Letter: Bannon is not an anti-Semite

A recent letter urged Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler to denounce Steve Bannon, President-elect Trump’s strategic advisor, because of his alleged anti-Semitism, etc. This is a false accusation. Bannon is not an anti-Semite; in fact, he is a strong supporter of Israel.

The Zionist Organization of America concluded: “Our own experience and analysis of Breitbart articles confirms Mr. Bannon’s and Breitbart’s friendship and fair-mindedness towards Israel and the Jewish people. In fact, Breitbart bravely fights against anti-Semitism.”

(Before joining Trump, Bannon was executive chairman of Breitbart News, a popular conservative website. It has an office in Jerusalem.)

The Anti-Defamation League admitted: “We are not aware of any anti-Semitic statements made by Bannon himself.”

Shmuley Boteach, a prominent rabbi, wrote: “I don’t think even the most hostile media can point to a single reason to consider (Bannon) anti-Semitic.”

Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said: “Bannon has been supportive of Israel. I haven’t seen any evidence of personal anti-Semitism on the part of Bannon. It is not legitimate to call somebody an anti-Semite because you might disagree with their policies.”

The attacks on Bannon are an attempt to embarrass Trump by falsely calling his adviser a bigot.

The election is over. Let’s stop the nasty campaign.