Ben Carson’s campaign hit back Thursday evening at an ABC News report that the candidate unequivocally claimed that the Star of David is on the back of the $1 bill.
After Carson’s remarks at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s 2016 forum in Washington, D.C., the news outlet ran a story with the headline at press time reading, “Ben Carson Thinks There’s a Star of David on the Dollar Bill. There’s Not.”
In an email to the Washington Examiner, Carson spokesman Ying Ma took exception to ABC’s characterization, saying that “American history is chock-full of legends and lore,” adding that the tale Carson told the RJC about Haym Salomon lands in that category. Ma also wrote that the press has an “obligation to tell the truth,” saying that ABC didn’t do so by insinuating that Carson made the comment in “absolute terms.”
In his remarks to the Republican Jewish Coalition today, Dr. Carson told the story of wealthy Jewish merchant Haym Salomon, whose financial backing of the Continental Army and backing of government notes was instrumental in winning America’s independence. Jewish Americans like Mr. Salomon have been an indelible part of the American story since our founding. As such, it is only natural that many Americans have come to believe that the six-point star on the reverse of the dollar bill is a Star of David that honors Mr. Salomon. What should be noted is that American history is chock-full of legends and lore, many true, and many more apocryphal. Dr. Carson repeated one of these common myths about the six-point star on the reverse of the dollar bill. He was careful to note, however, that the story was unconfirmed, saying only that some believe this, though “no one knows for sure.” We may never know why the origin of the six-point star on the bill, but it should not distract from Dr. Carson’s greater message, which is that we should always remember and honor the important role the American Jewish community has played in forging this great nation.
The press should also always remember its obligation to tell the truth. ABC’s headline on this story said, “Ben Carson Thinks There’s a Star of David on the Dollar Bill. There’s Not.” The truth is: “ABC accused Ben Carson of claiming in absolute terms there’s a Star of David on the dollar bill. He did not.”
ABC does in fact mention Carson’s quote saying that “no one knows for sure” if the story is true. The outlet brought up Carson’s claim with Wayne Homren of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, who said there was no “intention” by designers of the dollar bill to include a Star of David.
“If you squint, you can say there’s some resemblance but that certainly was not the intention of the designers, that we’re aware,” Homren said. “All I know is there’s nothing any of us have discovered in the documentation that would support that.”
“There are letters and other correspondence between members of Congress and people in the government about what the seal would look like and what it would contain,” Homren told ABC. “There are at least two thick books written about how the seal was created and nobody recognized anything about a Star of David.”
Overall, Carson’s speech Thursday was not well received. The famed neurosurgeon notably read a prepared address before the pro-Israel group like that of a term paper, something he rarely does, and mispronounced “Hamas” multiple times.
