Former Nation of Islam member Keith Ellison touted the endorsement of controversial anti-Semitic leader Jesse Jackson.
"I am proud to support Keith Ellison in the race for DNC Chair,” Jackson, who had once used a racial slur to refer to Jewish people said.
“Jesse Jackson is one of our greatest organizers and civil rights heroes," said Keith Ellison.
Ellison had been notorious for defending the anti-Semitism and racism of Louis Farrakhan and other Nation of Islam figures.
The Minnesota Daily opinion editor, Michael Olenick, described Ellison’s writing as "a genuine threat to the long-term safety and well-being of the Jewish people, a threat that history dictates must not be ignored."
"Time and time again my people have been slaughtered after the words of Hakim (Ellison) and those like him influenced the masses," Olenick writes.
Farrakhan became a national figure after his support for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign. When Jackson referred to Jews as "Hymies" and New York as "Hymietown", Farrakhan threatened an African-American reporter who had repeated the comments.
Jackson's Illinois campaign coordinator declared, "Jesse Jackson will not, cannot and shall not repudiate Louis Farrakhan. They are brothers,"
This was after Farrakhan had threatened the African-American reporter and praised Hitler as a great man. Jackson defended Farrakhan by saying, 'Jews went to the chambers silently. They should have gone fighting if they had to go at all.''
Jackson had defended Farrakhan's bigotry before, like Ellison, eventually being forced to make a break with him to protect his political ambitions. The left continued to sanitize Jesse Jackson. But the Jewish community has not forgotten. That is why Bernie Sanders, despite his accent and last name, lost the Jewish vote. His support for Jesse Jackson and pandering to anti-Semites only hurt him.
Similarly, despite denials that he is a bigot, Keith Ellison solicits the support of anti-Semitic figures like Jackson. That raises serious questions about his candidacy to head the DNC.