American Jewish Committee

===New antisemitism===
{{see also|New antisemitism}}
A 2007 essay, "''Progressive''<!-- Emphasis in original --> Jewish Thought and the New Anti-Semitism" by Professor [[Alvin H. Rosenfeld]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/PROGRESSIVE_JEWISH_THOUGHT.PDF |title=Progressive Jewish thought |publisher=Ajc.org |access-date=2012-10-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312025251/http://www.ajc.org/atf/cf/%7B42D75369-D582-4380-8395-D25925B85EAF%7D/PROGRESSIVE_JEWISH_THOUGHT.PDF |archive-date=2010-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> published on the AJC website, criticized Jewish critics of Israel by name, particularly the editors and contributors to "Wrestling With Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" (Grove Press), a 2003 collection of essays edited by [[Tony Kushner]] and [[Alisa Solomon]]. The essay accused these writers of participating in an "onslaught against Zionism and the Jewish State," which he considered a veiled form of supporting a rise in antisemitism.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/arts/31jews.html | work=The New York Times | first=Patricia | last=Cohen | title=Essay Linking Liberal Jews and Anti-Semitism Sparks a Furor | date=31 January 2007}}</ref>

In an editorial, the Jewish newspaper ''[[The Forward]]'' called Rosenfeld's essay "a shocking tissue of slander" whose intent was to "turn Jews against liberalism and silence critics." [[Richard Cohen (columnist)|Richard Cohen]] remarked that the essay "has given license to the most intolerant and narrow-minded of Israel's defenders so that, as the AJC concedes in my case, any veering from orthodoxy is met with censure ... the most powerful of all post-Holocaust condemnations—anti-Semite—is diluted beyond recognition."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020501249.html | newspaper=The Washington Post | first=Richard | last=Cohen | title=Cheapening a Fight Against Hatred | date=6 February 2007}}</ref>

The essay was also criticized by Rabbi [[Michael Lerner (rabbi)|Michael Lerner]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Michael |first=Rabbi |url=http://baltimorechronicle.com/2007/020207LERNER.shtml |title=There Is No New Anti-Semitism |publisher=BaltimoreChronicle.com |date=2007-02-02 |access-date=2012-10-19}}</ref> and in op-eds in ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/feb/08/matthewyglesias | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Matthew | last=Yglesias | title=Are we all anti-semites now? | date=8 February 2007}}</ref> and ''[[The Boston Globe]]''.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/02/07/all_critics_of_israel_arent_anti_semites/ | work=The Boston Globe | first=Stanley I. | last=Kutler | title=All critics of Israel aren't anti-Semites | date=7 February 2007}}</ref>

In a ''[[The Jerusalem Post|Jerusalem Post]]'' op-ed, AJC Executive Director [[David Harris (advocate)|David Harris]] explained why the organization published Rosenfeld's essay in 2007:

:Rosenfeld has courageously taken on the threat that arises when a Jewish imprimatur is given to the campaign to challenge Israel's very legitimacy. He has the right to express his views no less than those whom he challenges. It is important to stress that he has not suggested that those about whom he writes are anti-Semitic, though that straw-man argument is being invoked by some as a diversionary tactic. As befits a highly regarded and prolific scholar, he has written a well-documented and thought-provoking essay that deserves to be considered on its merits.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1170359796236&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608092252/http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1170359796236&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=June 8, 2009 |last=Harris |first=David A. |author-link=David Harris (advocate) |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |title=Why AJC published the Rosenfeld essay |access-date=September 18, 2022 |url-status=dead }}</ref>