John Cusack Posts Anti-Semitic Meme, Says He Was Trying To Support Palestinians
John Cusack at the Spooky Empire Horror Convention at the Hyatt Regency on October 28, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. Image by Manny Hernandez / Getty Images
By Aiden Pink June 18, 2019
Actor John Cusack posted an anti-Semitic meme on Twitter on Monday night, before deleting the post and trying to explain that he thought it would show support for Palestinian rights.
The image featured a hand with a Star of David crushing a mass of people below, along with the quote “To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” (The meme said the quote was by the French philosopher Voltaire, but it actually originated from the white supremacist Holocaust denier Kevin Alfred Strom.)
This is disgusting pic.twitter.com/4b2RlPrNfL
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) June 17, 2019
Cusack, who was tagged in an original tweet of the graphic along with other prominent supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, shared the image along with the words “Follow the money.”
After being accused of anti-Semitism, Cusack deleted the tweet and tried to offer an explanation: “A bot got me- I thought I was endorsing a pro Palestinian justice retweet – of an earlier post – it came I think from a different source – Shouldn’t Have retweeted…” That explanation was also deleted.
Cusack later issued an apology for sharing the image and admitted that it was anti-Semitic. “The image depicted a blue Star of David, which I associated with Israel as their flag uses the same color and shape,” he wrote. “I know the star itself is deeply meaningful to Jews no matter where they stand on Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.”
Aiden Pink is the deputy news editor of the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aidenpink
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.
