Jonah Platt’s recent Substack essay, “They’re Not Self-Hating Jews. The Truth Is Harder,” attempts a sympathetic diagnosis of young Jews – often college-educated, day-school alumni – who march with keffiyehs, chant for “ceasefire” in ways that echo Hamas talking points, or affiliate with groups like IfNotNow. Platt insists we misunderstand them if we call them self-hating or anti-Jewish. They have “strong Jewish roots,” know holidays, prayers, songs, customs. The failure, he says, lies with parents and institutions that taught superficial “tikkun olam” Judaism, leaving them vulnerable to progressive ideologies. The solution? More outreach, understanding, bridge-building.

If this sounds like Korach v’adaso, its because it is: a sophisticated, envy-fueled insurgency from within the elite, cloaked in the language of egalitarianism, justice, and a “purer” vision of holiness. It prefigures modern ideological rebellions where the privileged weaponize selective readings of tradition to dismantle........

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