In the wake of the massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, I think it’s important to examine and take responsibility for how we, as a society, have allowed virulent anti-Semitic slurs and conspiracy theories to enter the mainstream.
I took the time to scroll through an archived copy of the alleged shooter’s social media profile, and a few abhorrent, bigoted themes presented themselves: Jews believe in “open borders” and are working to help non-white refugees and migrants overrun the United States, Jews have no loyalty to the United States and don’t belong here, Jews are secretly controlling the highest levels of government, and the Holocaust was a hoax.
Unfortunately, these themes are no longer relegated to white-supremacist-friendly websites and social media platforms.
In fact, over the past few years, they have become mainstays of the “Readers Write” section in the New Hyde Park Herald Courier and other local Blank Slate Media publications.
I won’t go into a detailed rehash of the John O’Kelly controversy of late 2016 and early 2017. I will, however, remind publisher Steven Blank of his promise in the wake of that controversy.
Specifically, Mr. Blank, you claimed you understood why it was the wrong decision to publish letters that spread the same anti-Semitic slurs and conspiracy theories favored by the Tree of Life shooter. In fact, you explicitly stated, “We will not publish letters in the future that are inflammatory, like the one published on Dec. 16 [2016].”
Unfortunately, it seems that you have not kept that promise.
On Oct. 8, you posted a thinly veiled anti-Semitic letter addressed to one of your regular columnists, Karen Rubin. The author, Paul Giarmo of Carle Place, referred to Rubin as a “globalist” who didn’t believe in the concept of “national borders.”
Giarmo also accused Rubin of undermining “our American cultural values” and advocating for an “unregulated and unlimited” flow of “illegal aliens” across the border.
Firstly, the use of “globalist” as an anti-Semitic dog whistle is well documented. Anti-Defamation League CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt addressed this in a video op-ed published by NowThis News on March 9.
“The term ‘globalist’ was developed and originated in certain extremist circles populated by white supremacists,” Greenblatt said. “It gained currency in recent years, as the alt-right used their understanding of technology to spread that term into the mainstream.
But, make no mistake, where the term originates from is a reference to Jewish people who are seen as having allegiances not to their countries of origin, like the United States, but to some global conspiracy.”
Referring specifically to Donald Trump’s recent use of the phrase, Greenblatt said, “It is really disturbing when the president or his advisers…or others in the media literally parrot this term, which is rooted in prejudice.”
Aryeh Tuchman, the associate director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, told the Washington Post in an article also published on March 9, “[T]o use that word about a Jewish person is just really problematic.”
Tuchman continued, “People should be aware that when you’re using it about a Jewish person, you’re raising a whole host of associations that cannot be extricated from [its] history of anti-Semitism.”
Considering Giarmo tried to paint Rubin as lacking “American cultural values” and claimed that she believed in a completely unregulated border (none of which she stated or suggested in her original column), it is clear that the use of the word “globalist” in this case was intended not as a description of Rubin’s actual geopolitical beliefs, but instead as an anti-Semitic slur.
This is not the only recent example of Blank Slate Media allowing anti-Semitic pieces through the net since Mr. Blank made his promise.
On Aug. 30, Blank Slate Media posted a letter by Iris Chong of Williston Park. Chong not only used the word “globalist” or “globalists” four times, but her whole piece essentially focused on the popular anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews (or “globalists,” as Chong stated) control the media.
Below are the most disturbing quotes from Chong’s article, which are clearly meant to evoke an anti-Semitic conspiratorial picture.
“The globalists buy up the media in every country they’re in.”
“The personal hate the globalist media [has] for our [p]resident is disgusting.”
“The globalists who control the media will lose in the long run.”
I’m sure the usual cast of local characters will write in in response to this, claiming that the ADL is full of crap and that both the Giarmo and Chong pieces were perfectly benign (just as they did when you published the original O’Kelly letters).
However, regardless of what those apologists think, you have a decision to make, Mr. Blank. Will you continue to be an active participant in the spread of dangerous propaganda, or will you honor your promise to the community?
This shouldn’t be a hard decision.
Matthew Zeidman
New Hyde Park
