Washington Post Retracts Bernie Sanders Image After Charges of Anti-Semitism
Photos courtesy of Getty
In the ongoing war between WaPo and Bernie Sanders, the latest salvo is truly bizarre; in a story about Sanders raising $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, the paper chose a very strange picture to accompany the digital version:
I’m not saying The Washington Post was being deliberately antisemitic when they used this photo for Bernie’s fundraising article, but…
It’s an odd choice for an article about a Jewish man raising a lot of money.
Not a photo of him smiling, or speaking. It had to be this one. pic.twitter.com/MoxxqEG3T7
— Samuel D. Finkelstein II (@CANCEL_SAM) January 2, 2020
Here’s the contrast with the image used in the Pete Buttigieg fourth quarter story:
Mayor Pete: American flag backdrop, well lit photo, giving a speech
Bernie: Dark photo, backdrop is the word “not,” rubbing hands together
These aren’t accidents, they’re editorial decisions. pic.twitter.com/eCMiI8w11d
— Samuel D. Finkelstein II (@CANCEL_SAM) January 2, 2020
The choice of image, as many on Twitter were quick to point out, reflected a classic anti-Semitic trope that the Anti-Defamation League calls “The Happy Merchant.” The reactions were instantaneous: