Conservative superstar Ben Shapiro revealed on Thursday that he had a discussion with podcast king Joe Rogan after the latter repeated an age-old antisemitic trope about Jews and money as he defended Rep. Ilhan Omar’s blatant antisemitism.
Rogan stuck up for Omar, saying that her comment about US support for Israel being “all about the Benjamins” wasn’t antisemitic at all.
“She’s talking about money,” Rogan said. “That’s not an anti-Semitic comment, I don’t think that is. The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous. That’s like saying Italians aren’t into pizza.”
Shapiro discussed this comment while responding to a caller on The Ben Shapiro Show on Thursday who asked about the difference between jokes and malicious antisemitism.
“So I think jokes are different than it — than, you know, actual honest observations. I did talk with Joe a little bit about this yesterday and he was saying what I sort of suggested he was saying yesterday, which is ‘Everybody likes money and Jews are good with it.’”
“That is a very different thing than I think how it came out on the air when Joe was talking about it,” Shapiro said. “I will say that there is a difference between making stereotypical comments and having a stereotypical worldview.”
“When you talk about full damaging racism or anti-Semitism, it is actions that are tied to a full-scale worldview that are truly damaging,” Shapiro explained. “Now, there can be prominent people who say things that then tie into that worldview or give credence to that worldview unintentionally by saying things. And that’s a problem. But the bigger problem is the worldview itself.”
“So to take an example, if you make a stereotypical comment about Black people in a joke to a friend, is that good? No, it’s not good. It’s ugly and it’s bad and you shouldn’t do it. Does that make you a racist for the rest of your life? No. It means you did a bad thing. It means you said a bad, racist thing,” Shapiro said.
“Does it mean that you even buy into a full scale racist worldview? No! And I think we’ve lost all nuance in this discussion. It’s true of anti-Semitism too. If somebody makes a Jewish joke, is that the same thing as somebody buying into a broad scale program with regard to Jewish conspiracy theory?” he asked.
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12 Responses
It is envy that makes someone use the word Jews and the word money together, even though most Jews are not very well off, many are even poor sadly, and envy is antisemitism. Envy, greed, hatred, theft, theft of reputation, theft of property, theft of belongings, theft of life hvs. It is all antisemitism.
הכסף יענה את הכל
Big Ben will defend an absolute antisemite because that’s what his conservative constituency likes.Hey Ben when the goyim come that don’t ask of you’re conservative or liberal THEY HATE US ALL.
Yes, of course a joke about Jews is not necessarily antisemitism. But Rogan’s comment was not a joke. He wasn’t trying to be funny. He was stating what he believed to be a fact.
I’m with Jeff. When one is as public a figure as Joe Rogan, there is no difference between “a stereotypical comment” and “a stereotypical worldview”. Pretty indefensible.
It’s very distressing that someone like Ben Shapiro is mouthing off in a fashion that supports anti semitism and associated tropes and mindsets. You know he’s talking out of the wrong end of the anatomy when he starts comparing antisemitism to anti black “racism”.
If there is antisemitism in the world today, it’s not because of what Jewish people do. It is because of who they are — Jews. Black racism today, however, is not based on who black people are. We all are used to blacks being around, and as human sapiens, they are fine. There are many black people in our lives, from contractors to doctors to postmen to restaurant owners, managers and waiters to what have you, and they’re treated by society pretty much the same as anyone else. It’s what many blacks as a group do that promotes stereotypes and non-acceptance in society. 90% of prison populations in the US are black. 60-70 percent of violent crime in the most populous US counties are committed by blacks. Repeat criminals (who should be in jail but were released due to social “equity”) are too often black (because those are the ones being released to go commit more crime). Most normal people (who recognize the destruction wrought upon society by the “kind” treatment of black criminals) wish that all blacks by and large would succeed in life, rather than be a burden to society in every which way, and those that do succeed (and of course there are many many in our lives that do, as stated earlier) are accepted pretty much the way anyone else is.
So if you don’t have anything to say on the subject, Ben, please zip the lip. Even someone as smart as you are knows the maxim “Syag L’Chachma Shtika”.
ben shapiro is a rabble rouser demagogue. don’t listen to him
Enough with this stupid idea about antisemitic “tropes”. The only “tropes” I care about are in Tanach. I DON’T CARE about people “evoking antisemitic tropes”. What I care about is actual antisemitism.
What Rogan said was NOT antisemitic. It is not antisemitic to point out that Jews like money, and are better at it than most people. That is true, and it’s something we used to be proud of, and should still be.
What Omar said WAS antisemitic, not because of any “trope”, but because it was a false and defamatory accusation against Jews. She accused AIPAC of bribing congressmen, and she accused all congressmen who support Israel of taking AIPAC’s bribes. If that were true it wouldn’t be wrong of her to say so, but it’s NOT true. And the only reason it would ever occur to anyone to think it’s true is because they have a negative view of Jews. THAT was the antisemitism in her words, and it needs to be condemned for what it was, not for some nonsense about “tropes”, as if she messed up the laining!
I’m confused as to why everyone is getting up in arms about this topic.
There’s only one way to make antisemitism go away, and it’s not by winning logical debates or arguing over forums.
V’hamyvin yavin
It is anti semetic what joe rogen said. Everyone cares about money. Not just jews. Because without money you cant survive or live in the world. The mixup comes because Jews are successful in everything they do and work hard to succeed. So the anti semites just focus on that we care about money. No, we care about to succeed, we care to better our lives and the lives of the people around us. And to make the world better.
Ben Shapiro and Joe Rogan and the rest of the mouths of America can say and do what they want…..I will just say, I know nothing and I will let Hashem make the choices….I just trust it won’t be painful….as far as conservatives Americans…..I only trust with limited a black hat and Torah….
“I will just say, I know nothing …
Suralah: So for the first time we agree…..Yes, hashem is the ultimate decisionmaker, but somehow he assumes his yidden have the ability to exercise hashgacha paratis based on common sense
So Ben Shapiro,
If a well known Jew hating antisemie like Omar who bands with the scums of scums of Jewish hate and terror who has ask judge to go linenant on ISIS says consistently say anti semetic tropes is bad but Rogen can mean the same thing but through different Lense?
If you say the N word and are balck and Buddy up to black people you is fine, but if you are a redneck who says the same thing with a comb on his head he is not good?
The definition change as who is saying? What he looks like? If she Omar play dumb and give same excuses as Shapiro or Rogan, then that makes it fine that Jews mix blood with matzah? Because NOT HAVING A CLEAR DEFINITION WILL LEAD TO THAT.