Paul Nehlen Releases Statement From ‘Semitic Liaison’ After Twitter Suspension
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Ari Feldman January 25, 2018
Paul Nehlen, the Wisconsin business man running to unseat Republican Speaker Paul Ryan, released a statement from his campaign’s “Semitic Liaison” after being suspended from Twitter. Nehlen was suspended for seven days; Twitter said he violated the company’s rules by making anti-Semitic posts.
The statement was apparently written by Matt Fischer, who goes by @MattsOurSemite on Twitter.
“As a Jew, I cannot help but notice the double standards when it comes to pointing out overrepresentation,” Fischer wrote. “Why is it that we can freely discuss White overrepresentation, but any discussion of Jewish overrepresentation causes such backlash?”
Fischer also referenced the “media charts” Nehlen posted on his Twitter account that assigned Jewish stars to members of major media outlets. Fischer challenged Jewish journalists to “point to even a single name in the charts of a media executive who was falsely identified as Jewish.”
Authorized statement on behalf of the @pnehlen campaign pic.twitter.com/2Ac03CpDGh
— Matt Semite (@MattsOurSemite) January 24, 2018
Fischer’s statement was also posted on Gab, a micro-blogging service similar to Twitter that does not suspend or remove users’ accounts for posting hate speech or offensive content. Twitter’s guidelines state that users cannot “promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease” while using the service.
Correction: January 26, 12:05 p.m. — This post has been updated to reflect that Gab does not remove hate speech or offensive content from its site. Gab’s guidelines state that the company can remove illegal pornography and other illegal content.
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
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.
