Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who gave us Edward Snowden, has long expressed an opinion about the Middle East that is both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, but a tweet he sent on Thursday implying that the racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo., was Israel’s fault set the bar on journalism at a new low.
The tweet, which follows, suggests that when St. Louis County Police Chief Timothy Finch attended a counter-terrorism class in Israel, he learned police brutality, and thus he practiced the brutality during the present unrest in Ferguson.
St. Louis County Police Chief, in 2011, on visiting Israel to learn about police tactics from the Israelis https://t.co/aYaqRcud3A
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) August 14, 2014
Greenwald ignores entirely the fact that Timothy Finch is no longer the police chief. He resigned in 2013 and has been out of office since this past February. Greenwald’s link connects to a document posted by Trita Parsi, the founder and current president of the National Iranian American Council, an organization that has worked with the anti-Israel group J Street to oppose any sanctions on Iran. A member of the National Iranian American Council sits on the board of J Street.
Wondering why the excessive police violence? Here’s a guess: #Ferguson police chief got training in Israel… #Gaza pic.twitter.com/RxEznr8cGP
— Trita Parsi (@tparsi) August 14, 2014
During his career, Greenwald has continually promoted the anti-Semitic meme that Jews control the government and the media and has questioned Jewish-Americans’ loyalty to this country. Some examples include:
Those [American Jews] who favor the attack on Gaza are certainly guilty…of such overwhelming emotional and cultural attachment to Israel and Israelis that they long ago ceased viewing this conflict with any remnant of objectivity.” – Jan. 4, 2009 Salon
Meanwhile, one of the many Israel-Firsters in the U.S. Congress — Rep. Anthony Weiner, last seen lambasting President Obama for daring to publicly mention a difference between the U.S. and Israel — today not only defended Israel’s attack. – June 1, 2010 Salon
This is a truly disgusting spectacle … commentators — all of whom are writing well within the range of mainstream opinion on Israel — are being publicly smeared early in their careers as anti-Semites as part of a coordinated, ongoing campaign planned by Josh Block and carried out by numerous journalists with large media platforms, and aided and abetted by Jewish groups trading on their credibility to suppress debate. – Jan 19, 2012 Salon
Cross-posted at The Lid
