Breitbart News Senior Editor at Large and In-house Counsel Joel B. Pollak was named this week to Forward magazine’s “list of the 50 most influential, accomplished and interesting American Jews” for 2017.
The Forward, formerly the Jewish Daily Forward, is a left-leaning publication, one that has been critical of Breitbart News in the past. Yet it recognized Pollak in its annual “Forward 50” list in the media category, alongside Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg; CNN host Jake Tapper; New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman Yiddish podcaster Sandra Fox and Forward‘s own columnist, Emily Shire.
In explaining its reasons for including Pollak on the list, the Forward wrote (original links included):
Joel Pollak emerged this year as one of the most influential Jewish conservatives in the country. A senior editor-at-large at Breitbart News, Pollak has rocketed to fame on the heels of the election and his website’s growing power.
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Pollak came out repeatedly to defend Trump at important and controversial junctures. Notably, Pollak applauded the president’s condemnation of “many sides” amid clashes at a rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. “The critics are guilty of a double standard, and of exploiting the violence for political gain, widening America’s divisions at a time when national unity is the only proper course,” he wrote.
In its overview of the “Forward 50,” the magazine also noted: “The election of Donald Trump a year ago upended conventional wisdom and dramatically altered American politics, social discourse and civic identity … In the past year we’ve seen the meteoric rise of such journalists as Jake Tapper, Joel Pollak and especially Maggie Haberman, whose endless scoops and sharp storytelling shaped the media narrative.”
Other notables included on the “Forward 50″ in 2017 include actress Gal Gadot, rock legend Billy Joel, Missouri governor Eric Greitens, White House speechwriter Stephen Miller, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
Read the full “Forward 50″ list here.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He was named one of the “most influential” people in news media in 2016. He is the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.