{"id":3584,"date":"2018-01-04T16:33:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T21:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?page_id=3584"},"modified":"2024-07-03T16:36:04","modified_gmt":"2024-07-03T20:36:04","slug":"jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/","title":{"rendered":"JEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Marc Rod<\/a>, Jewish Insider<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For months since Oct. 7, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has taken to social media, on a regular basis, to level barbs at the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, offering wide-ranging attacks on the organization\u2019s political spending and support for Israel\u2019s operations against Hamas in Gaza. Pocan is among the most outspoken critics of Israel<\/a> in the House outside of the Squad, and he\u2019s often been even more actively involved in the progressive battle against AIPAC than his more high-profile colleagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pocan\u2019s jabs at AIPAC \u2014 often coming in the form of X (formerly Twitter) exchanges with AIPAC, which frequently tags Pocan in its own posts \u2014 have frequently echoed or outright embraced a slew of antisemitic tropes, including dual loyalty, control of government and even blood libel, experts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some of the most striking attacks, Pocan \u2014 who maintains a combative social media presence on a range of subjects \u2014 has accused supporters of AIPAC of being indifferent to, or even reveling in, the deaths of civilians in Gaza, particularly children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just last week, responding to a video<\/a> of an Israeli bombing in Rafah, which included graphic imagery of the attack\u2019s aftermath, Pocan declared, \u201cThis is porn for @AIPAC. Doubt they\u2019ll show any regret.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accusations that AIPAC seeks and is responsible for the murder of innocents, or is unconcerned by it, are a recurring theme of Pocan\u2019s attacks. Pocan generally cites casualty data provided by the Hamas-controlled Gaza Ministry of Health, the reliability of which<\/a>has been called into question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC\u2019s \u201ccall for ending Hamas is code for its ok to kill Palestinian kids. 4500 so far. Pathetic,\u201d Pocan said in November<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c31,000 dead, thousands being kids, not enough for you? Sorta sick,\u201d Pocan posted on March 20<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m starting to think that @AIPAC<\/a> isn\u2019t just a puppet of Netanyahu, but a partner,\u201d Pocan said on Feb. 21<\/a>. \u201cThey cover for his murdering of innocents in the course of supposedly going after Hamas & those actions aren\u2019t getting hostages released. They seem fine with that & don\u2019t mind the killing of kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t care that a majority of the 30,000 dead in Gaza are women and children,\u201d Pocan said on March 7<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStopping \u2018collective punishment\u2019 bombing means thousands of kids stay alive,\u201d Pocan said, responding to a tweet by AIPAC about footage from the Oct. 7 attack. \u201cHow terribly unreligious of a position by @AIPAC.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The comments parallel the blood libel, the centuries-old accusation that Jews seek the deaths of innocents, particularly children, experts in antisemitism said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t mind the killing of kids? That is echoes of blood libel,\u201d Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, told Jewish Insider<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEssentially, they\u2019re being depicted as Nazis,\u201d Cooper continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pocan\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat crosses all lines,\u201d Abe Foxman, the former national director of the Anti-Defamation League said, agreeing that the comments bore similarities to blood libel. \u201cYou can be critical of a lobbying group\u2026 and you may not like the government, but then to accuse people in Washington or New York who are lobbyists \u2014 which is a well-respected historical element in the American democratic institutional systems \u2014 as warmongers\u2026 that\u2019s very clear antisemitism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pocan\u2019s posts have also held AIPAC and its supporters\u00a0responsible<\/a>\u00a0for the actions of Israel and its leaders and\u00a0demanded they apologize<\/a>\u00a0for their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As recently as Monday, Pocan said<\/a>, \u201cHey \u2066@AIPAC<\/a>\u2069, seems your \u2018leader\u2019 doesn\u2019t like the idea of stopping the killing of Palestinians. Comment?\u201d referring to a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s on a cease-fire proposal outlined by President Joe Biden and approved by the Israeli government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That post was Pocan\u2019s first, and so far only, direct response to the cease-fire plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pocan\u2019s rhetoric, observers say, invokes dual loyalty tropes claiming that Jews\u2019 true allegiance is to Israel, rather than the nations of which they are citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese deeply hurtful and toxic comments by Rep. Pocan are not only divisive but potentially dangerous. He is effectively accusing supporters of AIPAC of dual loyalty, whose true allegiance is to Israel,\u201d Julie Fishman Rayman, the American Jewish Committee\u2019s managing director of policy and political affairs, said in a statement to JI. \u201cThis is a centuries-old bigoted trope that has led to the harassment, marginalization, oppression, and even murder of Jewish people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a time for constructive dialogue on a difficult topic,\u201d Fishman Rayman continued. \u201cThis is not a time for character assassination of those who support Israel and its right to defend itself against an enemy bent on its destruction and the annihilation of the world\u2019s Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wisconsin congressman, who represents the state\u2019s progressive center of Madison, has often focused his attacks on AIPAC\u2019s political fundraising and spending, regularly<\/a>describing<\/a> AIPAC donations<\/a> and outside spending as \u201ctoxic\u201d to American democracy and the candidates who receive them, and repeatedly describing the group as a \u201cTrojan horse\u201d<\/a>interfering in Democratic politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has argued on numerous occasions that AIPAC is distinct from and more sinister than other issue PACs that raise money from and spend money in races on both sides of the aisle.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among those attacks: \u201cYour PAC corrupts democracy<\/a>,\u201d \u201c@AIPAC<\/a> wants you to think<\/a> they are just another PAC like nurses or workers. Nothing could be further from the truth,\u201d \u201cThey skirt campaign finance law<\/a> in the sleaziest way,\u201d and \u201cYou. Are. Not. A. Regular. PAC.<\/a> You. Are. A. Dark. Money. Front. Group. For. Conservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pocan has called candidates who take AIPAC money \u201cbought and paid for\u201d<\/a> and \u201cmonkey[s]\u201d<\/a> who are \u201cpurchased by conservative groups like you\u201d and would otherwise be \u201cfree\u201d to express opinions that differ from AIPAC\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper said that Pocan\u2019s posts, in aggregate, read like a \u201cchecklist of the tropes \u2014 Jewish power and all the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said Pocan\u2019s comments echo antisemitic tropes that Jews are serving as puppet masters in American politics \u2014 \u201dthey\u2019re not just puppet [masters], they\u2019re actually partnering in what? In murder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foxman said that this \u201csingling out [of] AIPAC as a lobbying group without singling out any other groups \u2014 and there are a lot of lobbying institutions, or governments \u2014 this is an antisemitic trope\u2026 you\u2019re talking about Jewish power and Jewish influence in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He argued that the implication of Pocan\u2019s comments has been that AIPAC\u2019s spending is uniquely harmful \u201cbecause it\u2019s Jewish and it\u2019s Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foxman, who wrote a book<\/a> in 2007 whose subtitle was \u201cthe Israel lobby and the myth of Jewish control,\u201d noted that such sentiments are hardly new, but Pocan is \u201clatching on to it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JI that Pocan \u201ctraffics in the most despicable tropes about America\u2019s ally that reflect his extremist views about Israel and its fight against Iranian terrorist proxies. His fringe views are far outside the mainstream of American support for the Jewish state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Kopstein, a retired rabbi who has lived in Madison for the past decade and described himself as an AIPAC supporter, said he\u2019s \u201creally shocked\u201d at Pocan\u2019s comments. \u201cMy god, he doesn\u2019t relent, does he?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s awful. I\u2019m embarrassed that he represents this town,\u201d Kopstein said, calling the comments \u201castonishing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremy Tunis, a member of the executive committee of the Jewish Federation of Madison, said he\u2019s been in touch with Pocan and his staff for several years, and met with them on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that he does not \u201cbelieve that [Pocan] is an antisemite\u201d or is \u201cintentionally spreading antisemitism\u201d but he said he\u2019s told Pocan that \u201cI feel like a lot of that rhetoric is at best, unhelpful, and at worst damaging both to his reputation as well as the current dialogue in the post-Oct. 7 environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tunis said he views AIPAC mostly positively, although he has had his differences with the group, and rejected Pocan\u2019s framing of AIPAC as uniquely dangerous. He said he feels Pocan has been, in terms of his actions on Israel policy, more \u201creasonable\u201d than some other progressives, \u201cbut that being said, words matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that Pocan has also maintained a strong dialogue with local Jewish leaders since Oct. 7, and that the tenor of his social media posts does not match his approach in private. Tunis described Pocan as \u201cextremely helpful\u201d on other Jewish community priorities such as nonprofit security grant funding, Holocaust education, supporting Holocaust survivors and federal funding for refugee resettlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jordan Loeb, a Madison, Wis., lawyer and former board president at a local synagogue, said he\u2019s reluctant to label Pocan and his posts as antisemitic, but said he\u2019s \u201cdisappointed in how stupid he looks right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the very least, it\u2019s juvenile. It seems beneath the dignity of somebody who\u2019s in elected office, to get into that kind of public \u2014 to use polite language \u2014 spitting match,\u201d Loeb said. \u201cIt looks like the vitriol we see on Facebook and other social media between either emotional or uninformed commenters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that, even setting that aside, \u201chow is it helpful? How does it promote any point of view that would be helpful?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI would like my representative to be focused on solutions to problems,\u201d Loeb said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loeb described himself as \u201cno defender of AIPAC,\u201d adding that he views the group as not necessarily productive to the cause of peace, but said that, \u201cI find [Pocan\u2019s] comments about AIPAC more alienating. They\u2019re not nuanced in the least.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loeb said that he shares some of Pocan\u2019s criticisms of Israel, but Pocan\u2019s recent comments \u201cmake me question even more, where does his criticism end? Even though he claims to support Israel\u2019s right to exist, it\u2019s starting to ring a little bit hollow for me, because he says that as if it\u2019s a major concession\u2026 as if somehow he\u2019s doing the Jewish community a favor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foxman and Cooper said they\u2019re also concerned about the broader trends behind Pocan\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper said that the rhetoric that Pocan is using, \u201ddehumanization, \u2018monkeys,\u2019 and \u2018Israelis are murderers,\u2019 and \u2018they can\u2019t kill enough children\u2019 and on and on and on \u2014 once upon a time, that put you on the fringes of American politics. Now, I don\u2019t see any price.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cooper also said it\u2019s concerning that some lawmakers seem to view antisemitism as a politically useful tool for fundraising and advancing their own careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foxman warned that a lawmaker using these antisemitic tropes \u201clegitimizes it,\u201d to potentially worrisome effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA crackpot who does it \u2014 OK. But this is a person elected to represent that constituency, and he continues to spew this hatred, this vitriol, this antisemitism, it makes it more legitimate, it makes it more that it\u2019s OK,\u201d he said. \u201cIf a congressman can do it\u2026 they\u2019re not the kooks out in the street.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marc Rod, Jewish Insider For months since Oct. 7, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has taken to social media, on a regular basis, to level barbs at the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, offering wide-ranging attacks on the organization\u2019s political spending and support for Israel\u2019s operations against Hamas in Gaza. Pocan is among the most outspoken critics… more JEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":3585,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3584","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nJEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes - Jewish Political Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"googlebot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"bingbot\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"JEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes - Jewish Political Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Marc Rod, Jewish Insider For months since Oct. 7, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) has taken to social media, on a regular basis, to level barbs at the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, offering wide-ranging attacks on the organization\u2019s political spending and support for Israel\u2019s operations against Hamas in Gaza. Pocan is among the most outspoken critics… more JEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jewish Political Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-07-03T20:36:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rep-mark-pocan-speaks-outside-the-u-s-capitol.jpg.webp\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/\",\"name\":\"Jewish Political Guide\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/rep-mark-pocan-speaks-outside-the-u-s-capitol.jpg.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/\",\"name\":\"JEWISH INSIDER: In social media war against AIPAC, Rep. Mark Pocan advances antisemitic tropes - Jewish Political Guide\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-04T21:33:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-03T20:36:04+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/jewish-insider-in-social-media-war-against-aipac-rep-mark-pocan-advances-antisemitic-tropes\/\"]}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3584"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3588,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3584\/revisions\/3588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajcongress.org\/jewishpoliticalguide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}