Right-wing pundit Mark Levin falsely claimed this week that CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer’s parents “weren’t victims, in one way or another, of the Holocaust” while blasting Blitzer’s coverage of Palestinian civilian deaths, claiming the veteran newsman “wants Israel to die.”
Levin, who hosts a weekend show on Fox News, tore into Blitzer during his daily Westwood One radio show on Wednesday, specifically taking issue with Blitzer acknowledging that an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza refugee camp left innocent Palestinian women and children dead. The conservative radio personality then launched a particularly vile line of attack on Blitzer.
“Wolf Blitzer, as I understand it, his parents weren’t victims, in one way or another, of the Holocaust,” he exclaimed. “But certainly, his family comes out of that background—but you wouldn’t know it because the ideology of the left is very attractive. It’s very compelling, particularly if you’re in media.”
In response, a CNN spokesperson blasted Levin’s “antisemitic” and “offensive” rhetoric, and said it’s well known that Blitzer’s parents are Holocaust survivors.
“Mark Levin’s comments about Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper were wildly uninformed, inappropriate and shameful,” the spokesperson told The Daily Beast. “Wolf is the child of Holocaust survivors and all four of his grandparents were murdered during the Holocaust, a fact that Wolf has personally reported on through a special documentary, trips to Auschwitz, written reflections, and decades of public speaking on Holocaust education and awareness. Levin’s antisemitic rhetoric is dangerous, offensive and should be universally denounced.”
Contrary to Levin’s claims, which appear to be an effort to downplay Blitzer’s Jewish heritage, both of the CNN star’s parents were survivors of the Nazi-era concentration camp Auschwitz and immigrated to the United States (along with a newborn Blitzer) after World War II. All four of his grandparents died during the Holocaust—with his paternal grandparents perishing in Auschwitz.
In fact, Blitzer has long been very open about his deep personal connection to the atrocities of the Holocaust, with his network covering it in special reports. “I proudly carry the names of my two grandfathers – Wolf Isaac Blitzer,” Blitzer wrote last year following a trip to the Auschwitz memorial site.
Blitzer wasn’t the only Jewish news anchor that Levin viciously attacked over what he felt was deferential war coverage of Palestinian casualties.
“CNN is filled with a lot of self-hating Jews, in my opinion,” he sneered. “Will Blitzer ask a question that he knows the answer to? Andrea Mitchell does the same thing. Jake Tapper does the same thing!”
Levin finally accused Blitzer, who was once the editor of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s monthly publication, of wanting to see Israel perish because he dared to press an Israeli military spokesperson about Palestinian civilians killed in an airstrike.
“In other words, Wolf Blitzer wants Israel to die, with such a dumbass question like that,” the bombastic host raged.
Fox News and Westwood One did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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