Max Blumenthal
Max Blumenthal (born December 18, 1977) is a left-wing American author, journalist, blogger, anti-Israel conspiracy theorist, new antisemitism denier,[1] and YouTube personality.
Career
In September 2013, Blumenthal reported for The Nation from the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan on the conditions in which Syrian refugees were living.[2] He wrote of being "staunchly against US strikes, mainly because I believe they could exacerbate an already horrific situation without altering the political reality in any meaningful way". The refugees in Zaatari deserved to be heard and commented in the article: "there was not one person I spoke to in Zaatari who did not demand US military intervention at the earliest possible moment."
Following a December 2015 trip, Blumenthal said the White Helmets in the Syrian War were connected to Al-Qaeda and anti-Assad Syrians were members of the group. In his opinion, the group was "driven by a pro-interventionist agenda conceived by the Western governments and public relations groups that back them" and were being used as a Trojan horse, an excuse for the United States to propose having "70,000 American servicemen" invade Syria.[3]
Blumenthal eventually was fired for hateful comments directed towards late Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel due to the latter's support for Israel.[4][5]
Blumenthal implied in an October 2016 article that the White Helmets in Syria were involved in a "false flag conspiracy" to claim a UN convoy to rebel-held Aleppo had been bombed by the Syrian and Russian military. Charles Davis in an article for New Politics magazine wrote: "In fact, a White Helmet's member was among the first civilians to appear on camera at the scene of the attack, declaring in English that 'the regime helicopters targeted this place with four barrel [bombs]'." Blumenthal said the account provided by the White Helmets "remains unconfirmed by both the UN and SARC, and no evidence of barrel bombs has been produced". The UN later concluded their convoy had been hit by barrel bombs dropped by a Syrian regime helicopter.
Charles Davis stated that The Grayzone published an article by Blumenthal and Benjamin Norton which cast doubt on the Syrian government's responsibility for the 2017 Khan Shaykhun chemical attack. Blumenthal and Norton cited a report by Seymour Hersh which said sarin was not used in the attack.
In November 2017, Blumenthal discussed the decision of the United States Department of Justice to classify RT as a "foreign agent" in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News. He told Carlson: "I go on RT fairly regularly, and the reason I do so is because, while the three major cable networks are promoting bombing and sanctioning half the world, at least the non-compliant nations, RT is questioning that."[6]
Criticism
One of his more infamous activities was his doing the third wave of attacks on the creators of the docudrama The Path to 9/11, where he proceeded to use innuendo and hearsay to demonize them due to part 1 of the miniseries having criticisms against the Clintons.
Blumenthal, in spite of his Jewish heritage, has a history of anti-Zionist diatribes which notably received extolling praise from white supremacist David Duke.[7][8][9][10]
He also claimed that the sniper and war hero Chris Kyle was a "popular mass murderer."[11]
Family
His father is Sidney Blumenthal, who was prominent for defending the Clintons.
References
- ↑ https://archive.is/uscbZ
- ↑ Blumenthal, Max. "We Just Wish for the Hit to Put an End to the Massacres", The Nation, September 13, 2013.
- ↑ Lucas, Scott. "Who are Syria's White Helmets, and why are they so controversial?", The Conversation, October 7, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.mediaite.com/online/the-911-anniversary-that-the-clintons-and-the-news-media-really-want-you-to-forget/
- ↑ https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Clinton-campaign-slams-hateful-Max-Blumenthal-comments-on-the-late-Elie-Wiesel-459657
- ↑ Ahmari, Sohrab. "A Leftist Crank on Fox News", Commentary, November 15, 2017.
- ↑ Marquardt-Bigman, Petra (November 15, 2013). David Duke, Other Anti-Semites Praise Max Blumenthal’s ‘I Hate Israel Handbook’. The Algemeiner. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ Mikics, David (March 10, 2015). Wild Thing: Max Blumenthal’s Creepy Anti-Zionist Odyssey. Tablet Magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ Boteach, Shmuley (January 11, 2016). No Holds Barred: Hillary’s Clinton’s troubling relationship with Israel-hating adviser. The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ Marquardt-Bigman, Petra (December 6, 2018). If David Duke Agrees With You On Israel, You Probably Hate Jews. Forward. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ↑ https://hotair.com/archives/2014/12/26/max-blumenthal-america-sniper-chris-kyle-was-just-a-famous-mass-murderer/