Chair of Utah Tech Firm Quits Over Antisemitic Email Claiming Jewish Plot to ‘Euthanize’ Americans With Covid-19 Vaccine

David  Bateman — the founder and chair of the Utah-based tech firm Entrata — has resigned following an outcry over a mass email he sent to a group of prominent associates in which he claimed “the Jews” were using the Covid-19 vaccine to “euthanize the American people.”

The subject line of Bateman’s email, according to a Fox 13 report, was “Genocide,” and the text said, “I write this email knowing that many of you will think I’m crazy after reading it. I believe there is a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people. It’s obvious now. It’s undeniable, yet no one is doing anything. Everyone is discounting their own judgment, and dismissing their intuition.”

After questioning the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine and calling on people not to get it, Bateman declared, “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. 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. 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.”

“I pray that I’m wrong on this,” he added. “Utah has got to stop the vaccination drive. Warn your employees. Warn your friends. Prepare. Stay safe.”

Bateman later confirmed he wrote the email, telling Fox 13, “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). And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated.”

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who was among the recipients of Bateman’s email, tweeted on Tuesday, “These irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them.”

These irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them. https://t.co/ZDylmNaidM

— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) January 5, 2022

A United Jewish Federation of Utah statement said Bateman’s email contained “vile, hyperbolic and, untrue accusations against Jews which amplify some of the worst antisemitism in our history,” and it urged “organizations associated with this individual to distance themselves from this individual, who has taken a public and open stance on some of the worse antisemitic tropes in our society.”

Chabad Lubavitch of Utah’s Rabbi Avremi Zippel described the email’s contents as “blatant antisemitism,” and said he was worried it would incite violent attacks against Jews.

“We know how quickly things go from ridiculous conspiracy theories online and in emails, how that jumps to violence rather quickly,” he said.

On Tuesday, the Utah Tech Leads political action committee called on tech companies from the state to sign a pledge — available here — condemning all forms of antisemitism.

“We are creating a coalition of companies to help combat antisemitism, racism, and other discriminatory practices and beliefs within our community,” the pledge said. “This commitment is more than words. It is a daily choice for tech leaders to seek out opportunities to educate and be educated, to share their understanding with their workforce, and to stand together to protect the values that we so strongly share.”