a snark too far

On August 16, 2005, introducing a new a new blog, “It Shines for All,” Gawker described its sponsor, the New York Sun, thus:

that preferred small-circulation newspaper of New York’s wealthy right-wing Zionists

That was a relatively good-humored if pointed description. Today, Gawker goes nuclear, referring to the Sun as

a Zionist daily rag.

What gives with using “Zionist” as an adjective and a slur?