Democrats slam Sen. David Perdue's attack ad against Jon Ossoff as 'anti-Semitic'
Democrats criticized Republican Sen. David Perdue for publishing a now-deleted campaign ad they say was antisemitic.
The Facebook ad, which was posted Monday, featured an altered photo of Perdue's Democratic opponent, Jon Ossoff, who is Jewish. The Forward first reported the image had been doctored to make Ossoff’s nose appear larger than in the original photo, which was taken by photojournalist Chris Aluka Berry for Reuters in 2017.
The ad featured Ossoff's image alongside one of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also Jewish.
"BREAKING: Schumer spending $3 MILLION in Georgia for Jon Ossoff!" the ad read, along with the claim that "Democrats are trying to buy Georgia!"
Critics immediately condemned the ad for using an anti-Semitic trope, saying it recalled caricatures that depicted Jewish people with hooked or large noses.
The Georgia Republican's campaign said in a statement the image had been removed from Facebook, and that the manipulation was an “unintentional error” by an outside vendor. The campaign did not name a vendor in its statement.
"Senator Perdue takes racial and religious discrimination incredibly seriously, and he has actively worked to condemn anti-Semitism and hate of all forms," Perdue's campaign told USA TODAY, saying Perdue did not see the ad before it was published.
Perdue's office also cited examples in which the senator voiced opposition to racial and religious discrimination in the past, including his support for a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.
Ossoff challenged Perdue's claim that publishing the ad was an accident, saying he used "the oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history."
"Sitting U.S. Senator David Perdue's digital attack ad distorted my face to enlarge and extend my nose," Ossoff wrote on Twitter Monday night. "Senator, literally no one believes your excuses."
In a press release sent out Tuesday, Ossoff called for Perdue to donate money raised from the ad — which was originally published as a fundraising promotion — to nonpartisan groups "that promote healing and combat hate."
Miryam Lipper, communications director for Ossoff's campaign, also pushed back against the claim the image was a fluke, writing on Twitter that "shady Facebook ads are where campaigns try to do their targeted dirty work."
Everyone in politics knows this was no technical error. Shady Facebook ads are where campaigns try to do their targeted dirty work. This is just old school anti-Semitism, trying to fly under the radar, disgraceful for a sitting Senator, and David Perdue got caught in the act. https://t.co/CDBal6pZjs
— Miryam Lipper (@MiryamLipper) July 28, 2020
Georgia Democrats and representatives of national Jewish organizations strongly condemned Perdue for the ad, calling on him to take action.
"Antisemitism has no place in our state and in our country, let alone in politics," Georgia state Sen Jen Jordan wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning.
In a statement she published Tuesday, state Sen. Nikema Williams, head of the Georgia Democratic Party, called for Perdue to apologize to Ossoff and fire the vendor involved in the image.
"Now more than ever, we have to combat the ugly hatred we’ve seen continue to rear its head in this country," she wrote. "Senator Perdue must immediately fire the campaign vendor who made this ad, apologize to Jon Ossoff, and take responsibility for injecting these kinds of hurtful stereotypes into this election.”
Dov Wilker, the Atlanta director of the American Jewish Committee, said in a statement he was "shocked" to see Ossoff's face had been distorted.
"This, along with a reference to a Jewish senator and references to 'buying Georgia' evokes antisemitic imagery that is best confined to the dustbin of history," he said in a statement.
Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and a former senior policy advisor in the Obama administration, called out Republicans on Twitter for not defending Ossoff.
"Silence, hypocrisy, & impunity are the defining features of the @GOP under Trump," she wrote.
Ossoff and Perdue will face off in November. Ossoff's campaign cited an internal poll on MSNBC last week that showed him to be neck-in-neck in the race for Perdue's seat. RealClearPolitics shows Perdue to be about four points ahead, per their polling average.
Of course Rs are silent on @SenDavidPerdue's attack on Jon @Ossoff. If the @RJC says nothing when the @POTUS uses anti-Semitic stereotypes, why would they condemn it when others in the party do the same? Silence, hypocrisy & impunity are defining features of the @GOP under Trump. https://t.co/2qytTuneo0
— Halie Soifer (@HalieSoifer) July 28, 2020
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Senate race: Perdue ad on Jon Ossoff slammed as 'anti-Semitic'
