Could Breitbart Editor Joel Pollak Be Next American Envoy to South Africa?
Image by CNN
By Dave Goldiner February 7, 2017
Breitbart News alumni are already fast filling the ranks at the Trump White House with far-right flamethrower Steve Bannon said to be the new president’s most powerful lieutenant.
Now, Joel Pollak, Breitbart’s editor-at-large is being tipped to be the Donald’s new ambassador to South Africa, the influential local Daily Maverick web site reported.
Pollak was born in South Africa to a Jewish family that emigrated to the United States and once served as speechwriter to Tony Leon, who was leader of the liberal opposition party.
He’s married to the daughter of a onetime anti-apartheid activists and would seem to have strong ties to the country’s strongly pro-Israel Jewish establishment.
But former colleagues in the Democratic Alliance and other South African commentators are reportedly expressing dismay that Pollak, whose political views have veered to the far right, could wind up being America’s man in Pretoria.
The ties to Trump could be embarrassing to the DA as it seeks to gain traction against the ruling African National Congress since the new president is widely viewed here as a dangerous and divisive figure.
Ex-colleague Gareth van Onselen told the Daily Maverick that Pollack “could be difficult, unavailable, fraught and sometimes unthinkingly impulsive.”
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
