4 Things Breitbart Got Dead Wrong About the Forward
Image by Getty Images
Writer-at-Large Jane Eisner November 16, 2016
Aaron Klein writes on Breitbart.com that the Forward intentionally smeared his former boss and senior Donald Trump advisor, Stephen Bannon, by explaining how he can support Israel and still be associated with anti-Semitism.
To quote the president-elect: Wrong.
We are journalists, with a proud history extending over nearly 120 years of independent reporting. We don’t smear. We don’t have a far left “socialist” agenda. As a not-for-profit, we publish a wide range of views, and we don’t endorse political candidates.
Instead, we deal with facts. Unfortunately, many of Klein’s assertions are just plain wrong.
Fact: The experts we quote are highly regarded in their fields of study. They point out why ultra-nationalists in America can support ultra-nationalists in Israel, but still traffic in anti-Semitism back home.
Fact: Anti-Semitism in Poland — where there are very few Jews left — is stubbornly persistent even as its hard-right government maintains diplomatic ties with Israel.
Fact: The Forward’s editorial support of last year’s nuclear deal with Iran mirrors the opinion of a majority of American Jews, the United States Congress, and many top military and intelligence officials in Israel. Opposing the Netanyahu government on one issue does not make this news organization anti-Israel — or anti-Semitic.
Fact: The Forward did not support the “anti-Semitic Muslim Brotherhood regime” in Egypt. In fact, the most recent story we published from Egypt suggested that attitudes toward Jews were improving under the al-Sisi regime in Egypt, a sworn enemy of the Brotherhood.
Klein also wrote that the Forward “has featured numerous articles alleging Trump’s presidential campaign has evidenced racist, white supremacist and anti-Semitic undertones.” That, at least, is correct. We have also featured numerous pieces by Jews who support Trump. That’s what real journalists do.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
