News of the World’s Rebekah Brooks: NOT a Jew (Phew!)
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Good news for the Jews: Unlike Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Bernie Madoff before them, the most recent scandal-plagued bold-faced names are not members of the tribe.
You may have heard something of a little scandal involving phone hacking on the part of the defunct British tabloid News of the World. Well, the bright side to it all is that despite her Semitic-sounding name, curly hair and criminal wrongdoing, the recently arrested former News of the World editor Rebekah Brooks is NOT Jewish.
For that matter, neither is Brooks’s former boss, humbled billionaire mogul Rupert Murdoch. (Apparently the fact that he’s rich and owns a major media company means he must be Jewish to many people. Seriously, Google “Rupert” and “Jewish.” Stereotypes die hard.)
At least we can’t be held entirely responsible for this one.
Now, let’s all let out a collective, “Phew.”
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.
