Georgia GOP senator slammed for ‘anti-Semitic’ ad that made opponent’s nose look large
Georgia Sen. David Perdue’s campaign says an “unintentional error” is to blame for a digital ad critics are calling anti-Semitic.
Perdue has since pulled the ad featuring a doctored photo of his political opponent, Jon Ossoff, with an enlarged nose, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jewish-American outlet The Forward was the first to report the image had been manipulated, making Ossoff’s nose appear “lengthened and widened, even as other parts of his face stayed the same size.” The now-defunct fundraising ad, which ran on Facebook, showed Ossoff alongside New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, who’s also Jewish.
“Democrats are trying to buy Georgia!” the announcement read, according to screenshots by The Forward. “Help David Perdue fight back.”
Backlash was swift, with many accusing Perdue of using anti-Semitic tropes to attack his opponent. The two will face off in what has been a tight race in November as Perdue seeks to hold on to his Senate seat.
Ossoff slammed the ad as the “oldest, most obvious, least original anti-Semitic trope in history.”
“Senator, literally no one believes your excuses,” the Georgia Democrat, who came out on top in the state primary in June, said in a statement provided to McClatchy News. “You can start with an unqualified apology to Georgia’s Jewish community.”
Perdue’s ad also drew a scathing rebuke from Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Nikema Williams, who slammed the Republican congressman for using such “hurtful stereotypes.”
“Now more than ever, we have to combat the ugly hatred we’ve seen continue to rear its head in this country,” Williams said in a statement posted online. “Senator Perdue must immediately fire the campaign vendor who made this ad, apologize to Jon Ossoff, and take responsibility for injecting these kinds of hurtful stereotypes into this election.”
A spokeswoman from the senator’s camp claimed the distortion was an accident that occurred during the design process, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The ad was handled by a third-party vendor who resized Ossoff’s photo “and then used a filter.”
“Anybody who implies that this was anything other than an inadvertent error is intentionally misrepresenting Senator Perdue’s strong and consistent record of standing firmly against antisemitism and all forms of hate,” the spokeswoman told the newspaper, also citing the senator’s support for pro-Israel causes.
This story was originally published July 28, 2020 at 10:59 AM with the headline "Georgia GOP senator slammed for ‘anti-Semitic’ ad that made opponent’s nose look large."