Which Media ‘As-a-Jew’ Has the Most to Atone For?
The “As-a-Jew” phenomenon isn’t new; only the name is. For millennia, some members of the Jewish peoplehood have helped to fuel movements that seek to slaughter us. Every Hanukkah, we celebrate victory against them.
As empires try to overtake humanity, the People of Israel/Judea/Zion are the ultimate blockade. We insist on surviving as a minority without trying to make anyone join us. We show the world that you don’t have to cave.
But not everyone has the mental strength to see clearly through the haze of hatred, often cloaked in false victim narratives. In every generation, some Israelites/Hebrews/Jews turn on the community, desperate for the adoration of loud, hateful masses. And while some try to hide their backgrounds, others weaponize them. In this era, that means using the media and social media to spread Islamist propaganda preceded by the words “As a Jew.”
Destructive enough to have earned their own hashtag, they include people participating in violent, bigoted riots on college campuses; defending proven liars like Mohsen Mahdawi; or insisting that Bernie Sanders has any clue what he’s talking about.
Of course, when called out for being “#AsAJews,” they claim to be victims. So let’s be clear: This is not about their “opinions” or so-called “criticisms.” It’s about their lies.
My focus is on mainstream media, in which antisemitic bigotry is so deeply ingrained that it’s instinctive. Covering media disasters on my podcast and newsletter They Stand Corrected, I confront craziness from these folks frequently. At this time of year, when Jewish tradition calls on people to consider their sins, which of these media figures has the most to atone for?
Ezra Klein
The poster boy for The New York Times’ screamingly obvious bigotry, Klein lies about data and claims that “indifference” has “gripped hearts of Israeli Jews.” Even as polls have showed a majority of Palestinians support Oct. 7, he and the Times had nothing to say about their “hearts.”
Peter Beinart
An author and so-called “journalist,” he has built a career around calling for the destruction of the tiny Jewish state while being fine with the existence of more than 50 Muslim states, many of which have sharia law. A darling of the mainstream media (naturally), he lies constantly with impunity. The New York Times gave him prime real estate in the opinion section on the Sunday after the 2024 election, letting him misrepresent data to claim that Kamala Harris would have won if only she had given in to his camp’s antisemitic demands.
Jon Stewart
In an era in which many people get news from comedians, The Daily Show is the epicenter of TV comedy’s left-wing antisemitic bias. (It’s no surprise the show happily profiled Hasan Piker, who spews vile, demented rhetoric.) While its graduates Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Trevor Noah, and Hasan Minhaj have brought this agenda elsewhere, Jon Stewart remains their founding leader. Whether praising the Qatari government’s propaganda giant known as Al Jazeera or platforming Beinart or fellow hatemonger Ta-Nehisi Coates, Stewart never runs out of As-a-Jew energy.
Michelle Goldberg
New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani has a long record of extreme antisemitism, and couldn’t even bring himself to issue a statement simply condemning Hamas. But you wouldn’t know that from this New York Times columnist who rushed to insist that “plenty of Jews” share her “love” for him. (The percentage of Jewish voters supporting him at the time was roughly equivalent to the percentage of Black voters who supported Trump, a figure the Times never deemed “plenty.”) Worse, she ignored the fact that his threatened arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be illegal and unconstitutional. Because for media As-a-Jews, anti-democratic power grabs are fine as long as they’re in the service of the far left.
Hannah Einbinder
Though not in the “news” world, the actress used her speech at the Emmys and comments to reporters afterward to support Islamist terrorists’ push for an ethno-nationalist state while condemning Israel for being one. (Note that none of these folks ever call on Muslim states to provide their citizens with “freedom.”) Her news-making remarks were such a gift to Hamas that the terrorist death cult shared them far and wide, while blurring out her — gasp — exposed shoulders. Kudos to the New York Post for its cover declaring her a “useful infidel.”
Who else would you add to the list? Feel free to reach out here or over at They Stand Corrected.
