Rupert Murdoch Apologizes for ‘Jewish-Owned Press’ Tweet

Rupert Murdoch chided "Jewish-owned press" for not standing behind Israel

Rupert Murdoch apologized on Sunday for a tweet criticizing the "Jewish owned press."

On Saturday, he asked, "Why Is Jewish owned press so consistently anti-Israel in every crisis?"

The tweet played into the old anti-Semitic canard that Jews control the media. Many of the News Corp. CEO's 367,000 followers immediately called him out for it, spurring his apology.

"'Jewish owned press' have been sternly criticised, suggesting link to Jewish reporters," Murdoch tweeted. "Don't see this, but apologise unreservedly."

It was unclear from the apology whether he understood that he had — intentionally or not — gone along with anti-Jewish stereotyping.

Minutes after the apology, he accused The Associated Press and CNN — known for their evenhandedness — of "bias to the point of embarrassment."

Among those who criticized Murdoch was Daily Beast reporter Peter Jukes, whose Twitter profile features an image of Murdoch apologizing for the phone-hacking scandal that rocked News Corp.'s British newspapers.

"It's still objectionable you think ethnicity determines politics, and that proprietors determine newspaper context," he tweeted.

 

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