A professional poker player is denouncing what she considers widespread anti-Semitism in the in professional poker.
hails from the Midwest and says that most people don’t initially suspect that she is Jewish.
Thirty-one-year-old Jaclynn Moskow, who is also a doctor of osteopathic medicine, recently talked to New York Daily News about her first appearance on the popular show Poker Night. At the end of the taping she expressed her enjoyment to fellow player Chris Hanson. Hanson responded that “The thing about Poker Night that makes it so great is that there are no Jews. Every other show on TV has Jews.”
Moskow hails from the Midwestern US and says that many people don’t initially realize that she is Jewish.
Hanson’s attorney later released a statement denying that her client made the remark, though a recording has come out in which Hanson acknowledged saying that Poker Night is good because it doesn’t have Jews.
Moskow also claims that Nolan Dalla, a popular poker writer, both sexually assaulted her and made offensive remarks about her religion. “I usually have strong opinions about Jews and Israel,” he allegedly told her after sticking his face in her chest, “but somehow the fact that YOU are Jewish makes you even hotter.”
Dalla recently wrote an extended post on the poker website TwoPlusTwo, in which he claimed that he couldn’t have sexually harassed Moskow because “there’s nothing I find the least bit attractive about her.” Another player who was present at the time, though, has suggested that Moskow’s description of the events is accurate.
Moskow faces a strong backlash for criticizing leading figures in the field. She says that a private investigator has contacted her family and friends. Most opponents, though, limit themselves to insults. “I’ve been called a gold-digging Jew… an attention-starved psycho, a bad poker player… the list goes on and on, I can’t keep up with all the insults that have been throw at me,” she said.
Despite the difficulties, Moskowitz insists that she will continue both competing in poker tournaments and standing up for herself.
