John Fitzgerald Image by Fitzgerald campaign

Robocalls in support of California congressional candidate John Fitzgerald assert that Jews are taking over the world and ‘must be stopped.’

Robert Gammon, business development director for Telegraph Media, tweeted Tuesday that he received one of the calls from Fitzgerald, the GOP candidate for the 11th district. He said it was “easily the most racist political ad I’ve ever come across in the Bay Area.”

Holy Shit.

Antisemitism Decoded

Arno Rosenfeld helps you separate the signal from the noise about antisemitism and understand current debates over Jewish safety.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

I just got a robocall in support of the racist Holocaust denier GOP candidate John Fitzgerald of CoCo County, claiming that Jews are taking over the world “and must be stopped.”

It was easily the most racist political ad I’ve ever come across in the Bay Area.

— Robert Gammon (@RobertGammon) July 10, 2018

Fitzgerald openly denies the Holocaust. His campaign website includes false claims that 9% of U.S. government officials are dual citizens of Israel and that Jews played a “prominent role” in the African slave trade, and celebrates a “courageous” elderly German woman who was sentenced to two years in prison for denying the Holocaust.

“Why is the holocaust the ONLY historical issue that cannot be questioned without fear of fines and/or imprisonment in eighteen countries – and counting – throughout the world?” Fitzgerald wrote on May 16.

He won 24.8% percent of the vote to finish second in California’s “jungle” primary, in which the top two candidate from either party advance to the general election. He will face Democratic incumbent Rep. Mark DeSaulnier in November in the East Bay district, which Hillary Clinton carried by a hefty 47-point margin.

The state GOP says it is bound by its bylaws to endorse Fitzgerald, even though it says it denounces his views.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount