The New York City Deputy Mayor for Communications has accused the Washington Post of pushing an "antisemitic trope" in its coverage of the protests at Columbia University. The Post's article focused on high-powered executives urging Mayor Eric Adams to use police to shut down the anti-Israel demonstrations.
The New York City Deputy Mayor for Communications, Fabien Levy, has accused the Washington Post of pushing an "antisemitic trope" in its coverage of the protests at Columbia University.
The Post's article, published Thursday, focused on high-powered executives urging Mayor Eric Adams to use police to shut down the anti-Israel demonstrations that have plagued the Ivy League campus. The paper reported that a WhatsApp chat filled with wealthy Americans who support Israel arranged a Zoom call with Adams to discuss pressuring Columbia leadership into letting police "handle protesters."
But when the Post asked the mayor’s office for comment, Levy provided a statement saying Columbia leadership asked for police to step in and "any suggestion that other considerations were involved in the decision-making process is completely false."
Levy added: "The insinuation that Jewish donors secretly plotted to influence government operations is an all too familiar antisemitic trope that the Washington Post should be ashamed to ask about, let alone normalize in print."
A Post insider told Fox News Digital that the paper regularly covers wealthy and powerful people who try to use their influence, regardless of their race or religion. The Post did not mention the religion of the WhatsApp chat participants.
Levy continued his criticism on social media, writing:
"@washingtonpost & others can make editorial decisions to disagree with the decisions by universities to ask the NYPD to clear unlawful encampments on campuses, but saying Jews ‘wielded their money & power in an effort to shape American views’ is offensive on so many levels."
Last month, a mob of anti-Israel agitators barricaded the doors and windows of the Hamilton Hall building on Columbia’s campus. They broke glass and committed other acts of vandalism, confronted maintenance workers and waved a Palestinian flag from the roof, before embattled President Nemat Shafik had the New York Police Department clear them out in scenes that played out on national television on April 30.
A Columbia University faculty group has since passed a "no confidence" resolution against Shafik.
The Washington Post has declined to comment on Levy’s accusations.
