A befuddled Scott Jennings was forced to correct Rolling Stone’s Jay Michaelson on Thursday’s CNN Tonight when the former claimed that he couldn’t recall someone with “such anti-Semitic ideas getting this kind of platform” when referring to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee. Jennings politely reminded Michaelson that “It's platformed every day in the Democrat conference.”
Alluding to Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s remarks that Israel is a racist state, Michaelson, who is also a non-denominational rabbi, alleged, “But it's outrageous that there is, I think, perhaps a double standard that when somebody who spouts anti-Semitism is useful to a party in power, they get a platform. And when someone says something which may or may not, maybe sort of anti-Semitic, thinking, you know, the congresswoman from last week, you know, they get censured.”
Michaelson added, “So, this is a shocking display, I think, of -- I can't think of someone who has espoused-- someone-- such anti-Semitic ideas getting such this kind of a platform.”
There is no doubt that RFK Jr. is a kook and that his latest comments about COVID being “ethnically targeted” to protect Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people is just the latest example of that, but host Sara Sidner noticed Jennings wasn’t buying the larger point, “Scott, you made a face and don't think I didn't notice it.”
Jennings began his reply, “Yeah, well, I fully agree with you, anti-Semitism has no place in our politics, and I don't like it when it's platformed. But did you also catch the news last week of the anti-Semitism going on in the fringe Progressive Caucus in the House Democratic Conference?”
Alluding to The Squad, Jennings continued, “This is a pervasive problem among conspiracy theorists, but it does exist on the American left. And you do have and have had repeated episodes of anti-Semitism coming out of a handful of House Democrats, and they are repeatedly platformed and exalted and given positions of leadership.”
Michaelson then tried to defend himself, claiming that Jayapal’s comments are not even close to as bad as Kennedy’s, “Scott, there is no comparison between a statement, which I think was out of line, saying Israel is a racist state. That is a political statement. It is not one that I agree with. I think it's extreme and I've said it again in the column for CNN why I think that's incorrect… But to compare a sort of extreme political statement with, again, a thousand-year-old claim that Jews somehow engineered plagues to kill non-Jews, that's a crazy false equivalence. They're totally different.”
Jennings shot back by informing Michaelson that he was moving the goal posts, “No, your statement was you had never heard of anti-Semitism being platformed like this in the U.S. Congress. It's platformed every day in the Democrat conference.”
Again, Michaelson tried to suggest Jayapal’s remarks were different, “That's only if you agree that a statement about Israel which, again, I'm not agreeing with that statement or endorsing it, is anti-Semitic. It's a political statement… And so, for this guy to get on, you know, to get a platform after saying that like the Jews are immune and that this was targeted and it's some sort of a bioweapon, I'm sorry, but to compare that to one statement saying Israel is a racist state, that's no comparison.”
It is not just Jayapal, as Jennings recalled, “It's not one statement. That corner of the party makes repeated statements, but sorry.”
Jennings is, of course, correct. Elected progressives say anti-Semitic things routinely under the guise of criticizing Israel and, unlike RFK Jr., they actually hold positions of power.
This segment was sponsored by Constant Contact.
Here is a transcript for the July 20 show:
CNN Tonight
7/20/2023
11:10 PM ET
JAY MICHAELSON: But it's outrageous that there is, I think, perhaps a double standard that when somebody who spouts anti-Semitism is useful to a party in power, they get a platform. And when someone says something which may or may not, maybe sort of anti-Semitic, thinking, you know, the congresswoman from last week, you know, they get censured.
So, this is a shocking display, I think, of -- I can't think of someone who has espoused-- someone-- such anti-Semitic ideas getting such this kind of a platform. But I do have some advice as a rabbi. If you're ever thinking about whether it's a good idea to make a Holocaust analogy, that X or Y or Z is bad for the holocaust, here's the rabbinic advice, don't make that analogy.
We just -- there are certain things that are beyond comparison. And it is absolutely offensive. Whether it's about -- I've heard it about gun control, I've heard it about COVID, I've heard it from people on the right and the left, all the time, you hear it just constantly, and it is offensive every time it happens.
SARA SIDNER: Scott, you made a face and don't think I didn't notice it.
SCOTT JENNINGS: Yeah, well, I fully agree with you, anti-Semitism has no place in our politics, and I don't like it when it's platformed. But did you also catch the news last week of the anti-Semitism going on in the fringe Progressive Caucus in the House Democratic Conference?
This is a pervasive problem among conspiracy theorists, but it does exist on the American left. And you do have and have had repeated episodes of anti-Semitism coming out of a handful of House Democrats, and they are repeatedly platformed and exalted and given positions of leadership.
MICHAELSON: Scott, there is no comparison between a statement, which I think was out of line, saying Israel is a racist state. That is a political statement. It is not one that I agree with. I think it's extreme and I've said it again in the column for CNN why I think that's incorrect.SIDNER: Let's just be clear, Congresswoman Jayapal said this. She then -- eventually, she apologized for it not long after.
MICHAELSON: And to be clear, RFK Jr. has claimed he has apologized also and claimed he has walked it back. But to compare a sort of extreme political statement with, again, a thousand-year-old claim that Jews somehow engineered plagues to kill non-Jews, that's a crazy false equivalence. They're totally different.JENNINGS: No, your statement was you had never heard of anti-Semitism being platformed like this in the U.S. Congress. It's platformed every day in the Democrat conference.
MICHAELSON: That's only if you agree that a statement about Israel which, again, I'm not agreeing with that statement or endorsing it, is anti-Semitic. It's a political statement.
And to say that that's equivalent to some guy saying that, you know -- I mean -- and the outrageous nerve. You know, there's an Orthodox Jewish community near New York City with friends of mine who are part of it. That was one of the early COVID centers. And I know people who died from that community.
And so, for this guy to get on, you know, to get a platform after saying that like the Jews are immune and that this was targeted and it's some sort of a bioweapon, I'm sorry, but to compare that to one statement saying Israel is a racist state, that's no comparison.
JENNINGS: It's not one statement. That corner of the party makes repeated statements, but sorry.
