In 2014, Peter Beinart came to speak at the University of Washington Hillel. At the time, I was the President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seatle and we were supportive of him coming to campus. While controversial at the time, his talk about the challenge of Israel being both a Jewish and Democratic state while millions of Palestinian Arabs are living in the West Bank was informative and thoughtful. There was much to discuss and while I (and many others) didn’t agree with Peter’s solutions to the challenge and found his presentation to be missing many factors that needed to be discussed, as you will see in the article at that time in “The Mike Report”, a well known, pro-Israel, very Zionistic blog in Seattle, there was a lot to the conversation. While we disagreed with Peter’s recommendations, the challenge facing Israel was clear and a reasonable discussion occurred. In 2014 you could love Israel, agree on the challenges she faced, and discuss differing ways to address the challenges in a respectful manner. While Jew haters would do it, very few Jews at that time were spreading lies about Israel and attempting to delegitimize the country, those who supported Israel, or defend those who publicly called for or celebrated the murder of Jews.

Peter Beinart; Correct Diagnosis, Bad Prescription

My how times have changed. In the 11 years since that speech, Peter Beinart has become one of the most anti-Israel Jews around. He no longer advocates for Israel but instead villifies her. He no longer cares about the challenge and the solution, only in being anti-Israel and fighting for the end of Israel as a Jewish state. The question of Jewish and Democratic is no longer an issue for him. It’s now about how to make Israel not exist, make it Palestine “from the river to the sea”, and how to villify Jews. He has joined the likes of Bernie Sanders who are Jews in Name Only (JINO) – only to help eliminate Israel and to bad mouth the Jewish community. He joins with and supports those who chant things like “from the river to the sea” and “globalize the intifade”. This week was a new low, even for him.

Beinart accepted the offer to speak at Tel Aviv University and share his lies, accusing Israel of both apartheid and genocide. It is only in a free society like Israel that he would be invited and feel safe to spread these lies. Can you imagine somebody speaking publicly in Iran about the evils of the Ayatolleh? We’ve seen what happens to those who merely criticize the Iranian regime – they are quickly arrested and murdered. We see what happens when people oppose Hamas in Gaza – they are quickly and publicly murdered. Those who oppose Putin in Russia quickly disappear. Yet in Israel, you are invited to publicly share your opinions, even when they are blatent lies, and you have no worries about your safety. You can even publicize on social media what lies you are going to tell and still be invited and safe.

Tonight, I’m going to speak at Tel Aviv University. I know many people who I respect will think this was the wrong decision given that Israel—as widely recognized by experts on international law—practices not only apartheid but genocide. I support full equality for Israel’s…

— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) November 25, 2025

Then, just when you think it can’t get worse than regular Peter Beinart, somehow he goes even lower. He manages to embarrass himself and the lies he tells even more. How does he do this? He apologizes to those who want to kill every Jew in the world, those who actively support the genocide of Jews and who celebrated the massacre on October 7th. He says he was wrong to even speak to Israelis. It’s no longer enough to lie about them. It’s no longer enough to support those who tell the lies and who want there to be no Israel and no Jews. Now, it’s not even ok to speak to them. To share your lies with them and try to convince them that they are racists, murderers, and the worst people on the face of the earth. Now, you simply have to pretend they are not even human, are not even worthy of being talked with.

By speaking earlier this week at Tel Aviv University, I made a serious mistake.

In the past, when formulating my views about Israel-Palestine, I’ve sought out Palestinian friends and interlocutors and listened carefully to their views. In this case, I did not.

I really wanted…

— Peter Beinart (@PeterBeinart) November 26, 2025

I think back to the Peter Beinart that I met in 2014. A person that I agreed with on the challenge ahead and disagreed with on the solution to the challenge. Somebody who wanted to engage in dialogue. This week he proved, in a very public fashion, that Peter Beinart no longer exists. I am now a person he would never speak with. Somebody he wouldn’t even lower himself to speak with. Somebody who isn’t worthy of being graced by his presence nor worthy of hearing him share his lies. It makes me wonder how much longer it will take for him to change the word “Israeli” or “Jew” to simply “vermin” like the Nazis did.

Peter Beinart taught us all a very important lesson this week. There will always be Jews who are embarrassed to be Jewish and as a result, will do all they can to tear us down. We have seen it througout history. Especially throughout our own history. We continue to survive and to thrive despite these efforts because we continue to invest in Judaism. We continue to celebrate being Jewish. So we survive. I was shocked when I learned that not all the Jews left Egypt with Moses. The great Jewish commentator Rashi said that only 20% actually left with Moses. The rest stayed and faded away. Those like Peter Beinart and Bernie Sanders have existed throughout history. They are the 80% of the Jews who stayed in Egypt and didn’t leave with Moses.

Peter Beinart this week showed us the importance of investing in being Jewish. As I prepare to head to Israel on Wednesday with a group of 30-45 year olds for an intense, one week Jewish leadership experience, this lesson couldn’t have come at a better time. Whatever you think being Jewish means, it can mean more. It can be a part of your daily life no matter how religiously observant you may or may not be. Embrace it, because history has shown us that the world will certainly define you as Jewish no matter how much you define yourself. So learn and define yourself in a meaningfully Jewish way. You won’t regret it.