In the News
The Algemeiner quoted B’nai B’rith International in its coverage of responses by major Jewish organizations to Tucker Carlson’s anti-Semitic description of Ukrainian President Zelensky, the latest bigoted conspiracy shared by Carlson.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) and B’nai B’rith International on Wednesday condemned right-wing talking head Tucker Carlson for his description of Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky as “rat-like” and a “persecutor of Christians,” along with other antisemitic tropes during the debut of Carlson’s new opinion show.
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Speaking on the debut of his new Twitter-based show on Tuesday, Carlson accused Ukraine of being responsible for destroying the Russian-controlled Kakhovka Dam. In doing so, Carlson also criticized the character and appearance of Zelensky, who is Jewish, using what are widely regarded as antisemitic tropes.
“Now if you see him on television, it’s true you might form a different impression,” Carlson said of Zelensky. “Sweaty and rat-like. A comedian turned oligarch. A persecutor of Christians. A friend of BlackRock.”
The founder and CEO of the investment company BlackRock, Larry Fink, is Jewish.
Carlson also added that Zelensky was “shifty” and “dead-eyed.”
B’nai B’rith International told The Algemeiner Wednesday that Carlson “is recklessly trafficking here in antisemitic tropes.”
“These kinds of charged polemics only feed negative perceptions of Jews and add to a climate of bigotry,” they said.
By Wednesday, Carlson’s video had racked up more than 78 million views.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Washington declined to comment on Carlson’s monologue, telling The Algemeiner that they did not want to give Carlson “any credibility to talk about Ukraine, its president or people.”
Carlson, who was fired from Fox News in May in the wake of Fox’s settlement of a defamation lawsuit over claims that the 2020 election was stolen, has been accused of engaging in antisemitism and other forms of racism in the past.
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