We expect a public intellectual to take sides, frame arguments, articulate thoughtful analyses and help shape our thinking. Liberal journalist Peter Beinart is a public intellectual who fills very few of those expectations. Instead, he has shown himself to be overly focused on arguing against Israel as a Jewish state. His periodic provocative pronouncements keep mainstream Jewish organizations awake at night. Last month saw the publication in The New York Times of Beinart’s op-ed “Has the Fight Against Antisemitism Lost Its Way?” Beinart’s answer is a disturbing “yes,” based upon a flawed argument. Beinart maintains that the expanded definition of...