State College Jewish, faith leaders blast Mastriano for ties to right-wing site, antisemitism

Jewish community leaders and faith leaders in Centre County, along with local elected officials, came out in full force Tuesday against the Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor and his ties to a “hate site.”

Doug Mastriano, a Pennsylvania state senator and Republican candidate for governor, has recently been in the national spotlight for his ties to a far-right social media site, Gab.com, and its founder, Andrew Torba. Because the site is a champion for “free speech, individual liberty and the free flow of information online,” its lenient content management has allowed the site to run rampant with misinformation, antisemitism and conspiracy theories. Torba has also been under fire lately for antisemitic comments.

Jesse Barlow, State College Borough Council president, had strong views on the site, calling it a “hate site.” The person accused of killing 11 people during a 2018 Shabbat service at a Pittsburgh synagogue used the site.

“It’s a haven for white supremacist, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and just about every other kind of bigotry you can name. It helped inspire the Tree of Life synagogue murderer. Its CEO Andrew Torba is a rabid antisemite and Islamophobe. Senator Mastriano has participated in Gab for some time,” Barlow said.

Last week, Mastriano tweeted that he rejects antisemitism “in any form” and distanced himself from Torba.

His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday for this article.

Evan Myers, former president of Congregation Brit Shalom, said after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, he was asked to stand at the pulpit at Congregation Brit Shalom and offer remarks. It’s a spot he’s stood in many times, he said, but this one was the most significant. He and his wife were there to not only stand with the community, but also to remember the anniversary of his father-in-law’s death, four years earlier.

“My father-in-law was proud of his faith and his heritage. He was also proud of being part of the US Army in Europe in World War II that liberated the continent from fascists and put an end to the Holocaust,” Myers said. “He would have been shocked if he would have had to have been gathered there on that night four years ago, and also again, here this morning to confront the forces of hate, but he would not have shrunk from that responsibility. And we must not also shrink from that responsibility.”

Paul Takac, Democrat candidate for Pennsylvania’s 82nd House District and College Township Council member, said discrimination or hatred against any religious or cultural group “goes against the very fiber of our moral being.”

“I’m going to come out and say it: antisemitism has no place in Pennsylvania or anywhere,” Takac said. “For a gubernatorial candidate to espouse Christian nationalism as the base of his ideology, utilizing a social media platform that aided and abetted the deadliest attack on Jewish people in our nation’s history and right here in Pennsylvania, is out of line with the folks here. It’s alienating. It’s divisive, and it’s just plain wrong.”

Others, like Suzanne Weinstein, board president of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Centre County, said Pennsylvanians need an explanation as to why Mastriano used and paid Gab, and why he associated with someone who is “openly antisemitic,” such as Torba.

In a filing, Mastriano said he paid $5,000 for “campaign consulting” fees to the platform.

“Mastriano’s association with this hateful site and Christian nationalism is appalling and frightening and he owes the people of Pennsylvania explanations for his connection to the site,” Weinstein said. “Why did he pay a site known to espouse hateful rhetoric aimed at Jewish people? Could it be that his perspective aligns with the users of the site?”

Ezra Nanes, mayor of State College, is Jewish. He said he’s faced antisemitism, and has had demeaning and denigrating words and ideas used toward him.

“Now an elected official in our state of Pennsylvania, Doug Mastriano, is courting and encouraging antisemitism in a desperate attempt to win an election for the office of Governor, a role of great honor and trust that because of his actions — to undermine our elections and trust in government, to stoke hatred of Jews, and quite frankly, anyone who does not identify as a specific religion of his choice — because of these actions, he is unqualified for,” Nanes said.