The Anti-Defamation League calls out Politico's Sanders/Money Tree/Mansion trope as Anti-semitic

[Celerity]

Link to tweet

ADL
✔
@ADL
In this dangerous climate of rising #antiSemitism, all media organizations have a responsibility to be careful not to perpetuate #antiSemitic tropes, such as those about Jews and wealth.


Politico accused of anti-Semitism over Bernie Sanders illustration, tweet
Publication deletes original tweet accompanying article, which stated presidential candidate ‘might still be cheap, but he’s sure not poor’ after criticism from progressives, ADL

https://www.timesofisrael.com/politico-accused-of-anti-semitism-over-bernie-sanders-illustration-tweet/

[Turin_C3PO]

1. It smacks of anti-semitism.

Whether they intended it or not. They probably made an innocent mistake, in fact, but still should apologize, IMO.

[Celerity]

4. they made it even worse with now-deleted 'He might still be cheap, but...' tweet

[Blue_true]

22. Yes, that was a cheap shot and way out of place. nt

[sandensea]

2. For me, to have done well in life and still retain your humanist, progressive outlook is admirable.

Indeed, that describes many in the Jewish community.

And unlike many of the billionaires funding GOPee superpacs (to say nothing of Cheeto!), we know exactly how Bernie's net worth was earned.

[BannonsLiver]

5. Do we though?

[JudyM]

20. Exactly right.

[ZeroSomeBrains]

3. Thank you ADL

I can think of a lot of people here who need to rethink what is and isn't anti-semetic. If you hate the Senator that's fine. At least don't buy into anti-semetic stereotypes and tropes when you do so.

[backtoblue]

17. .

[ZeroSomeBrains]

19. Thanks backtoblue

Your post made me smile.

[hlthe2b]

6. Good on ADL, yet another thread counters with a LA Jewish publication claiming it wasn't antisemitic

"Methinks" some are seeing what they want to see...

I'm not supporting Sanders, but I do want our candidates to be treated fairly and respectfully.

And yes, ADL is in a position to know. I'll take their assessment over others any day.

[Me.]

7. And Yet...

The Jewish Journal says it's not

[melman]

8. First, no they didn't

They linked to the story but made no statement on the imagery..or any comment on the content at all for that matter.


Second, are you seriously going to try to say a little tiny-circulation newsletter in L.A. is more authoritative than the ADL?

[Me.]

9. The Jewish Journal Would Dispute That

“The Jewish Journal is recognized as the major Jewish paper in Los Angeles, which has the second-largest Jewish population in the United States. The Los Angeles Times called The Jewish Journal "an influential weekly." It has received a number of awards from the Los Angeles Press Club over the years.

” Jewishjournal.com is ranked by StatCounter, Google Analytics, and Compete.com as having the most monthly unique users of any American Jewish news web site. The web site is notable for its many blogs covering all aspects of Jewish life, including A Jew, by Michael Berenbaum, Foodaism by Rob Eshman, HollywoodJew by Danielle Berrin and Keeping the Faith and Keeping It Real by Ilana Angel. As of May 2016 the site reported about 4 million unique users per month.”


https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287133064

https://jewishjournal.com/newsroom/money/how-does-a-socialist-get-so-rich/

[melman]

11. So you're saying they're more authoritative than the ADL?

Okay. Go with that.



btw, wiki says they have a circulation of 50,000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jewish_Journal_of_Greater_Los_Angeles

[Me.]

13. Actually...They're The Ones Who Say That

[ehrnst]

23. Can you define what you mean by "authoritative?"

Numbers of members?

[melman]

25. Yes I can

[ehrnst]

27. But - let me guess - you don't 'want' to?

[melman]

28. Why on earth would I?

It's perfectly clear what I meant. You know. I know. Everyone reading knows. No reason at all to play that game.

[ehrnst]

29. Clarifying ones subjective claims is rather hard, isn't it?

Why even try?

I understand completely....

[LanternWaste]

30. It's gotta be tough when you're arguing which authority figure people should believe in...

"Okay. Go with that."

part II.

[demmiblue]

31. Congratulations, you received a response from an Avenatti true believer.

Congratulations, you received a response from an Avenatti true believer.

[saidsimplesimon]

14. I agree.

[Me.]

15. ...

[demmiblue]

10. I trust the ADL on this one.

I guess I missed the other discussions that appear to be happening here... thank goodness. Anti-Semitism, or acceptance thereof, occurs across the political spectrum.

[wellst0nev0ter]

16. Welcome to the Ilhan Omar Club, Politico

But seriously, there must be a way to discuss Bernie's wealth in a sensitive manner.

[bitterross]

18. I'm going to have to go w/ the ADL on this one.

This is total hit piece on Sanders from the word go.

This line from the article is so wrong as to be ridiculous:

"In a strict, bottom-line sense, Sanders has become one of those rich people against whom he has so unrelentingly railed."

NO, in a strict, bottom-line sense Sanders is nowhere near in the same class of wealth as the 1% he rails against. It seems he's made a couple of real estate investments and wrote a book that, together, have increased his net worth to around $2 million. Good for him. In today's dollars that really isn't all that much. Without a pension, that's not even enough to retire on.

That is not even close to the Wall Street Hedge-fund manager level or Jamie Dimon Bankster CEO level of wealth. The level of wealthy people Sanders rails against. Those people have hundreds of millions, if not hundreds of billions.

Calling him "cheap" is obviously anti-Semitic. It plays right into the stereotypes traditionally used to demean Jewish people. Does he really need to change his shopping habits because he has a decent net-worth on paper? Probably not. That paper net-worth doesn't equate to cash flow.

Bernie is not at all my choice for President. In fact, he's WAY down the list for me. But, these stupid hit pieces need to be called out for the trash they are.

[JudyM]

21. Good post.

[BannonsLiver]

24. So basically what you're saying is this issue is forbidden to be discussed

That it’s really not so much about the imagery, but the content. Bad news is Sanders supporters don’t get to dictate what is and what is not discussed. It’s a primary and everything is out there as it is for all of the candidates.

[Kurt V.]

26. +1

[corbettkroehler]

32. There Are Valid Opinions On Both Sides Of This Argument But I'll Side With The ADL Every Time

If those good people decry this as antisemitic, that's good enough for me.