News Brief

A television reporter in Sacramento, Calif., apologized for making stereotypical comments about wealthy Jews. Adrienne Bankert of KCEA-3 was discussing her faith with students in the International Christian Fellowship at Sacramento State College on Nov. 28 when she made the comments. “Have you ever met a poor Jewish person?” Bankert was quoted in the college newspaper, The State Hornet, as saying. “I have never met a poor Jewish person ever in my life! Every Jewish person I went to school with had money, and if they didn’t have money literally – they knew how to get some. The Jewish people founded Hollywood; Jewish people were in banking, lawyers.” Bankert went on to say that she is Jewish, due to her relationship with Jesus. “I’m a Jewish person because I’m saved by the blood of Jesus. He is Jewish, and I want what he’s got for me,” she said. Members of The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region met with the television station and accepted a written apology from Bankert on Dec. 6. The federation had asked for a meeting with Bankert when her comments came to light. The Jewish leaders told the Sacramento Bee that they accepted the apology and did not believe Bankert had intended her comments to be malicious.