Scandal at the Shalem Center
A mysterious break-in, embezzlement, nepotism, extremist pasts, lavish spending, internecine fighting, editorial dishonesty, fastidiousness in stapling — these are among the many allegations mentioned in a Ha’aretz exposé about the Shalem Center, the influential Jerusalem-based neoconservative-leaning think tank.
The Shalem Center, while leaning decidedly to the right, can claim credit for publishing some of the more interesting intellectual work in the Jewish world today, from its excellent journal Azure to the publications it has sponsored on a number of American college campuses. And its prestige, as Ha’aretz notes, has attracted a number of leading Israeli thinkers who are definitely to the center’s left.
It will be interesting to see how the center responds to this report. One thing is certainly undeniable: Shalem Center publications are very nicely designed. (Read the full Ha’aretz article, and you’ll get the joke.)
Hat tip: Richard Silverstein’s Tikkun Olam blog.
UPDATE: The Shalem Center responds.
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