The New York Times came in for online mockery Tuesday after a list it published of Jewish voters saying they would back Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed for Senate included the unfortunate moniker “Jack Mehoff.”
The Times initially reported Sept. 17 on the letter, which it said was signed by “more than 500 people who identify as Jewish leaders or voters” in the Mitten State and insisted that El-Sayed is “clearly the better choice for Jews.”
The story included a link to a public Google Doc managed by a group calling itself Michigan Jews for Democracy.
Mehoff appears at No. 403 on the alphabetical list, which was also promoted by the El-Sayed campaign the same day the Times published its story.
Records reviewed by The Post lists someone named Jack Mehoff as living on campus at Michigan State University in East Lansing. The university did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eagle-eyed Washington Free Beacon reporter Jon Levine spotted the eyebrow-raising moniker on the morning of Election Day.
“The New York Times will openly and without shame publish a list of ‘Jews for Abdul,’ which includes the name ‘Jack Mehoff’ and then completely ignore that this fatally compromises the whole story and just power through it,” Levine wrote on X.
Some big names included on the list are all too real, with Democratic Michigan Attorney General nominee Eli Savit and the father-and-son duo of former congressmen Sander and Andy Levin among them.
However, hundreds of signers gave only a first name and last initial, suggesting minimal effort to vet them.
The clergy who signed the letter have also had their credentials called into question.
One, Rabbi Chava Bahle, made history in 2014 as the first rabbi to lead a Unitarian Universalist church.
Another, Rabbi Alana Alpert, leads a Reconstructionist congregation whose adherents insist Judaism is defined by culture and social values rather than traditions or rituals such as keeping kosher.
Michigan Jews Against Extremism, who organized a rival letter backing Republican Mike Rogers, said it confirmed its signatories’ existence by email and checks to confirm Michigan residency. It had 561 names listed as of Tuesday.
“This story from September is one of several looking at Dr. El-Sayed’s relationship with Jewish and Democratic voters,” Times spokesman Charlie Stadtlander said. “We found this letter newsworthy because of a number of the notable individuals who signed on and we confirmed that the people specifically mentioned in the story did in fact add their name. The story also highlights a letter from Jewish Democrats and Independents who came out in support of Mike Rogers.”
Neither Michigan Jews for Democracy nor the El-Sayed campaign immediately responded to The Post’s requests for comment.
El-Sayed has drawn criticism for his frequent attacks on Israel, even refusing to say during a debate whether Iran was a bigger threat to the US than the Jewish state.
