It’s hard to imagine how an institution with “Jewish” in its name that bills itself as standing “firmly against antisemitism” managed to hire a juror with an open record of inflammatory antisemitic social media posts.

The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival hired Anwar Karim, a senior at Morehouse College, as a judge on issues of Zionism and Israeli political issues. Karim participated in a college encampment protest and published such charming posts as “What’s a Zionist? A white supremacist trying to pose as a nomad” and, referring to Israel, “these monsters remain unresponsive unless the money is talking” and “it’s like they pop champagne each time they erase a last name.” He also accused Israel of murdering “women, men and children … just for sport.”

The guy made no secret of it.

Israel’s general consul to Atlanta, who sponsored the event, spotted Karim wearing a keffiyeh at the festival. The consulate withdrew its sponsorship and published a statement Sunday saying, without naming the offender, that there was “substantial evidence of this person’s participation in at least one anti-Israel university encampment in Atlanta, putting Jewish students at risk and promoting dangerous misinformation about the war in Gaza started by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023.”

The festival organizers tried to have it both ways. They defended their decision to hire Karim but put out a statement affirming their commitment to fight antisemitism.

“This situation has surfaced clear deficiencies, gaps and adherence issues in our existing organizational processes and policies, including those related to antisemitism, BDS and cultural boycotts,” the film festival folks said.

“These shortcomings did not provide the clarity our community expects or that our organization needed to navigate this matter appropriately at a moment when clarity and trust matter deeply,” the statement added. “We fully acknowledge and accept responsibility for that.”

The statement went on to say that “ATL Jewish Film is, first and foremost, a Jewish institution, as well as a cultural one, and that identity shapes our responsibilities, especially in this moment. As a Jewish film festival, we have a responsibility, particularly at this fraught time, to stand firmly against antisemitism and to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.”

Finally, the statement said that the organization will clarify its stance on such hot-button issues as boycotts and anti-Zionism and will make those decisions transparently, but it’s too late to change anything now because “the jury process has concluded and cannot be revisited.”

Eitan Weiss, Israel’s consul general to the southeastern United States, based in Atlanta, said he was encouraged by the statement, calling it a good start. He said he felt it was necessary to take a stand, saying he would “go out against anyone who will promote antisemitism or anti-Zionism, and will call them out for what they are.”

The Jewish Federation of Atlanta made it clear that the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival was on notice.

“Current and future funding … beyond already committed security support, will be contingent upon demonstrated follow-through, including clarified policies, strengthened vetting processes and consistent operationalization of those standards.”