Breitbart Slammed For “Anti-Semitic” Attack On Washington Post Columnist Anne Applebaum
Written by Oliver Willis
Published
A Breitbart News column attacking Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum is being criticized for, in the words of one critic, going “full anti-Semite.”
Stephen Bannon, who took a temporary leave of absence as chairman of Breitbart News to work as the Trump campaign’s chief executive, described the site as “the platform for the alt-right.” The “alt-right” is a rebranding of the white nationalist movement, and a part of the conservative movement that opposes immigration and embraces racism, sexism, anti-Muslim bigotry, and anti-Semitism.
The column, written by Matthew Tyrmand, who is Jewish, describes Applebaum as a “Washington Post columnist and political revisionist” who is “on the warpath against the rising populist forces doing electoral damage to her establishment friends and allies across the world.” Discussing Applebaum, Tyrmand adds, “hell hath no fury like a Polish, Jewish, American elitist scorned.”
Applebaum criticized the Breitbart.com piece for being “full of obvious falsehoods, bizarre claims and convoluted chronology,” adding, “but the alt-right doesn't believe in fact-checking either.”
The piece has been condemned by several writers and columnists on Twitter, some of them from conservative outlets.
New York Post columnist John Podhoretz said the column was “disgusting” and described Matthew Tyrmand as a “foul, rotten human being.”
Tablet Magazine’s Yair Rosenberg said, “Breitbart goes full anti-Semite,” and later wrote, “Today’s anti-Semitic Breitbart eruption is a reminder that a vote for Trump is a vote for mainstreaming anti-Semites.”
Wall Street Journal opinion writer Sohrab Ahmari said Breitbart “goes full Daily Stormer,” a reference to the notoriously anti-Semitic white nationalist website. He also said, “Breitbart is increasingly indistinguishable from outlets on the white-power fringe.”
Columnist Jamie Kirchick described the column as an “anti-Semitic attack” and “anti-Semitic filth.”
Commentary’s Ben Cohen said the piece was an “anti-Semitic screed” in a “Nazi rag.”