Fritz Breggren’s anti-Semitic, white supremacist views raise fears among Jewish staffers.
By Pesach Benson, United With Israel
A group of 70 State Department officials sent an unprecedented letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling on him to remove “an openly anti-Semitic department employee who continues to have a home in our midst.”
The letter, seen by Foreign Policy, calls out Fritz Berggren, a U.S. foreign service officer. Berggren operates a website called bloodandfaith.com, where he posts articles, podcasts and videos denouncing Jews and the LGBTQ community. His web site is also sharply critical of what he describes as “Judaized churches” and calls for the creation of “Christian Nation-States.”
His site was hacked on Thursday as news of his activities spread. The home page currently shows soundless footage of two people appearing to talk over coffee while the words “Nathan Zack” appear on the screen.
According to Foreign Policy, State Dept. employees had been concerned about Berggren for months, and his site even attracted the attention of Politico in February. But the catalyst for the letter to Blinken was the discovery in July of a swastika carved into an elevator at the State Department’s Washington headquarters.
“While there is no evidence that Berggren is behind the swastika carved into the Department elevator, his continued employment with seemingly no consequences sends a message of impunity that has undoubtedly contributed to the atmosphere in which someone would dare to do such a thing,” the letter said.
Foreign Policy reported , “The letter was organized by the Jewish Americans and Friends in Foreign Affairs employee group at the State Department, along with other Jewish employees of the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development.”
The letter asserted that one of Berggren’s more alarming posts crossed the line between protected free speech and incitement.
In a post dated Oct. 24, 2020, he appeared to call white supremacists to take action when he wrote, “The world gasps in horror with each new ‘endangered’ sub-species, but cheers the elimination of White culture from whole regions of the earth. This will not stop until White people stop it—we have been handmaidens to our own demise.”
“This is not mere speech, but Berggren openly inciting his readers to take action based on his toxic beliefs,” the letter said. “The Department should not wait for Berggren to target Jewish employees in the workplace, potentially with violence, before removing him. The security clearance process is meant to assess an employee’s suitability for continued employment with the Department. There is no universe in which Berggren should qualify as suitable.”
Blinken, who is Jewish, responded to with his own letter dated Aug. 9, also seen by Foreign Policy.
“I want to assure you that the Department treats reports of alleged misconduct with the utmost seriousness,” the Secretary of State replied. Saying he could not comment on specific cases “for privacy reasons,” he stressed that staffers engaging in discriminatory behavior may face disciplinary charges “up to and including separation when warranted.”
A State Department spokesperson confirmed to Foreign Policy that Berggren is still a State Department employee, adding the department “does not comment on individual security clearances.”
Asked to comment, Berggren replied to Foreign Policy with an email saying, “I am heartened to know that I have Jewish readers—I truly hope that they, like Saul, come to know Jesus Christ as literally the Son of God. Saul, renamed Paul, converted and began preaching the message: Jesus is the Son of God!”
He added: “If even one Jew or Gentile is converted then it is well worth whatever inconveniences may ensue.”
A February post responding to Politico shed further light on Berggren’s thinking. He insisted that bloodandfaith.com reflected his own personal views and “no one would even remotely suspect they would be attached to any employer, associate, friend, or even enemy.”
He concluded that post by insisting that “Americans have to stop being afraid. One can sense the delicate change of tide in the country. We are finding our voice again. From military officers to policemen, atheists to Neo-pagans, Christians to Jews, homosexuals, teachers, doctors, and moms, Blacks, Hispanics, Whites … we are sick of being told what we can say and can’t say.”