After previous antisemitic posts of his came to light on Sunday, Tyler Cherry, the new White House associate communications director, posted that “past social media posts from when I was younger do not reflect my current views. Period.”
“I support this administration’s agenda—and will continue my communications work focused on our climate and environmental policies,” Cherry wrote.
Eitan Fischberger, an Israel-based Middle East analyst and writer, posted several of Cherry’s prior comments, including ones that Fischberger said demonstrate that the White House staffer “wants to stop weapons sales to Israel” and “adores antisemites.”
Posts of Cherry’s refer to Linda Sarsour, an activist who has long been accused of Jew-hatred, as “a fierce Muslim woman at the helm of the resistance.” He also referred to the “occupation of Palestine” and posted “free Palestine.”
“Why does the Biden administration think it’s ok to hire and elevate virulently anti-Israel staffers?” wrote the Republican Jewish Coalition. “It’s no wonder the White House continues to undermine the Jewish state.”
Phil Wegmann, the White House reporter at RealClearPolitics, wrote that Cherry posted “comparing police to slave patrols, calling for abolition of ICE, support for Palestine.” (ICE is the federal agency U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.)
StopAntisemitism called on U.S. President Joe Biden “to immediately reverse course on the hiring of Tyler Cherry and do a better job vetting the personnel he brings into his orbit.”
Although Cherry appeared to have deleted the posts which were shared via screenshot on social media, a post from July 31, 2014, in which he wrote that “no words can come close to the ever-increasing disappointment of the U.S.’s omnipotence and complicity in this massacre. FreePalestine,” remained live at press time.
So did a post from Aug. 15, 2017, in which he wrote that “the president of the United States is a Nazi sympathizer.”
