Arizona Republican shares ‘Shtisel’ image to rebuke colleague’s antisemitic comments
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Ron Kampeas March 5, 2022
(JTA) — An Arizona state senator wanted to make it clear that she reviled the antisemitism of one of her colleagues, so she shared an image of the cast of the Israeli family drama, “Shtisel.”
Kelly Townsend, a Republican, no longer wants the endorsement of her colleague, Wendy Rogers, after Rogers drew national attention for a slew of antisemitic and white nationalist statements this week.
“The silver lining in the most recent unpleasantry at the AZ Senate is that it is flushing out the true antisemites,” Rogers said Thursday on Twitter. “I am surprised, not surprised, by the people on our side who can’t bring themselves to condemn such hate speech. #Israel #Chosen #PrayForThePeaceOfJerusalem”
The illustration she chose was a cast photo of “Shtisel,” the drama about a dysfunctional haredi Orthodox family in Jerusalem. In the publicity still, Nukhem Shtisel, played by Sasson Gabbay, is staring balefully at the brother he despises, Shulem Shtisel, played by Doval’e Glickman.
Although it would certainly be accurate to state that Jews love “Shtisel,” it wasn’t clear why Townsend, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives, chose the image to illustrate that she stands with the Jewish people.
Townsend soon took down the tweet, and replaced it with another, with the same text, this time illustrated by the Israeli flag.
The Arizona Mirror noted that Townsend and Rogers once were close, but Townsend was determined Thursday to make clear that is non longer the case.
“I emphatically reject @WendyRogersAZ endorsement of my campaign for Congress,” she said. “I do not wish to accept financial donations that she solicited & will respectfully return them.”
—
The post Arizona Republican shares ‘Shtisel’ image to rebuke colleague’s antisemitic comments appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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.
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.
