Violent “Antifa” Doxer Is Prominent Syracuse-Based Jewish Political Strategist
Pseudonymous anarchist organizer “Naftali Botwin” has for years used his twitter account (@JewishWorker) to troll, dox, and threaten political opponents with impunity.Â
Rumors about his identity have been informally circulated online for years, but sources familiar with the “antifa” movement have now confirmed to National Justice that “Naftali Botwin” is in fact a well-known operator in the Jewish political and media world: 41-year-old Daniel Jonathan Sieradski of Syracuse, New York.Â
Sieradski, who has been published in the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Haaretz, served as the Web Director of the Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) from 2007-2009. More recently, Sieradski’s company, The Self Agency, has managed digital strategy for political campaigns like The People for Bernie Sanders, Ready for Warren (Elizabeth Warren), as well as institutions such as the City University of New York (CUNY) and Brandeis University. His most recent contract was with Nylon Media, which is owned by the Bustle Digital Group.Â
He is a current member of the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA) Jewish Caucus and belongs to a variety of other Jewish-themed far left groups, acting as an activist intermediary between wealthy Jewish liberals and the “antifa” street thugs killing and looting through the streets of America. Â
“Antifa’s Most Prominent Jew”Â
While Sieradski goes through great lengths to obfuscate his role as editor of anarchist blog, The Jewish Worker, he does not hide his violent extremist views when asked.Â
An article in The Forward from 2017 describes his social media page as being covered in threatening imagery. The piece goes on to dub Sieradski “Antifa’s Most Prominent Jew.”
In an interview with the Jerusalem Post from last June, he once again identified as a member of “antifa” and candidly described the group’s criminal strategy: those who have “anti-Semitic” or “racist” beliefs should be assaulted on sight because “showing white supremacists that their rallies will end with them being hurt will deter them from assembling.”
While above-ground Jewish organizations like the Anti-Defamation League stop short of endorsing the tactics of men like Sieradski, the same article features a quote from Oren Segal denying the existence of “antifa” — a half-truth designed to give cover to groups organizing under the “antifa” moniker.Â
“Doxing” 10,000 People Â
Using his “Naftali Botwin” handle, Sieradski, along with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), utilized illegally obtained information to help the media “dox” scores of private individuals via data theft.Â
Last year, Sieradski created a map with the home IP addresses, email addresses and Facebook pages of members of the right-wing online discussion board Iron March after left-wing hackers took the forum over and leaked its contents.
Anarchist groups and journalists, using Sieradski’s map, went on to identify and terrorize numerous individuals. In some cases this campaign led to them losing their jobs or having to move their families for safety reasons.
In another 2019 incident, Sieradski attempted to dox a police officer for having a Molon Labe tattoo, which he said showed the cop was a “white supremacist.”Â
Doxing, to Sieradski, is an important tool for silencing people, as past iterations of his twitter persona stress. His allies, such as Spencer Sunshine, are also advocates of the tactic.Â
“The Committee To Protect Journalists”
As @JewishWorker, Sieradski has expressed a desire to see harm done to journalists who report objectively on “antifa,” such as The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo.Â
When Andy Ngo was beaten and hospitalized last year while covering a Portland anarchist rally, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPT) came under fire for refusing to publish a condemnation of the attack until they were pressured to say something by conservative media outlets.Â
Sieradski’s troll account, which identified as a member of the CPJ, appeared to laud the beating.
The CPJ in recent years has grown especially partisan. They have published fluff pieces promoting close associates of Sieradski, such as the SPLC’s in-house anarchist blogger Michael Edison Hayden and former Right Wing Watch “antifa” sympathizer Jared Holt. The organization, which claims to be nonpartisan, has been turned into yet another far left activist front group.Â
While the rantings and ravings of “Naftali Botwin” might be easy to dismiss, his open advocacy of political violence and deep ties to “mainstream” seeming organizations and media platforms should not be ignored. Individuals like Sieradski contribute to the blurring of lines between violent anarchist extremists and the powerful institutions that seem to support and enable them.
While many prominent members of the Jewish community are intimately familiar with individuals like Daniel Sieradski, they continue to publicly insist that “antifa” is merely a figure of Donald Trump’s imagination. Â
Get our articles by email
Featured
<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>
<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>
<div class=”views-lazy-load”>Loading…</div>