The Anglo-Jewish novelist Howard Jacobson has written of the archetype of the “Ashamed Jew,” who loves nothing more than to declare “As a Jew, I am ashamed by the deeds of my fellow Jews.” Most often, the source of that shame is the real or imagined behavior of Israel. A German journalist named Fabian Wolff, who often writes about his experiences “as a Jew,” has spent the better part of his career playing the role of Ashamed Jew. But it has recently come to light that he is not, in fact, a Jew. Zeev Avrahami writes:

After his former partner revealed that he is not Jewish, Wolff published a lengthy article in the magazine Die Zeit this week, in which he exposed the truth about his religious identity and quickly placed the blame on his mother. The perplexed German left rushed to blame Jewish institutions for revealing the truth in their statements.

[Wollf] supports absolving Muslim anti-Semitism of blame, . . . in addition to being an enthusiastic supporter of boycott movements against Israel, such as BDS. . . . Germany, like other countries, loves Jews such as Wolff. Jewish individuals who point accusing fingers at Israel for the current situation in the Middle East, including acts of violence and ethnic cleansing, receive support.

Wolff’s Jewish identity was his ticket to the liberal left. . . . Wolff, who is also a teacher by trade, strongly attacked other Jews, claiming that they were blindly pro-Israel, extreme right-wingers, or racists. He used his fabricated Jewish identity to bash fellow Jews.

Last week, the New York Times reported, based on unnamed sources within the Trump administration, that the president had asked Israel not to carry out a planned strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. That is, somebody deliberately gave this information to the press, which later tried to confirm it by speaking with other officials. Amit Segal writes that, “according to figures in Israel’s security establishment,” this is “the most serious leak in Israel’s history.” He explains:

As Israel is reportedly planning what may well be one of its most consequential military operations ever, the New York Times lays out for the Iranians what Israel will target, when it will carry out the operation, and how. That’s not just any other leak.

Seth Mandel looks into the leaker’s logic:

The primary purpose of the [Times] article is not as a record of internal deliberations but as an instrument of policy itself. Namely, to obstruct future U.S. and Israeli foreign policy by divulging enough details of Israel’s plans in order to protect Iran’s nuclear sites. The idea is to force Israeli planners back to the drawing board, thus delaying a possible future strike on Iran until Iranian air defenses have been rebuilt.

The leak is the point. It’s a tactical play, more or less, to help Iran torpedo American action.

The leaker, Mandel explains—and the Times itself implies—is likely aligned with the faction in the administration that wants to see the U.S. retreat from the world stage and from its alliance with Israel, a faction that includes Vice-President J.D. Vance, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and the president’s own chief of staff Susie Wiles.

Yet it’s also possible, if less likely, that the plans were leaked in support of administration policy rather than out of factional infighting. Eliezer Marom argues that the leak was “part of the negotiations and serves to clarify to the Iranians that there is a real attack plan that Trump stopped at the last moment to conduct negotiations.”