Newspaper Reader.

stephenkmacksd.com/

Feb 20, 2026

What reader who confronts the almost evolution, to near political respectability of James Kirchick, as a possible New York Times replacement for David Brooks? History may disabuse that reader?

James (“Jamie”) Kirchick is a fellow at the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and a contributing editor at the New Republic. A former writer-at-large for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kirchick has also contributed to various rightist outlets like the Weekly Standard and Commentary magazine’s Contentions blog, as well as numerous mainstream publications, including the Los Angeles Times and Politico.[1]

On Anti-Semitism

Like others of his ideological kin—such as Lee Smith, also at FDD—Kirchick has wielded accusations of anti-semitism in an effort to sideline those who are critical of hardline Israeli polices and one-sided U.S. support for them. In a February 2012 op-ed for Israel’s liberal Haaretz, Kirchick defended “pro-Israel” U.S. writers like Josh Block—a fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and former AIPAC spokesperson—who had been criticized for arguing that progressive, Democratic Party-affiliated organizations like the Center for American Progress (CAP) allowed their writers “to say borderline anti-semitic stuff.” Kirchick misleadingly claimed in the article that Block was “ultimately vindicated” when CAP criticized use of terms like “Israel-firster” in its publications.[2] However, it was Block who was forced to back off his anti-semitism claims, telling a reporter that anyone “suggesting” the he thinks CAP is anti-semitic is simply trying “to distract from what I am actually saying.”[3] Kirchick apparently missed this retraction from Block.[4]

According to Kirchick, the real back story to this episode is what he calls a growing “leftist McCarthyism” aimed at “questioning the loyalties of American Jews.” To support this claim, Kirchick argued—without providing any supporting evidence—that big-name scholars and journalists in the United States have recently experienced success in their careers precisely because of their willingness to criticize Israel. He wrote: “Figures ranging from University of Chicago professor John Mearsheimer to journalists Peter Beinart and Andrew Sullivan have all seen their careers blossom as a result of their harsh and unrelenting criticism of Israel. Indeed, obsessively attacking Israel is a bona-fide way to resuscitate one’s career, not destroy it.” He concluded: “Since the 1950s, liberals have routinely accused conservatives of ‘McCarthyism. Now the tables have turned, and it is leftists questioning the loyalties of American Jews.”[4]

…

Editor: Note the political depth of this revelatory document, that casts a serching light on James Kirchick’s political evolution. If that even begins to describe his trojetory, that now rests in the hands of The New York Times editors and readers?

Newspaper Reader