Hey, remember when the media was outraged when the Trump campaign highlighted some billionaire Democrat donors, two of whom were of Jewish origin, and one of whom was a Christian with a Jewish last name? Aside from that last part, one major reason that argument went nowhere is that President Trump is about as far away from being anti-Semitic as any president since Bush II.
On the other hand, what’s the reaction to a Democrat elected official with a history of anti-Semitism sending out a mailer like this.
The mailer, received by voters in the district last week and obtained by VICE News, leads with the headline “Can We Trust Antone Melton-Meaux’s Money?” It accuses him of being “in the pocket of the GOP,” “in the pocket of Wall Street,” and “in the pocket of the medical industry,” and pulls various quotes from a MinnPost article and a BuzzFeed article about his donors attacking Omar.
The only names cited in the mailer are Stanley Weinstein, a retired real estate executive from Miami Beach who was the only on-record BuzzFeed quote; billionaire Jonathan Gray, the head of Blackstone Group private equity firm; and Seth Klarman, a billionaire hedge fund owner who has donated in the past to the GOP. All three men are Jewish (both MinnPost and the mailer inaccurately refer to Gray as “John”).
None of Melton-Meaux’s other donors are mentioned by name in the mailer. The only other quote with identifying information attached to it is from “Michael, a donor from Scarsdale, New York” — one of the wealthiest and most heavily Jewish towns in the country.
Rep. Omar is going full Cynthia McKinnney. It’s quite an accomplishment for 2019’s Antisemite of the Year.
Following weeks of voting, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was named by thousands of voters as 2019’s “Antisemite of the Year.”
The competition, hosted by StopAntisemitism.org, invited the public to expose anti-Semites who threaten American values, morals and principles by spreading hate and bigotry against the Jewish people.
After receiving dozens of nominations, on Nov. 21, neo-Nazi and white supremacist Richard Spencer, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and Rep. Ilhan Omar emerged as finalists. After another round of public voting, Omar was declared the winner.
The media has, of course, eagerly rushed not to cover the story, even as media blue check marks on Twitter have defended Omar. But I’m sure they’ll be happy to write another story about antisemitism… as soon as they can make it about President Trump.
As Bruce Ticker of the San Diego Jewish World notes of the Times’ coverage of Rep. Tlaib…
Barely nothing about Tlaib’s hostility toward Israel appeared in the Times article on Sunday. The closest the two reporters – note that is two reporters – moved toward that aspect came in this paragraph: “Mr. Trump has seized on the grouping as well, assailing Ms. Tlaib and the other lawmakers as unpatriotic and at one point telling them to ‘go back’ to their countries of origin, although all but Ms. Omar are American-born.
“At Mr. Trump’s urging, Israel blocked Ms. Tlaib from entering the country last summer to visit her grandmother, before relenting,” the story added.
Why would President Trump interfere with Tlaib’s visit to Israel? Why should Israelis care? Do not count on this Times article to explain it.
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