Posted on 08/26/22
| News Source: JNS
Orthodox and politically conservative Jewish groups are criticizing CNN’s special report on anti-Semitism that aired on Sunday night, alleging that it whitewashed anti-Semitism directed at Orthodox Jews coming from the political left.
The hour-long “Rising Hate: Antisemitism in America,” hosted by the network’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash, focused on rising incidents of violence and hatred against Jews.
Agudath Israel of America, a group that represents the Charedi community, said that they appreciated that CNN chose to focus attention on anti-Semitism through the creation of the report but was disappointed that attacks on Orthodox Jews—who represent the most likely victims of the attacks due to their visible attire—was addressed only tangentially.
“While the show mentioned anti-Semitism on the far right and the political left, Ms. Bash’s comments on social media seem to minimize the violence on the left by simply calling it ‘troubling discourse emerging,’ ” Agudath Israel said in a statement to JNS. “We are hopeful that this is just the beginning of a wider discussion on the topic that will transcend party-line politics in order to effectively combat anti-Semitism.”
Another Orthodox group, the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), which represents more than 2,000 traditional rabbis, called the special report a “deliberate whitewash,” claiming that the opinions the report shows did not represent traditional communities.