Moore-backing robocall from fake Jewish journalist seen as anti-Semitic

WASHINGTON — A made-up reporter named “Bernie Bernstein” called homes in Alabama searching for women to provide “damaging remarks” against Roy Moore in an apparent bid to discredit allegations that the Republican Senate candidate had sexual contact with minors many years ago.

In one case, the apparent robocall, the man left a voicemail message with Pastor Al Moore claiming to be a reporter for the Washington Post and offering women money in exchange for allegations, which he said would not be well vetted, the local CBS affiliate WKRG-TV reported Tuesday. The caller’s Jewish-sounding name and strong, nasally Northeastern accent prompted accusations of anti-Semitism.

“Hi, this is Bernie Bernstein, I’m a reporter for the Washington Post calling to find out if anyone at this address is a female between the ages of 54 to 57 years old willing to make damaging remarks about candidate Roy Moore for a reward of between $5,000 and $7,000,” the man said.

“We will not be fully investigating these claims, however we will make a written report. I can be reached by email at albernstein@washingtonpost.com. Thank you.”

The inconsistency in the call — the caller announced himself as “Bernie” but his email address is “Al” — among other things, raised the pastor’s suspicions.

The Post said it has no reporters named either Bernie Bernstein or Al Bernstein and that the call was obviously fake. Moore told the Washington Post he sent a message to the email address and it bounced back.

“The Post has just learned that at least one person in Alabama has received a call from someone falsely claiming to be from The Washington Post,” Marty Baron, executive editor of the Post, said in a statement. “The call’s description of our reporting methods bears no relationship to reality. We are shocked and appalled that anyone would stoop to this level to discredit real journalism.”

The Post added that, “Moore’s church, the Fountain Of Faith Baptist Church, posted on Facebook Tuesday morning about a call from an ‘Al Bernstein at The Washington Post. Hmmmm.'” However, the Facebook message appears to have subsequently been taken down.

Many on Twitter were quick to point out the anti-Semitic nature of the call.

https://twitter.com/SethAMandel/status/930564911029280769

They were going to go with “Jewy McJewface,” but @Yair_Rosenberg had already claimed it as his alter ego.

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— (((Jeremy Posner))) (@jmp_nyc) November 14, 2017

https://twitter.com/gingrpimpernel/status/930611457104007168