Ritchie Torres accuses Hasan Piker of anti-Semitism

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) wrote a scathing letter to the CEOs of Twitch and Amazon this week, blaming the popular Twitch streamer and left-wing pundit Hasan Piker to become the “anti-Semitic figurehead of a systematically anti-Semitic social media platform”.

Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, is one of the most visited websites worldwide, attracting an audience of young Americans interested in gaming and politics. Piker, who Newsweek recently called “the left's biggest influencer,” is one of the site's most popular streamers and regularly goes live for hours commenting on current events and games.

“I am writing to express my concern about the exacerbation of anti-Semitism on Twitch by Hasan Piker, one of the largest political streamers with a following of 2.7 million. “Since October 7, there has been an explosion of Jew-hatred on social media platforms,” Torres began in his letter, obtained by Mediaite, adding:

Hasan Piker has become the poster boy for the post-October 7 outbreak of anti-Semitism in America. Mr. Piker has demonized Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and dehumanized a Jewish man as a “bloodthirsty bastard”: Associating Jews with pigs and bloodlust is textbook anti-Semitism. Mr. Piker has all but exposed himself as an apologist for the sexual violence and brutal rapes of October 7th. “It doesn’t matter if the rape happened on October 7th. “It doesn’t change the dynamic for me,” Mr. Piker explains, before finally admitting that “Palestinian resistance (his euphemism for terrorism) is not perfect.”

Torres has made headlines in recent months for his strong support of Israel following Hamas' devastating attack on southern Israel on October 7. The New York Democrat left the Congressional Progressive Caucus in February and has repeatedly clashed publicly with his fellow Democrats over the war between Israel and Hamas. Piker has also made headlines for his stance on the war, recently expressing kind words for the terrorist organization Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

“Mr. Piker said he has “no problem” with Hezbollah, the world's most heavily armed terrorist organization, and has given a platform to a suspected Houthi terrorist. “The U.S. government has designated Hezbollah a foreign terrorist organization (in the case the former) and declared the Houthis a specially designated global terrorist group,” Torres continues in his lengthy letter, adding:

Platforming one of these terrorist organizations like Piker did is over the top. Piker even went so far as to incite violence by telling his followers to “kill” and “murder people in the streets” and “let the streets soak in their red capitalist blood.” Incitement to violence requires close scrutiny by federal law enforcement.

Outside the context of October 7, Mr. Piker has even joked and mused about men raping women on a college campus, and he posted a picture of a pistol on a U.S. senator in what appears to be an open call for gun violence against a sitting elected official. Calling on his followers to shoot an elected official, whether in earnest or in jest, is the kind of threat that requires serious attention from federal law enforcement.

When he's not joking and thinking about rape, Hasan Piker alternates between rape denial and rape apology. Either he denies the sexual violence of 10/7 or he denies that it matters. Mr. Piker once described 10/7's sexual violence as “rape fantasies” or “rape hallucinations.” Despite his disdain and disdain for Jewish rape victims in Israel, Mr. Piker remains one of the most popular political influencers on Twitch. What does its popularity reveal about the devaluation of Jewish life in American society and about Twitch's role in exacerbating the devaluation of Jewish life?

Hasan Piker has spoken out as an apologist not only for October 7th, but also for September 11th, mixing anti-Semitism with anti-Americanism. Here is Mr. Piker in his own words: “America deserved 9/11.” The 3,000 Americans who were burned or otherwise murdered in the Twin Towers; the falling men and women who plummeted to their deaths from 110-story skyscrapers; According to Mr. Piker, they all had it in front of them. You deserve it. One wonders if Mr. Piker ever saw an anti-American or anti-Semitic terrorist attack that he didn't like? He seems to live in a morally inverted universe in which the real terrorists on September 11th and October 7th were not the perpetrators but the victims.

When Mr. Piker spoke of siding with terrorists, he glorified “brave mujahideen” for injuring U.S. Congressman Dan Crenshaw, who served his nation honorably in the Navy Seals; Mr. Piker's loyalty is not to the members of the U.S. armed forces, but to the mujahideen they murder and maim on the battlefield.

In a recent video on Twitch, Hasan is seen laughing maliciously at a Jewish woman who simply thanked Vice President Kamala Harris for standing up for the hostages and expressed concern about anti-Semitism. I have a simple question for Mr. Piker and his supporters at Twitch. What exactly do you find amusing? Do you find anti-Semitism amusing? Amused by the kidnapping of 30 children, including infants and toddlers? Are you amused by the kidnapping of elderly Holocaust and Farhud survivors?

Mr. Piker revealed the extent of his depravity when he posted a picture of himself as a reincarnation of Vladimir Lenin, one of the fathers of totalitarian terror in the 20th century. It is estimated that Lenin caused the deaths of 7 to 10 million people; his successor Stalin caused the deaths of 20 to 30 million people; his follower Mao Zedong caused the deaths of 40 to 70 million people in communist China. With idols like Lenin, it's no wonder Hasan Piker seems so unaffected by the mass murders on October 7th. The only question that remains is: Why is Twitch so unbothered by Hasan Piker's disturbing hatred of Jews?

Mr. Clancy: It is known that you are an admirer of Hasan Piker. You admire Mr. Piker so much that your Twitch staff even had you sing “Happy Birthday” to him. You praised Mr. Piker for “his openness and bluntness” and said, “He likes to say what he believes.” Given all the anti-Semitism that has come to light about Mr. Piker, do you still like his openness and bluntness? Is your company still comfortable with the fact that Mr. Piker is content to spew hatred of Jews, however “openly” and “bluntly” he may do so?

Hasan Piker is just the tip of the iceberg – the anti-Semitic figurehead of a systematically anti-Semitic social media platform. Twitch doesn’t just enable anti-Semitism – it encourages it. Look no further than streamer Sneako, who in one video screams like a raging madman, “Down with the Yahood,” which means “Down with the Jews.” Lest you think that Sneako's anti-Semitism was just an isolated incident, he paid effusive tribute to the mastermind of the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust: “May Allah (God) grant Yahya Sinwar the highest rank of Jannah (Paradise), inshallah.” No less vicious in his anti-Semitism is Myron Gaines, who said we must “take back our country from these Jewish racists.” If the KKK or the Third Reich were a social media platform, it would be Twitch.

“If Twitch feels even the slightest semblance of corporate social responsibility – a questionable proposition given the company it runs – then it is time for Twitch to stop popularizing those who popularize anti-Semitism.” , concluded Torres. “Congress has taken a close look at the increased anti-Semitism that spread after October 7th. Just as no one is above the law, no company in America – not even Twitch – is above congressional oversight.”

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