The Clinton campaign says it has disassociated itself with a major financial backer, Mehmet Celebi, after learning of his role in producing a 2006 film depicting a Jewish American doctor harvesting organs from Iraqi prisoners.
Ann Lewis, a top Clinton adviser, tells JTA that “we obviously do not agree with it” and that Celebi is “no longer raising money for this campaign.” Fair enough – but does it pass either half of the “denounce and reject” test?
Here’s the report from Ron Kampeas:
The Clinton campaign is no longer taking contributions from a Turkish American who financed a film that depicted an American Jew trading in Iraqi body parts.
Mehmet Celebi had been listed on the presidential campaign website of U.S. Sen. Hilalry Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as a “Hill-raiser,” someone who had raised more than $100,000 for her presidential bid. Celebi had co-produced “Valley of the Wolves: Iraq,” a 2006 film based on a popular Turkish TV series about a crack Turkish combat unit.
The film depicts a Jewish American doctor harvesting organs from prisoners.
“We were unaware of Mr. Celebi’s involvement in this film and we obviously do not agree with it,” Ann Lewis, a senior adviser to the campaign said Friday in response to a query from JTA. Lewis, who plays a lead role for the campaign in dealing with the Jewish community, added: “He is no longer raising money for this campaign.”
