Just in case you were wondering, no, this is not from The Onion. I know it’s hard to tell these days, but this is an actual thing that happened.
According to Adam Kredo at the Washington Free Beacon, the New York Times has provided a nifty new tool, a Congressional ‘Jew Tracker.’
The New York Times has come under fire from Jewish organizations for launching a website aimed at tracking how Jewish lawmakers are voting on the Iran nuclear agreement.The online chart, which tracks whether lawmakers who opposes the accord are Jewish, is being criticized as anti-Semitic in nature and an attempt to publicly count where Jews fall on the issue, which some have sought to turn into a debate about dual loyalty to Israel.The feature, titled “Lawmakers Against the Iran Nuclear Deal,” includes a list of legislators currently opposing the deal.
On the outset, the NYT article seems harmless enough, “Lawmakers Against the Iran Nuclear Deal,” it’s called. But then there are the charts…
As Kredo explained:
Jewish leaders criticized the Times for feeding into anti-Semitic stereotypes.“It’s a grotesque insult to the intelligence of the people who voted for and will vote against [the deal],” said Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats anti-Semitism.Cooper said it evokes images of “Jewish pressure” and “Jewish money” influencing the Iran vote.This type of reporting “does a disservice to the issue and that’s the exact opposite job of the New York Times,” Cooper said. “They have some explaining to do. Why’d they do it? Shame on the New York Times for the timing and implications of this piece.”A nationwide poll released this week found that a plurality of American voters, or 37 percent “see accusations of Jewish lawmakers having dual-loyalties on the Iran deal as anti-Semitic,” according to the findings, which were published by the Israel Project.“This includes pluralities across all partisan and ideological lines,” the poll found. “Even among supporters of the deal, 37 percent view these accusations as anti-Semitic.”“As a point of comparison, 35 percent said they saw the Confederate Flag as a symbol of racism in a New York Times poll in July 2015, a position that the paper vocally endorsed,” said Nathan Klein, lead pollster at Olive Tree Strategies, which conducted the poll on the Israel Project’s behalf.One senior official with a Jewish organization based in Washington, D.C., expressed shock when sent a link to the Times feature.“I guess we should be grateful the New York Times chose not to illustrate its Jew tracker by awarding a six-pointed yellow badge to every Jewish opponent of this catastrophic sellout.”A New York Times spokesperson declined to comment on the criticism leveled against the website.
Who thought a ‘Jew Tracker’ was a good idea? WHO?!
I can see the conversation now…
“Hey, you know what we should do? Break down the Iran Nuke Deal Votes by RELIGION! And by religion, I mean only those who are Jewish.”
“Brilliant!”
But seriously, Who does this help and how? What is the point? What are we trying to accomplish with this odd distinction? are all questions the New York Times neglected to ask before publishing this article, apparently.
Meanwhile, Hillary lackeys have accused the New York Times of being, “a megaphone for conservative propaganda.”
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
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