The lead story in the New York Times today is on Donald Trump’s two administrative appointments, including Stephen Bannon as a top counselor. The article is a graywash of the Bannon choice. Not a whitewash; a graywash. The first reference to Bannon says that he is a “rightwing media provocateur,” making him sound roguish instead of dangerous.

It’s not until the 19th paragraph that the paper gets into in-depth criticism of Bannon himself, quoting the Anti-Defamation League.

Mr. Bannon’s appointment on Sunday set off a fierce response on Twitter and in Washington. The Anti-Defamation League issued a scathing statement calling him “hostile to core American values.” “It is a sad day when a man who presided over the premier website of the ‘alt-right’ — a loose-knit group of white nationalists and unabashed anti-Semites and racists — is slated to be a senior staff member in the ‘people’s house,’” the statement said.

The Times‘s minimization of these charges may be an unconscious effort to normalize Bannon. It’s a graywash.

By contrast, a Haaretz article about Bannon by Chemi Shalev is not a graywash. Right in the headline it accurately calls Bannon an “accused anti-Semite.” Shalev writes, “American Jews have transformed virtually overnight from insiders to outsiders; the appointment of ex-Breitbart CEO Steve Bannon, an accused anti-Semite, as chief strategist, is bound to exacerbate the tensions.”

The article gives a shocking but true statement of Bannon’s political character:

He is considered the standard bearer for the racist, anti-immigrant alt-right movement and has been accused of harboring anti-Semitic sentiments himself.

An entirely fair summary. And nothing remotely like that is in the Times piece until deep into the article. What’s more, in the next paragraph, Shalev does not let Donald Trump off the anti-Semitic hook either:

Trump has repeatedly and unapologetically disseminated white supremacist tweets. His campaign has used anti-Semitic symbols that Trump has failed to disown even when advised of their offensive content. He has distanced himself from his neo-Nazi supporters only under duress. And under his wings, America has seen an unprecedented outburst of blunt and naked hatred of Jews, which has only gotten worse since his election.

That sentence should be in the New York Times.

The campaign to resist the Bannon appointment should be an epic battle, which will set a precedent for the next months and years. If Trump successfully installs this man in the White House, an alt right accused anti-Semite, things will be very bad for America, and for the actual lives of our people.

The shock that many Jews are experiencing is partly of the making of the Jewish establishment. This graywash in the Times and lack of sufficient alert to what looks like a sudden danger is due in part to the misuse of the term “anti-Semitism.” For years now, pro-Israel Jews slandered Jews and anyone else who fought for Palestinian human rights, contending day in and day out that any criticism of Israel was anti-Semitism. But Trump is not anti-Israel! Therefore he gets cover for an appointment that actually elevates anti-Semitism. Ben Kunkel observes sharply:

https://twitter.com/kunktation/status/797957606446891012

Remember that many at the leading Israel lobby AIPAC cheered Trump when he addressed their conference last spring. And now those same followers have to swallow their own medicine. Reports a television producer:

https://twitter.com/jonfranks/status/797975490526998528

But will AIPAC say anything publicly? Unlikely. The AIPAC policy is to ensure that there is “no daylight” between the US government and the Israeli government, and with Trump being such an unknown, it would be a huge political misstep for the lead Israel lobby organization to criticize Trump at first breath. It needs Trump too much.

Does AIPAC care more about Israel than it does about the rights of Jewish Americans in their own country?

Update:

Neither AIPAC nor the American Jewish Committee (“the leading global Jewish advocacy organization” which “works to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and to advance human rights and democratic values for all.”) will be making a statement on Bannon:

AIPAC will not comment on appointment of Steve Bannon due to "long-standing policy of not taking positions on presidential appointments" — Nathan Guttman (@nathanguttman) November 14, 2016