Artist who drew anti-Semitic cartoon invited to White House

Marcy Oster
Published July 7, 2019

(JTA) — An artist who drew a cartoon that showed U.S. government officials as puppets of George Soros and the Rothschilds says he has been invited to the White House by President Donald Trump.

The Anti-Defamation League called Ben Garrison’s 2017 cartoon “blatantly anti-Semitic” and said that “the thrust of the cartoon is clear: (then-National Security Advisor H.R.) McMaster is merely a puppet of a Jewish conspiracy.”

The cartoon, which the ADL said was commissioned by right-wing radio host Mike Cernovich, shows liberal Jewish philanthropist George Soros pulling the strings of McMaster and former CIA director Gen. David Petraeus. Above Soros, a green hand labeled “Rothschilds,” the well-known Jewish banking family, manipulates him.

The Rothschilds often appear in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, which have them running a secretive international Jewish cabal that controls the world.

Cernovich is known for starting the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which claimed falsely that the Clintons were running a pedophile ring in the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizza restaurant.

Garrison tweeted an image of his invitation to the White House for a social media summit, saying he was “honored.”

Mark Mellman, who heads the Democratic Majority for Israel advocacy group issued a statement. “By inviting a cartoonist to the White House whose work the Anti-Defamation League calls ‘blatantly anti-Semitic,’ President Trump is, again, fanning the flames of hatred,” he said. “At a time when antisemitic incidents are increasing at an alarming rate, President Trump should withdraw his invitation to this purveyor of anti-Jewish hate and condemn all forms of bigotry.”

 CNN’s Jake Tapper tweeted about the invite.