Episode summary
Glenn Greenwald delivers a monologue dissecting recent claims of rising anti-semitism, focusing on former Congressman Dan Goldman's post-election media appearances. Goldman, a billionaire heir to the Levi Strauss fortune who lost his congressional primary to Jewish Zionist Brad Lander, has claimed to be a victim of anti-semitism despite losing in a heavily Jewish district to a Jewish opponent. Greenwald argues this exemplifies a broader cynical weaponization of anti-semitism accusations to silence critics of US support for Israel, paralleling how accusations of racism and transphobia were overused during 2018-2020. He claims the strategy has backfired, causing anti-semitism accusations to lose credibility. Greenwald alleges that billionaire Larry Ellison, a close Netanyahu ally and major IDF donor, is acquiring Warner Brothers Discovery to control CNN and install Barry Weiss as its leader to turn it into an Israeli propaganda channel. He contends this is part of a pattern of Israel loyalists buying up media outlets, Hollywood studios, and social media platforms while simultaneously claiming victimhood. Greenwald challenges ADL statistics on rising anti-semitism, arguing most reported incidents are protected speech like criticism of Israel or references to AIPAC's political influence. Drawing on his own experience growing up Jewish in South Florida, he says he never experienced anti-semitic attacks and argues the narrative of an anti-semitism epidemic is fabricated to protect Israel from criticism. He warns that conflating Israel with Jews actually fuels anti-semitism and predicts the censorship strategy will backfire.