It has been reported that a number of political figures in the United States have come under fire for making inflammatory comments about Jews.
In Arizona, three Republican candidates have been criticised for their endorsement of an Oklahoma-based candidate who has made a number of remarks about Jews.
The endorsements of the Arizona Republicans, Kari Lake, Mark Finchem, and Wendy Rogers appear on the website of the Oklahoma State Senate candidate, Jarrin Jackson, who has reportedly said that he is not âbeholden to Jewsâ, that he âainât owned by the Jewsâ, that âall Jews will go to hell if they donât believe the gospel of Jesus Christâ, and that âI love Jews because Christ told me to, not because they deserve it.â
Mr Jackson also appears to have been prompted by a documentary he watched to have said that Jews are an example that âevil existsâ.
Ms Lake has since retracted her endorsement of Mr Jackson, but neither Mr Finchem nor Ms Rogers apparently responded to journalistsâ requests for a comment.
It has been reported that Ms Rogers had at one point posted a meme of a dead rhino â possibly in reference to the liberal wing of her Party, known pejoratively as RINOs â with a Star of David on the animal.
In San Francisco, a candidate running for the city government has been forced to issue an apology after making fun of the name of a Jewish journalist and calling them a âNaziâ.
Leanna Louie, who was running for a position on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, wrote a post on Facebook in which she called a local journalist, Joe Eskenazi, âEskeNAZIâ.
Comparing her experiences of being interviewed by a local radio station with her interactions with Mr Eskenazi, Ms Louie wrote that âIt was so nice to talk to a journalist who actually had a dialogue with me. Unlike Joe EskenNAZI who called me and talked over me and didnât even write any of my responses.â
After being criticised by other local officials, including Gordon Mar, the incumbent supervisor in the district where she is running, as well as the District Attorney, John Hamasaki, Ms Louie wrote an apology saying that the âformatting of his surname was in poor taste and I want to sincerely apologise to Joe Eskenazi, his family, and the Jewish community,â but maintained her criticisms of his journalistic approach.
The criticisms that Ms Louie has faced are not dissimilar to those faced by a progressive activist group that is a part of the Democratic Party, which has apparently mocked the names of two New York politicians, both of whom are Jewish.
Referring to the US House Candidate, Dan Goldman, and the State Assemblyman, Jeffrey Dinowitz, the group No IDC tweeted: âThe jerk buying a House seat with inherited money is âGoldmanâ…the IDC adjacent Assembly member is âDINOwitzâ. Who came up with these names, Dickens?â
The Bronx Democratic Congressman, Ritchie Torres, said that this comment was âdripping with antisemitismâ.
Following the criticisms of Mr Torres and others, No IDC deleted the tweet and wrote one in apology, saying that âWeâre sorry â no antisemitism was intended and we took this down when folks expressed concerns it could be taken the wrong way.âÂ
The group also said that their social media Account Manager has been suspended from their position.
Over in New Hampshire, the official Twitter page of the stateâs Libertarian Party wrote a post that mocked the Holocaust: â6 million dollar minimum wage or youâre antisemitic,â the Party tweeted, a reference to the number of Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.
The tweet was, however, deleted following criticism from Twitter users and a number of Jewish organisations.
In Hamilton, New Jersey, a candidate for the townâs school board has abandoned the race after some of his comments on social media came to light.
Nicholas Ferrara, who was running on a âtraditional educationâ platform, allegedly wrote a post on the social media platform Gab in January that he was âFOR execution of the marxist/communists jews [sic].â
Founded in 2016 in partial response to alleged censorship on mainstream social networks, Gab claims to âchampion free speech and individual libertyâ, but has become a haven for neo-Nazis, white nationalists, supporters of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and individuals banned from mainstream platforms.
Gab came to global attention in 2018, when it was revealed that Robert Gregory Bowers, who is accused of murdering eleven Jews during a shooting in the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, a suburb of Pittsburgh, was a Gab user and had posted what appear to be items of neo-Nazi propaganda and antisemitic comments on the site.
Campaign Against Antisemitism reports on news and incidents relating to antisemitism throughout the United States.
