Israel lists top ‘anti-Semite influencers’

The report conflates criticism with anti-Jewish sentiment, British-Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan, number five on the roster, has told RT.

Six of the ten “influencers” are based in the US, including American conservative journalist Tucker Carlson, far-right activist Nick Fuentes, and commentator Candace Owens. Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg, who became a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause in recent years, earned the number two spot, while US influencer Dan Bilzarian took the top spot.

In a report on Tuesday, the ministry defined the ten individuals as people without formal political or governmental positions, but who have a significant following. Positions in the list were decided by the level of influence and “risk,” based on frequency of statements which the Israeli ministry considered to be anti-Semitic or anti-Israeli.

The US perception of Israel, which has been slipping for years on the backdrop of the Gaza conflict, has worsened since the launch of the war on Iran in late February, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. Some 60% of American adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel, up from 53% last year, the survey said.

“The Israeli government is actually inflicting huge damage to the Jewish people” by presenting itself as their representative, British-Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan – who was number five on the Israeli ministry’s list – told RT. “The Jews now are suffering because of the Israeli massacres, genocide in Gaza.”

Atwan, who is the editor-in-chief of the UK-based Arabic language newspaper Rai Al-Youm, argued that he could not be an anti-Semite, as a Semite himself who preaches coexistence with Jews.

“We are anti-Israeli wars against Lebanon, against Iran, against Yemen, against Gaza,” he said. “Israel is not above criticism. So to accuse anybody who is criticizing Israel of anti-Semitism is actually very, very frightening.”