About those ads

The letters keep pouring in about the Republican Jewish Coalition ads that have been appearing in this and other Jewish newspapers in the run-up to the November election. Readers who disagree with their message call them misleading, libelous, obnoxious, and plain inaccurate. And some readers blame the messenger and say by accepting the ads, NJ Jewish News is tacitly endorsing their message and their style of rhetoric.

A few weeks ago in this space an editorial questioned the tactics of the RJC and said that the attempt to make support for Israel a partisan issue was bad for Israel, and bad for the Jews. But we continue to accept the ads, and many readers want to know why.

The short answer is that this is a newspaper that reflects the values of our community of readers. And the value that trumps all others is neither liberalism nor conservatism, but a belief that the Jewish community speaks in a wide array of voices. Most of the time, members of the community respect those different voices, even when they disagree with one or more of them. Sometimes, as in the case of the RJC ads, the voices offend a segment, even a majority, of the community. But a principle is a principle, and we need to be a forum for the offensive and inoffensive alike. After all, what one person considers offensive, another might consider her most firmly held belief.

There are limits, of course. We check ads for libel and accuracy, and while the RJC ads skirt close to distorting the polls and news articles they cite, they remain within boundaries acceptable in these days of attack ads and heated political rhetoric. Where the ads end up in the paper is a question of what advertisers request, how much they pay for the ad, and what spaces are available. Placement is a business transaction, not a reflection of whether the newspaper agrees or disagrees with the message. And NJ Jewish News is a business.

But it is also a marketplace — of ideas. And if we are to be reflection of this community, we need to be a forum for its arguments as well as its celebrations, its anger as well as its happiness. We’ve reported on the dismay over the ads in our news section, editorialized on them, and allowed the letters pages to become a town hall meeting on their pros and cons. That’s community in action. That’s who we are.