Podcaster and media personality Joe Rogan garnered harsh criticism this week for suggesting that Jewish people were "into money."
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During a discussion on the removal of Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee due to past antisemitic remarks, Rogan defended a 2019 tweet by the congresswoman in which she claimed that pro-Israel votes in Congress were "all about the Benjamins."
"It's crazy," Rogan said. "That's not an antisemitic comment, I don't think that is. Benjamins are money. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That's like saying Italians aren't into pizza. It's f****** stupid."
Omar was stripped of the Foreign Affairs Committee assignment last week over a history of antisemitic and anti-Israel remarks. She previously accused Israel of having "hypnotized the world" and Jews of buying control of Congress as well as called Israel an "apartheid state" and likened it to the terrorist groups Taliban and Hamas.
"Whether you agree with her or not, she has a bold opinion, and that opinion is not her own. There's many people that have that opinion, and they should be represented," Rogan said of the Minnesota Democrat.
Rogan's guest, media host Kryistal Ball, too defended Omar and even implied that Israel was untouchable because of Jewish money supposedly influencing Washington, DC.
Executive Director of StopAntisemitism Liora Rez slammed the podcaster, saying "Joe Rogan is once again spewing antisemitic misinformation to his millions of followers, this time irresponsibly spreading an age-old trope about Jews and money, and then minimizing it by comparing it to Italians and pizza. Last time we checked, Italians weren't the victims of genocide for their love of pizza."
He "can no longer be protected by free speech when his horrific rhetoric will ultimately lead to further violence against Jews. StopAntisemitism is calling on Joe Rogan and Krystal Ball to apologize for their remarks and for Spotify and The Joe Rogan Experience to invite guests on to have a conversation about antisemitism and how comments like his and his guests are not just controversial, but dangerous for the Jewish people."
Rogan's show has an estimated 11 million listeners per episode and is the most popular podcast on Spotify's platform.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
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