Award-winning playwright David Mamet joined "America’s Newsroom" Tuesday to react to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s widely-criticized response to a question about antisemitism during yesterday's press briefing.
When asked about President Biden's level of concern regarding the potential rise in antisemitism, Jean-Pierre said the White House has not seen any credible threats, but noted that Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim have "endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks."
Host Bill Hemmer mentioned that Jewish Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., criticized the White House over the "weak answer," prompting Jean-Pierre to tweet after the conference clarifying that the president and his team "are very concerned about a rise in antisemitism, especially after the horrific Hamas terrorist attack in Israel."
Mamet was not impressed by the White House's clarification.
"With the exception of the state of Israel, we have always been at the mercy of the countries which allowed us – some of them allowed us to live, We Jews got in the habit of saying, 'Please, please, can't you see there's such a thing as humanity,'" Mamet said.
"The problem is that a lot of people see that there is such a thing as humanity, but a lot of those people and a lot of them are in power in the White House don't think the Jews are human beings."
In an email to FOX News Digital, Jean-Pierre said Tuesday she misheard the reporter's question.
"As I have footstomped many times from the podium and on the air, antisemitism is an abomination that this President has fought against his entire life; and I feel strongly about that work," Jean-Pierre told FOX News Digital via email.
"That’s why, in the briefing room, I have blasted the repulsive increase in antisemitic rhetoric, conspiracy theories, and hate crimes in our nation, calling out that, tragically, this is a rising threat," Jean-Pierre continued. "And it’s a threat the President is taking concrete action every day to fight."
Mamet has written about how the Jewish experience in New York is so unique, which he discussed in a piece he penned for UnHerd Monday titled "How the Democrats betrayed the Jews: The sick thrill of antisemitism has a price."
"The price is that, you know, I'm a conservative and I used to have a lot of liberal friends, but I don't know where they are. Maybe they lost my number, but they have a lot of conservative friends who are not Jewish and at certain points, they all get this look in there on their face and I know what's going to come next," Mamet said. "And the question is, ‘Dave, I thought Jews were smart, why do they vote for the liberals?’"
"And the answer is that we Jews aren't smart, we're actually stupid," he continued. "We're great at self-reliance because we never had anyone to rely on. But when it comes to getting into a group, with the exception of the state of Israel, we say, 'I don't want to be identified. Leave me alone.'"
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He said his fellow Jews need to get together and instead of going to meetings to discuss how bad it is, they need to take action.
"What I suggested in the article is, Thanksgiving's coming up, when your kids come home from college, don't send them back," Mamet said. "Stop funding antisemitic hatred and calling it, 'Oh, it's a good place to meet people.'"
"Because for a Jew to send his or her son or daughter to these elite institutions because they're going to make connections is the same thing as putting their daughter in a brothel because they're going to meet powerful men there," he added. "It doesn't make sense and we're going to have to assert ourselves."
Mamet said that liberals have "never done anything for the Jews" and added that the "only person" who ever did anything for the Jewish people was former President Trump.
"He brought peace to the Middle East and liberal Jews are saying, 'Oh, I don't like this Trump," he concluded. "It's time to stop putting our head in the sand."
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