favor of adopting the hateful politics of many of its members.

Earlier this year, UNESCO designated Hebron as a Palestinian World Heritage Site, despite the fact that Hebron is one of the oldest Jewish communities, housing such sites dating back to the biblical era as the Tomb of the Patriarch, whereas the concept of a  Palestinian nation was invented by the PLO and the Soviet Union in the 1960s. UNESCO has been using these heritage site designations to discredit Israel's indigenous roots and historic presence on its own land, which, coupled with the systematic destruction of the Jewish artifacts on Temple Mount by the Waqf, constitutes a dangerous attack on history itself.

UNESCO, despite having a great potential for promoting intercultural understanding among different countries, thanks to the efforts of such thoughtful and dedicated people as its Goodwill Ambassador Andres Roemer, It's a sad commentary on our society that more people do not openly stand up to and challenge bad ideas and promotion of ignorance, bias, and intolerance when they have that opportunity, and instead prefer to ignore the obvious, dismiss well-founded concerns, and engage in mental acrobatics and apologetics for preserving the status quo.

I look forward to the day when both Israel and the United States can reenter the UNESCO in good conscience, and when the membership in that organization will no longer mean having to contend with a shameful farce, but instead will focus on the meaningful promotion of the world's intellectual development and artistic and scientific accomplishments. Until that time, it is wiser not to contribute to the fray, and not to normalize illegitimate agendas that have nothing to do with UNESCO's mission.