Jewish groups defend Hannity after anti-Semitism accusations

“My love, prayers and strong commitment to the State of Israel will never waver,” Hannity wrote, demanding an apology from The Jerusalem Post.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

After the Jerusalem Post reported on claims that Fox News host Sean Hannity is anti-Semitic based on a headline in a tweet he posted, the commentator is fighting back – and he’s backed up by the support of several prominent Jewish leaders.

Last week, Hannity tweeted an article that referred to far-left Democratic politician Bernie Sanders as “Bolshevik Bernie.”

“The trope of Jews being Bolsheviks is a long-standing pattern in anti-Semitic rhetoric,’ the article read, without acknowledging that Sanders has repeatedly expressed admiration for Marxist regimes in Cuba and the former Soviet Union.

Hannity demanded an apology from the Post on Twitter, writing that “there is no member of the press in the United States that has been more supportive of the State of Israel than I have been and will continue to be.”

He cited his multiple trips to the Jewish State, in which he reported from Gaza-adjacent Israeli communities suffering from Hamas rocket fire and showed American audiences tunnels built by the terror organization.

“My love, prayers and strong commitment to the State of Israel will never waver,” Hannity wrote. “As a top-rated host on both radio and television in America, my support for Israel has never wavered in 33 years on the radio and 25 years [on television], and that will never change.”

Mort Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, told World Israel News that the charge of anti-Semitism leveled at Hannity is outrageous.

“This is an absurd allegation. I know Hannity. He is one of Israel’s greatest friends,” Klein told WIN.

“All Hannity correctly meant was that leftist Bernie Sanders’ policies and views strongly lean toward Communism. A strong apology is in order.”

Rabbi Aryeh Spero, president of the Conference of Jewish Affairs, also defended Hannity.

“For the Jerusalem Post to imply that phraseology Mr. Hannity used to describe Bernie Sanders demonstrates anti-Semitism reveals that the Post is ignorant of Hannity’s record and the American political landscape,” he said.

“The Post suggests Hannity expressed anti-Semitism because he called Sanders ‘Bolshevik Bernie.’ Indeed, he should! Sanders is a Marxist, not simply some Swedish-style socialist.”

Comments from the public on the Post article overwhelmingly defended Hannity.

“Hannity is right. Bernie did defend the Soviet Union and vacationed there. SHAME, SHAME on the JPOST for printing this,” read one comment.

“So is it anti-Semitic to call a leftist Jew a Bolshevik just because he is Jewish?” asked another commenter.

“Does this mean that Jews who do or say bad things cannot be called out or accused of anything because they are Jewish and it would be anti-Semitic to do so?”