You know what the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine definitely doesn’t need? The input of a far-right TV commentator on Newsmax.
The commentator — Grant Stinchfield — is now on a breather, but before he was pulled from his hosting duties on the conservative news channel, he made some tasteless comments about the war in the Middle East. During his Wednesday night broadcast, Stinchfield ranted about a recent series of attacks that have reignited the battle between Palestinians and Israelis. After Israel’s police force raided a mosque during Ramadan and began forcing Palestinians out of their homes to make way for Jewish settlers, Hamas launched rockets that killed two people. Israel responded by firing on innocent Palestinian citizens, killing women and children. Though the actions of both sides are condemnable, Israel has the advantage of a superior military force, advanced technology, and the support of nations like the U.S. So really, this is not a fair fight.
But you couldn’t tell Stinchfield that. Despite identifying as neither Jewish nor Muslim, and having no ties to Palestine or Israel, Stinchfield used his time on-air to rant about the fight between the two nations and accuse Jewish Americans of not doing enough to support their “home country.”
Newsmax host: “If you are Jewish and you are a Democrat and you are living in America today, how do you support an administration that turns its back on your home country?” pic.twitter.com/yc9RjpHxlU
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) May 13, 2021
“If you are Jewish and you are a Democrat and you are living in America today, how do you support an administration that turns its back on your home country?” Stinchfield questioned before claiming that without Israel, the U.S. would be “devastated” and there’d be “chaos” in the Middle East.
Wading into this fight hasn’t worked out well for people like Gal Gadot, so no one’s sure why Stinchfield decided to try his luck, but naturally, people took offense to the anchor suggesting that Jewish Americans have some kind of responsibility or loyalty to a country they weren’t born in just because of their religion.
I don’t belong to any political party but I am Jewish and newsflash: my home country is the United States. To suggest otherwise is bigotry. https://t.co/v9pv0LvGo2
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 13, 2021
I wonder how very tired Jewish people are of explaining the difference between religion and nationality?
— ChicaLoca (@HaschVivian) May 13, 2021
Grant Stinchfield is a Catholic. Does he consider Vatican City to be his “home country”?
Stinchfield is also the guy who said on air on April 29 that the dandelion President Biden picked and gave to his wife Jill while walking on the Ellipse was “was a planted dandelion there.” https://t.co/hJpVgefvRT
— Stephen Schwartz (@AtomicAnalyst) May 13, 2021
Next time, maybe Newsmax could just … not?