Ohio Jew Tossed Out of Sen. Brown Event for Asking about J Street Funding

By: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Published: September 22nd, 2012
Latest update: September 23rd, 2012

Senator Sherrod Brown
Photo Credit: Campaign image

See an update at the end of this report.

In what originally was supposed to be a slam dunk, US Senator Sherrod Brown's race for reelection in Ohio against the youthful Republican Josh Mandell may instead be turning into a squeaker, and Brown is none too happy about it.

Brown originally had as much as a 17 percentage point lead, but according to a report in Bloomberg, several polls last month showed the race to be deadlocked.  Mandell claims the race has become intense because Ohioans are increasingly turned off by the "ultra-liberal, hyper-partisan" Brown, while Brown claims that millions of dollars in negative ads have been run against him by "outside, undisclosed interest groups."

One Ohioan found out just how testy this race has made Sherrod Brown. Following a talk he gave at the Dayton, Ohio Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, September 18, Senator Brown invited questions.  There were a few tough questions put to the Senator by business owners opposed to President Obama's healthcare legislation, and a softball question about how to contact the Senator's office.

And then 32-year old Ohio native Joel Griffith stood up.  Griffith said, "I'm a proud Jewish American and I'm concerned that the single biggest entity funding you is J Street.  J Street has given you $60,000, and as you know, J Street is funded by an attorney for the Saudi Embassy and has also been funded by the producer of one of the most anti-Semitic films ever made ..." but Griffith was not allowed to finish his question. The Senator's first response was that Griffith's was "clearly a political question."
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