(Jewish Group) Why we published an article about what the Buffalo shooter's screed says about Jews
On Tuesday, three days after the horrific Buffalo supermarket massacre targeting Black people, a colleague told me that my photograph was included in the gunman’s 180-page online screed outlining his motivations.
It was a tiny thumbnail headshot, one of 85 in a gallery of executives and journalists at The New York Times, each adorned with a blue Star of David.
This gallery was one of six highlighting Jews’ over-representation at major news organizations compared to the general population, invoking the old trope that Jews control the media as part of the broader “great replacement” conspiracy theory. (Never mind that I left The Times in 2019, nor that some of the people depicted are not Jewish.)
Our editorial fellow Samuel Breslow, who had done a close reading of the screed while researching his excellent explainer of replacement theory the day before, told us there were in fact more than 100 mentions of Jews in the deranged rant. I asked that he compile a dispassionate account of what the document said about Jews, which we published later that day.
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While I understand the editor's remarks, I find this to be pointless handwringing. If I am honest, this apology kind of makes me irritated because once again, in talking about anti-Semitism or Jews, we have to make our story equal or less than to appease people. If the article (which is posted here) were in a mainstream situation, then, I feel she'd have a point; it could easily be seen as "tone deaf" or changing focus. The Forward is a JEWISH publication, so I expect it to focus on the Jewish element.
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