A New York Times columnist has come under fire after retweeting a controversial message that referred to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) as “the 2 most pig like lobbies” in America.
According to Adam Kredo of The Washington Free Beacon, Columnist Nicholas Kristof on Wednesday afternoon retweeted the message written by longtime Israel critic M.J. Rosenberg, which recalled the recently unearthed statements by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi that referred to Jews as “pigs.”
“OBAMA told the 2 most pig like lobbies, AIPAC & NRA, to drop dead in same month. Next: Chamber of Commerce,” wrote Rosenberg, who was recently fired by the liberal Media Matters for America for his use of borderline anti-Semitic language.
Rosenberg has gained notoriety within pro-Israel circles for regularly espousing anti-Israel and often anti-Semitic beliefs.
He has repeatedly used the anti-Semitic term “Israel firster” to describe American Jews whose main concern in American politics is its effect on the State of Israel.
A Jewish official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Free Beacon that Kristof’s repetition of such rhetoric is surprising given that it occurred on the same day that the New York Times ran an editorial in its print edition against Morsi’s anti-Semitic remarks.
“It is quite extraordinary that on the same day the Times decries Morsi’s description of Jews as pigs, one of their premier columnists invokes the same language about a Jewish organization,” the official told the paper.
The Times on Wednesday referred to Morsi’s contention that Jewish people are the descendants of “apes and pigs” as “repulsive.”
Another pro-Israel activist who also requested anonymity said Kristof is helping to promote anti-Semitic slurs.
“Given that Rosenberg regularly deploys rhetoric associated with neo-Nazis and classic Jew hatred, engaging in what has been described by the Simon Wiesenthal Center as ‘toxic anti-Jewish prejudice,’ it is shocking to see a New York Times journalist promoting his ideas,” the Jewish leader told the Free Beacon.