A nonprofit organization dedicated to combating anti-Semitism on Wednesday refuted a Washington Post article that claimed the group had “upended” the lives of anti-Israel figures.
Calling the story “disturbing and ironic,” StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Rez suggested that The Washington Post often expresses support for those who espouse rhetoric critical of marginalized groups, but has now become sympathetic to apologists for Hamas and those who push Jewish conspiracy theories.
“It seems that this particular reporter and his editors only have qualms about Jews standing up for themselves and taking anti-Semitic rhetoric and putting it at the forefront. So our question is, why is he unconsciously aligning himself with anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist views?” “That's what we want to know,” Rez told Fox News Digital.
On Tuesday, Washington Post journalist Pranshu Verma published an article that included the stories of several people who faced real-world consequences after criticizing Israel or expressing support for Hamas.
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StopAntisemitism executive director Liora Rez responded to a Washington Post article that suggested her group “upended” the lives of anti-Israel figures. (ERIC BARADAT/AFP/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
It included the story of Dani Marzouca, who said in an Instagram livestream that “radical solidarity with Palestine means… no apologies for Hamas.”
Marzouca was fired shortly after StopAntisemitismo published the video on its X page.
“Hamas is a US-designated terrorist organization, and we have this woman essentially spewing pro-terrorist propaganda, claiming that if you want to be pro-Palestinian, you have to be pro-terrorist. It's crazy,” Rez said.
The StopAntisemitism executive said her group applauds Marzouca's employer for taking quick action.
“If I was personally working with someone who wanted my disappearance, my death as a Jewish woman, I wouldn't want to work with someone like that,” Rez added.
Marzouca told The Washington Post that StopAntisemitism's posts had led to a series of threats and disturbing messages.
“StopAntisemitism never endorses harassment. We never endorse violence. We never ask others to harass or, God forbid, spread violence against an individual. What we do is take an individual's public responses word for word. [and post it on social media]”Rez said.
According The StopAntisemitismo account Marzouca is one of nearly 40 people who have faced employment repercussions as a result of their comments about Israel.
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Rez thanked the Washington Post for showing the effectiveness of StopAntisemitism and bringing new donors to the table. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo)
Celine Khalife, a 25-year-old Palestinian-American, was similarly fired from her job as a therapist after StopAntisemitism posted a video of her tearing down an Israeli hostage sign. She also pushed a conspiracy theory that Israel had kidnapped its own civilians in an effort to blame Hamas.
Khalife told the Washington Post that he made a mistake in the video and took down the sign because it contained the words “Hamas terrorism.” He said the phrase was propaganda intended to downplay the plight of the Palestinians.
StopAntisemitism frequently provides its followers with the names, social media accounts and employers of those it says espouse anti-Semitic views.
Rez said his organization follows the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism, which was adopted by the U.S. State Department. This definition states that calls to erase Israel can be considered a form of anti-Semitism.
He added that his group often publishes calls for the abolition of Israel, especially when accompanied by pro-Hamas rhetoric, denial of the October 7 terrorist attacks and various anti-Semitic tropes.
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Demonstrations broke out across the country following the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)
The Washington Post article cited an expert who suggested that StopAntisemitism's work could be considered a form of doxxing. Rez noted that Verma, the Washington Post reporter who wrote the story, had previously claimed that tracking planes of high-profile figures like Elon Musk was not nonsense because it was based on public data.
“StopAntisemitism never publishes anyone's personal address, personal phone numbers, date of birth, etc. Everything we publish can probably be found by most people in a 0.25 second Google search,” Rez told Fox News Digital.
Rez also said the watchdog group is “baffled” by the Washington Posts' decision to center significant elements of the story around money, citing aspects of the article that published his salary and focused on donors who inhabit Republican circles. . Rez said she is proud to say that StopAntisemitism is a bipartisan organization and that donors span the political spectrum.
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He also suggested that the decision by the Washington Post reporter and his editors to focus on money led them, consciously or unconsciously, to push Jewish stereotypes.
“Jews today refuse to be intimidated by hate. We have the right to defend ourselves like any other marginalized group, and we will not allow this particular reporter and his Washington Post editors to try to intimidate us,” Rez said.
“Basically, what they did with an attempted defamation turned out to be a promotional article that actually showed our effectiveness, which generated hundreds of donation requests. So, in the end, we thank them for this article,” he added.
The Washington Post, Verma, Marzouca and Khalife did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
