ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt tore into comedian Joe Rogan on Tuesday for saying that "the idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous" and "like saying Italians aren't into pizza!"
Joe Rogan on his podcast Saturday defended Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-MN) tweet from 2019 saying that US political leaders support for Israel is driven by Jewish megadonors and is "all about the Benjamins baby." 
GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy threatens punishment for @IlhanMN and @RashidaTlaib over their criticisms of Israel. It's stunning how much time US political leaders spend defending a foreign nation even if it means attacking free speech rights of Americans https://t.co/It1fGm1b70
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) February 10, 2019
"Did you see [Rep. Adam Schiff] sitting next to Ilhan Omar, where she's apologizing for talking about, 'It's all about the Benjamins'?" Rogan asked Krystal Ball, referencing a CNN interview with Omar from a week ago. "Which is just about money, she's talking about money, that's not an anti-Semitic statement, I don't think that is. Benjamins are money."
"You know, the idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That's like saying Italians aren't into pizza!" Rogan said, laughing. "It's f***ing stupid. It's f***ing stupid!"
.@joerogan saying “the idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza” would make sense if Jews invented money and/or Italians had been massacred because of a conspiracy that they control the world through pizza. pic.twitter.com/odzZzFHIYG
— Ian Haworth (@ighaworth) February 7, 2023
"There's a very obvious reason why for my entire life there's been a uniparty consensus about our policy vis-à-vis the Israeli government and a total inability or unwillingness to criticize the Israeli government, and it has everything to do with organization and yes, money, just like every other f***ing interest in DC," Ball responded.
ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt responded with outrage and accused Rogan of using his "immense platform" to "spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money" which could lead to violence.
"Disturbing that at a time of rising anti-Jewish violence, when growing numbers of Americans believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories, @joerogan would use his immense platform to spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money," Greenblatt said. "For centuries, people have used these longstanding tropes to spread vicious lies about the Jewish people. 'Comedian' or not, Rogan's comments are no joke."
Disturbing that at a time of rising anti-Jewish violence, when growing numbers of Americans believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories, @joerogan would use his immense platform to spew antisemitic tropes about Jews and money. https://t.co/O6o1i2nS9x
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) February 7, 2023
Incidentally, just a few months ago Greenblatt took a dramatically different tone, writing on Twitter that "it's time" for the "Jewish community" to "use our power as institutional investors" to bring megacorporations to heel that support the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest and Sanctions movement.
It’s time for the Jewish community to take a seat at the table to use our power as institutional investors to ensure corporations are aligned with our values, and don’t fall for #antisemitic and anti-Israel pressures. That's why we're bringing @jlensnetwork under @ADL’s umbrella. https://t.co/lbrBHVdrY2
— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) November 10, 2022
"ESG is the latest frontier in the fight against antisemitism, with radical Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) activists trying to push their agenda," Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement on the ADL's website. "As underscored by the many companies that recently cut ties with Kanye West after his antisemitic tirades, corporate advocacy is an important tool for improving society. It's time for the Jewish community to take a seat at the table to use our power as institutional investors to ensure corporations are aligned with our values, and don't fall for antisemitic pressures – that's why we are incorporating JLens, the leading Jewish organization on these issues."
The ADL's statement continued:
The BDS movement targets companies connected to Israel through shareholder advocacy, advisory firms, and pressure campaigns. Specifically, BDS activists have attempted to hijack the ESG movement, a significant and growing segment of the capital markets. For example, according to ADL research, during this year's shareholder proxy season, 8 of the 20 social issue resolutions explicitly targeting foreign countries named Israel – making the country second only to China.
JLens has built relationships with more than 300 public companies and collaborates with other impact investors on shared values. As part of JLens' work on a range of Jewish social and environmental values, the organization encourages companies to expand their economic ties with Israel and actively counteracts the BDS campaign by educating responsible investors and companies before they yield to pressure and divest their Israeli investments. For example, JLens filed the first anti-BDS shareholder resolution against Morningstar, ultimately leading the company to adopt significant changes to remove anti-Israel bias and BDS support from the company's products and services.
This development follows ADL's ongoing work with private sector leaders to fight antisemitism. ADL recently worked closely with Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry's, to correct its decision to stop selling ice cream in Israel, and with AirBnB to reverse its policy of de-listing Jewish homes in the West Bank.
"The recent high-profile examples of companies publicly announcing anti-Israel moves are just the tip of the iceberg," said Greenblatt. "In working with JLens, we hope to be able to prevent such actions before they even take off."
How many "tropes" can you pack into one statement, Mr. Greenblatt?
Dave Chapelle hosting SNL & speaking about the Kanye antisemitism allegation :
— Mahad Saeed ❁ AKA Dr Toyota AKA Federaldiid (@DrNabadNolol) November 13, 2022
« If Black its a gang,
if they Italian its a mob,
but if its Jewish its a coincidence & you should never talk about it !!! »
pic.twitter.com/czF07ip0ju
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