Report: WikiLeaks Founder Assange Talks of ‘Jewish Conspiracy’ Against Him
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused British journalists of a “Jewish conspiracy” against him, according to a report in a British magazine.
The accusation came in remarks published in the British magazine Private Eye, which was reporting on a phone call Assange made on Feb. 16 to the magazine’s editor complaining about British coverage of WikiLeaks, The New York Times reported.
Private Eye had published an article on Assange associate in Russia, Israel Shamir, saying that he had denied the Holocaust. Assange called the article “an obvious attempt to deprive him and his organization of Jewish support and donations,” according to the Jewish Chronicle.
He also said the magazine was “part of a conspiracy” led by “Jewish” writers and specifically cited The Guardian newspaper, naming Editor Alan Rusbridger, a non-Jew, and investigations editor David Leigh.
Assange responded to the Private Eye article on Twitter, saying that editor Ian Hislop, who wrote the article, “distorted, invented or misremembered” what he said, calling his use of the term Jewish conspiracy “false in spirit and in word.”
“We treasure our strong Jewish support and staff, just as we treasure the support from pan-Arab democracy activists and others who share our hope for a just world,” Assange tweeted.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO