The silly season is upon us! The first slick, online video has hit voters in the Third Congressional District, and it has already caused controversy. It deals with a video that Valerie Plame released for her Congressional campaign. The problem with the video is that parts of it are factually incorrect and it raises many questions about Plame’s past regarding accusations that she posted anti-Semitic content on Twitter.
The Washington Post fact-checked Valerie Plame’s video and gave it three “Pinocchios.” The Jerusalem Post raised questions about the video, saying “it’s unclear why someone who now takes pride in their Ukrainian Jewish background would ever tweet an article headlined ‘America’s Jews are driving America’s wars.’ ” The Federalist stated her claim she just skimmed the article was “laughable.” Even Alan Dershowitz from Fox News wrote, “For Plame to claim that she was unaware of the anti-Semitic content of Giraldi’s article is to ignore reality. Plame had to be aware since she was aware of (columnist Philip) Giraldi’s bigotry. Her apologies ring hollow.”
Plame uses the video to defend her anti-Semitic beliefs by highlighting her Ukrainian grandfather’s Jewish background. Plame’s paternal grandfather was Jewish, a fact she did not know until she was an adult, she admitted in her memoir. The campaign video attempts to hide her support of an article that she tweeted to her followers as “very provocative but thoughtful.” It’s important for everyone to understand that this “thoughtful article” asserted Jews “own the media,” should wear labels while on national television, and their beliefs are as dangerous as “a bottle of rat poison.”
In my mind, there is no excuse, no rationale to excuse this type of rhetoric. An apology is not enough, especially since Plame has a history of sharing articles from the same source, including one claiming “Israel-occupied Congress confronts the White House.” The Federalist also says Plame further shared a 911 conspiracy theory involving “dancing Israelis.”
The level of anti-Semitism and hate crimes that have erupted throughout the United States is truly frightening. In 2016, 54.2% of religious hate crimes were anti-Jewish. I join with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she stated that “to be anti-Semitic is to be anti-American. It has no place in our country.” I hope that voters join with me and clearly state than anti-Semitism has no place in the Third Congressional District of New Mexico, as well!
