Don’t let this Tampa Bay radio station get away with cancelling a Jewish show that supports the Jewish state!
Community radio station WMNF cancelled “Third Opinion,” a Jewish affairs talk show produced by Tampa’s Jewish Community Centers and Federation.
When the show was launched two years ago, WMNF sought to balance out its programming with pro-Israel voices after critics accused the station of hosting pro-Palestinian broadcasts such as a national show called “Democracy Now!” and the locally programmed Mideast-affairs show “True Talk.”
WMNF broadcast the final episode of “Third Opinion” in June. Since then, co-hosts Mike Deeson and and Laureen Jaffee have continued the show as a podcast.
And recriminations of anti-Semitism remain.
Deeson told the Tampa Bay Times in a report published on Tuesday that WMNF management “hated the show.”
“The problem is the radio station broadcasts anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic tropes on the air on a regular basis,” Deeson told the Times. “From day one they hated us, they absolutely hated us.”
He added, “I have problems with is them getting public money. Your tax dollars are going to help support WMNF, and they have taken away the voice of the Jewish community.”
Jaffee also accused WMNF management of anti-Semitism, specifically the station’s news and public affairs director, Sean Kinane.
According to the Jewish Press of Pinellas County, Jaffee said she was informed by Kinane that “Third Opinion‘s” cancellation would be reconsidered if the hosts’ definition of anti-Semitism was brought in-line with his own.
“Jaffe said she found this troubling because Kinane admitted he was unfamiliar with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism, which she said is widely considered to be the standard,” the Jewish Press wrote.
The Federation backed the hosts’ assertions of anti-Semitism.
A statement issued by the Federation said that Kinane “admitted he had never listened to an entire ‘Third Opinion’ radio broadcast and said he believes Deeson and Jaffe’s positions on Jewish issues are out of step with the mainstream Jewish community.”
The Federation rejected the claim that the hosts didn’t represent mainstream Jewish views.
Tell WMNF to stop silencing the Jewish community and the voices of those who support the Jewish state!
1. Send WMNF a message via Twitter.
2. Send WMNF a message on Facebook.
3. Send WMNF an email at: : wmnf@wmnf.org.