The Weekly Standard‘s Bill Kristol responded Tuesday to Breitbart News labeling him a “renegade Jew” by dismissing the criticism altogether, and by reaffirming his support for Israel.
“I’m a proud Jew, strong supporter of Israel,” he said in an interview on CNN. “I don’t think I’ve ever been called a renegade Jew before.”
Breitbart’s David Horowitz penned a 30-paragraph article, headlined “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew,” this weekend criticizing the Weekly Standard commentator for his efforts to draft a third-party challenge to presumptive presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
The Breitbart author also questioned Kristol’s “Jewishness.”
“I am a Jew who has never been to Israel and has never been a Zionist in the sense of believing that Jews can rid themselves of Jew hatred by having their own nation state. But half of world Jewry now lives in Israel, and the enemies whom Obama and Hillary have empowered — Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah, [the Islamic State], and Hamas — have openly sworn to exterminate the Jews,” Horowitz wrote.
“I am also an American (and an American first), whose country is threatened with destruction by the same enemies. To weaken the only party that stands between the Jews and their annihilation, and between America and the forces intent on destroying her, is a political miscalculation so great and a betrayal so profound as to not be easily forgiven,” he added.
The article, which appeared on Breitbart’s front page with the longer headline “Bill Kristol: Republican Spoiler, Renegade Jew Prepares Third Party Effort to Block Trump’s Path to White House,” drew sharp criticism from both right- and left-leaning media personalities, most notably former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro.
“[T]his article is garbage,” Shapiro wrote.
Horowitz has defended his article, and claimed responsibility Monday for the eyebrow-raising headlines.
“I did write the headline with the ‘renegade Jew’ phrase and Breitbart chose to run it as is,” he wrote.
“Splitting the Republican vote and electing Hillary is a betrayal of the Jews in an hour in which their backs are to the wall. Hence the designation ‘renegade’ for those who are planning a third-party run, and for which I make no apologies,” he added.
Kristol meanwhile scoffed at the criticism Tuesday morning, and told CNN he hasn’t paid much attention to Breitbart’s commentary.
“I haven’t read it and I don’t intend to read such a thing,” he said.
“[T]here are always people like that. It’s a big country, a lot of people, and people can build their websites and engage in that kind of rhetoric or, and put on headlines on pieces like that, I suppose,” he added.
The Weekly Standard and Washington Examiner are owned by the same parent company.
