As Ramesh notes, PEN America is yet again in turmoil for straying from its mission, which is supposed to be the championing of the freedom of the press and of publishing, in opposition to censorship. This is a chronic problem with advocacy groups, and it’s much worse on the left: First comes one-sided partisanship in choosing when to stand up for the group’s cause. Next follows the insistence on expanding the focus to the “omnicause,” the intersection of left-wing causes, of which Gaza is presently the king. So, instead of trying to build credibility across party, factional, and issue-related lines in order to advance the single cause for which the group exists, it dissipates its resources and credibility in the interests of movement solidarity. That’s how PEN America went from losing one president who was criticized for not being Gaza-focused enough to losing another who resigned in protest when PEN America published a fine piece earlier this month on the subject of discrimination against Jewish authors. The result is chaos within the organization.

As National Review readers know, PEN America’s rot is not new. Caroline Downey has covered the pressure from Palestinian activists, and Abigail Anthony has dismantled its dubious “banned-books list.”