Tech exec resigns after antisemitic vaccination conspiracy theory email
A Utah tech executive has resigned from his company after sending out an anti-vaccine email to tech sector leaders and elected officials saying he believes that the COVID-19 pandemic is an attempt by Jewish people to take over the world.
“I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis,” Dave Bateman, the founder of software company Entrata, said in an email sent out on Tuesday, Salt Lake City ABC News affiliate KTVX reported.
“I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule,” he continued. “I know, it sounds bonkers. No one is reporting on it, but the Hasidic Jews in the US instituted a law for their people that they are not to be vaccinated for any reason.”
Local Fox News station KSTU reported that Cox sent the email to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), Utah state Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla (D) and various other business leaders in the state.
In a text message to KSTU, Bateman confirmed that he wrote the email and stood by his remarks.
“Yes. I sent it. I have nothing but love for the Jewish people. Some of my closest friends are Jews. My heart breaks for their 2500 years they’ve been mistreated by nearly every country on earth. But I do believe Scottish Rite Freemasons are behind the pandemic (overwhelmingly Jewish),” he wrote. “And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated.”
A few hours after news of the email broke, Adam Edmunds, CEO of Entrata, a property management software firm, tweeted that the company’s board of directors had asked Bateman to resign.
“Entrata’s board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the company’s board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately,” said Edmunds.
In another statement, Edmunds wrote, “The opinions expressed by Dave were his alone, and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors, or investors. To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism on any and all forms.”
Cox condemned Bateman’s email as well, writing on Twitter, “These irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them.”
The United Jewish Federation of Utah said in a statement that Bateman’s email amplified “some of the worst anti-Semitism in our history.”
“It directly attributes to the Jewish people the responsibility for the deaths of millions of Americans and other repeatedly refuted baseless conspiracy theories about the Jewish people and the Covid epidemic,” the group said. “We believe such statements by influential people in our community contribute to the rising hate crimes and violent attacks against Jews here and abroad.”