By Michael Berenhaus, Israel Hayom—
In its coverage of the recent “Rally in Solidarity with the Jewish People,” the Washington Post seems to downplay the need for such a rally. In its article, Hundreds denounce antisemitism during rally at Capitol, the daily cherry-picks statistics in order to minimize the threat to Jews, citing an Anti-Defamation League report that, while incidents of harassment against Jews were up 10% in 2020 over 2019, “acts of vandalism and assault declined by 18% and 49%, respectively.” Well maybe that had something to do with the lockdown during the worst pandemic in 100 years?
According to the FBI’s latest annual crime report from 2019: FBI – Victims, over 60% of all religious hate crimes were perpetrated against those of the Jewish faith. That is more hate crimes than against all other religious groups combined. That statistic is especially alarming considering that Jews make up only 2% of the US population.
In 2021, hate crimes against Jews have risen substantially. Hate crimes against Jews in L.A. rose nearly 60% in first half of 2021.
Most readers have seen the horrendous videos of gangs attacking Jews in New York and elsewhere, outside of restaurants and bagel shops, solely because they were Jewish. This is clearly reminiscent of the pogroms that caused many Jews to flee to the United States in the first place.
Yet these shocking facts are ignored by the Washington Post, which shows little regard for the crime wave against Jews.
One of the two photos accompanying the article revealed more editorial distaste for the rally against antisemitism. The lead photo showed four Orthodox Jews who objected to the rally. The caption – “Orthodox Jews make their opinion known” – falsely implied that religious Jews generally oppose protests against antisemitism. Why highlight this tiny handful of nonconformists? Apparently, the Washington Post was trying to discredit the purpose of the gathering.
Next, the paper distracted from the theme of antisemitism by putting Israel on trial. One speaker at the rally was Elisha Wiesel, son of Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel. Although Wiesel’s speech emphasized the importance of Jewish unity, the Washington Post undercut that message by quoting his parenthetical remark that some “disagree on Israel.” It seems the Washington Post would prefer to embarrass the Jewish community by noting their mix of opinions about Israel rather than reveal their overwhelming solidarity on the issue of antisemitism. Continue Reading….
