JCRC Statement on Mark Finchem’s use of antisemitic tropes

Following Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem’s use of antisemitic tropes on twitter around Michael Bloomberg and George Soros, the JCRC put out the following tweet response:

@RealMarkFinchem: your reliance on #antisemitic tropes to spearhead your campaign is an embarrassment to the majority of #Arizona residents and serves to reinforce that you cannot be trusted to serve as our Secretary of State.

Read further coverage of the matter, including statements by JCRC Board Chair Tim Eckstein in the AZ Mirror:

“The invocation of his name, however, as a stand-in for Jewish financier/elitist who is part of a broad conspiracy aimed at world domination, is rooted in antisemitic ideology going back to the 19th Century,” [JCRC Board Chair Tim] Eckstein said, adding that the repeated use of Soros’ name by a candidate with a track record of conspiratorial thinking is “deeply troubling.”

and in the Arizona Republic.:

“It’s a whole combination of things with Finchem,” said Tim Eckstein, chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council in Phoenix. “He’s got a history here.”

Eckstein said Finchem has shown no interest in dialing down his rhetoric or distancing himself from people who express racist views.

The council, which is nonprofit and nonpartisan, will reach out to candidates and officials who repeat tropes or make remarks without recognizing the antisemitic nature of them, Eckstein said….

“Finchem has not demonstrated a bit of good faith on this issue,” Eckstein said.

The Soros and Bloomberg Tweet is just the latest example.

“This one has such resonance for the Jewish community that we couldn’t not respond to it,” Eckstein said.

The JCRC was also quoted in another article this week in the Arizona Republic on extremist candidates on the ballot.

Update: Read Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini’s oped on Finchem doubling down on antisemitic tropes.