Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt went after Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Thursday’s broadcast of Fox News Radio’s “Brian Kilmeade Show,” calling Jackson “ignorant” and saying he’s troubled that El-Sayed remains close in Michigan polling.
The comments came after Jackson said people have a hard time accusing Israel of genocide “because they’re Jewish,” a remark Jackson has since apologized for. Greenblatt dismissed the apology’s premise outright.
“Clearly, he’s quite a scholar,” Greenblatt said sarcastically of Jackson.
“He may have been better than the Nazi, Graham Platner, who almost ran. But, again, you can say that word all you want, but it is the new big lie, and just saying it over and over again doesn’t make it real. There was no genocide. Like, the statistics don’t support it, the evidence does [not] support it. And people aren’t being murdered there. Who was murdered were 1,200 innocent people…by Hamas in their savagery on that day. That’s who was murdered. Israel responded with a defensive war. I’m glad they did it. Look, and just so we’re clear, innocent civilians were killed, and that is a tragedy. It is a tragedy. Never the intent. Absolutely not a genocide.”
Greenblatt’s reference to Platner points to Graham Platner, who had been floated as a possible Maine Senate contender before his campaign collapsed.
The conversation then turned to Michigan, where host Brian Kilmeade asked Greenblatt directly: “Does it bother you this is even close?”
“It bothers me that it’s close, because Abdul El-Sayed, I think, has views that I find very problematic,” Greenblatt replied. “I am worried about the risk to the Jewish community.”
Greenblatt offered no further specifics on which of El-Sayed’s positions concern him. Neither Jackson’s campaign nor El-Sayed’s campaign responded to Greenblatt’s remarks in the clip aired Thursday.
