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HR Prompts Removal of Washington Post Racial Profiling Smear

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker column took a look at Donald Trump’s recent comments on profiling of potential terrorists. It included the following: While the Washington Post can be commended for adding an update…

Simon Plosker
September 24, 2016
12:00 am

Reading time: 2 minutes

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker column took a look at Donald Trump’s recent comments on profiling of potential terrorists. It included the following:

While the Washington Post can be commended for adding an update concerning Israeli profiling, a glaring error stood out.

We tweeted and contacted the journalist responsible and Washington Post editors to ask why would Israeli security profile Ethiopian Jews?

.@GlennKesslerWP Pls explain why u state that Israel profiles Ethiopian Jews. Why would they profile a population that is no way a threat?

— HonestReporting (@HonestReporting) September 23, 2016

Clearly the Ethiopian Jewish community in no way represents a security threat to Israelis or anyone else.

There is only one implication for claiming that Israel profiles people of color, even if they are Jewish – that Israel is somehow racist. This is not only absolutely incorrect but is inflammatory.

The Washington Post agreed with us and removed the offending reference.

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Tags: distorted facts, Donald Trump, Ethiopian Jews, profiling, racism, success, Washington Post

Simon Plosker

With over two decades of experience in various non-governmental organizations in the UK and Israel, Simon Plosker returned to HonestReporting in October 2022 as Editorial Director having previously been part of the organization’s management team from 2005 to 2020. Prior to his first spell at HonestReporting, Simon worked in Israel for NGO Monitor, BICOM, and served for a short period in the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. He was Managing Editor of the Geneva-based NGO United Nations Watch for two years before moving back to the frontline defending Israel from media bias. Simon has a BSoc.Sc in International Studies and Political Science from the University of Birmingham and an MSc in History of International Relations from the London School of Economics. He immigrated to Israel in 2001 from London.

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