Jewish influencers clash in online drama
The spat between Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and conservative outlet Daily Wire escalated this week following the departure of pundit Candace Owens from the organization, with Boteach calling the Wire antisemitic and cowardly for refusing to debate him.
Owens and Boteach had publicly sparred online, with Boteach accusing the commentator of spreading antisemitic conspiracies and pro-Hamas propaganda, and Owens contending that the rabbi had engaged in a harassment campaign to force his political beliefs on her.
Last Monday, Owens liked a social media post that asked if Boteach was “drunk on Christian blood.” Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro had also been critical of Owens for her “absolutely disgraceful” criticism of Israel during the October 7 War, but Shapiro and the Wire said that she would continue to work at the company, drawing the ire of Boteach.
Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing posted on X on Friday that “Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship,”
and Owens wrote, “The rumors are true – I am finally free.”
On Sunday, Boteach celebrated Purim by wearing a costume that he said depicted Owen’s impression of Jews, with a shirt depicting dollar bills, a large fake nose, and a cup to represent “Christian blood.” He celebrated Owen’s departure from The Wire on Tuesday, addressing Shapiro on social media and claiming, “It was only our activism that forced you to take
action against arch antisemite Candace Owens, off whom you were making millions of dollars even as she assailed Jews as murderers and Israel as genocidal.”
Responding to calls for Boreing to respond to Boteach’s alleged harassment of Owens, the Wire co-founder said on social media on Monday, “I have avoided commenting publicly on Rabbi Shmuley because, as far as I can tell, the man is an attention whore of the highest order.”
Boteach attacked Boreing and the Wire on Tuesday, claiming that the outlet’s co-founder had called him and Jews “whores.” He hinted that he may be taking legal action for defamation.
“With Candace Owens’s departure, we thought maybe the antisemitism at Daily Wire would stop,” Boteach said on X. “Imagine that this guy is actually the boss of a major media company – a knuckle-dragging, ignorant, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon troglodyte who calls people whores. The antisemitism at the Daily Wire is clearly endemic and systemic. The Daily Wire has become an organ of hate against Jews, women, and blacks.”
Boteach also attacked Shapiro, saying that the Jewish pundit’s “yarmulke is no excuse” for employing Owens for so long, and he accused his organization of racism because of the host’s statements that George Floyd died of a fentanyl overdose and not police brutality. He demanded that Shapiro apologize and debate him.
Daily Wire reporter Kassy Akiva disputed the allegation that Boreing called Jews whores, adding that many religious Jews disagree with Boteach’s description of the events. “You think you’re a warrior doing good, but in reality, you’re forcing reasonable people to clean up your mess,” said Akiva, who signed her response as a “Daily Wire Jew.”
Boteach attacked Akiva for defending her boss, saying that the convert to Judaism couldn’t call herself an orthodox Jew if she supported Boreing.
“Don’t think that just because you keep Shabbat, you’re orthodox. Orthodox means a set of values,” said Shmuley. “And calling people who slut-shame women, which is how [the] term ‘whore’ is usually used, is disgusting. And the fact that a cowardly Ben Shapiro, who will not even debate me about his employment and profiting for the past two years off Candace Owens, America’s foremost female antisemite, for two years just proves the point.”
Jewish influencers attacked Boteach for his comments, saying he had gone too far in what could be construed as questioning Akiva’s conversion, and called on him to stop posting on social media and committing a – desecration of the name of God.