US PRESIDENT Donald Trump. (photo credit: REUTERS)
US President, Donald Trump, said Tuesday that Jews who vote for Democrats “shows either total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
Asked by reporters about the Ilhan Omar-Rashida Tlaib saga, the President slammed the two for suggesting to cut aid for Israel. “I would not cut off to Israel, and I can’t even believe we are having this conversation,” he said. “five years ago, the concept of even talking about cutting off aid to Israel because of two people who hate Israel and hate Jewish people – I can’t believe we are having this conversation. Where has the Democratic party gone?”
“Where have they gone where they are defending these two people over the state of Israel?” the President continued. “I think any Jewish people that vote for a democrat — I think it shows either total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”
Nearly 80% of American Jews voted for Democrats in 2018. Donald Trump’s dogwhistles, emboldening of hate groups, and use of anti-Semitism for political purposes have made us all less safe. pic.twitter.com/HUxcEpJBIE
— ✡ Jewish Dems (@USJewishDems) August 20, 2019
He spoke about the joint press conference of the two Congresswomen and added: “You should see the horrible things that Tlaib said on Israel over the last couple of years. Omar is a disaster for Jewish people. I can’t imagine if she has Jewish people in her district that they could possibly vote for her.”
“Yesterday, all of a sudden [Tlaib] started with tears. I don’t buy it for a second,” President Trump added. He called Tlaib “violent, vicious and out of control.”
“She can see her grandmother, they gave her permission, and she grandstanded, and she didn’t want to do it. It’s a decision of Israel. A lot of people saying it was my decision [but] that’s a decision of Israel.”
Speaking about the itinerary of the two, Trump said that “it was going to be a propaganda tour against Israel. I have nothing to do with it, but I don’t blame [Israel] for doing what they did. I think it would have been very bad to let them in.”
In response for Trump’s remarks, Halie Soifer, Executive Director of Jewish Democratic Council of America, stated that:
“This is yet another example of Donald Trump continuing to weaponize and politicize antisemitism. At a time when anti-Semitic incidents have increased — due to the president’s emboldening of white nationalism — Trump is repeating an anti-Semitic trope. If this is about Israel, then Trump is repeating a dual loyalty claim, which is a form of antisemitism. If this is about Jews being “loyal” to him, then Trump needs a reality check. We live in a democracy, and Jewish support for the Republican Party has been halved in the past four years.”
The American Jewish Committee (AJC) sharply criticized Trump. “Enough, Mr. President,” the organization tweeted. “American Jews – like all Americans – have a range of political views. Your assessment of their knowledge or loyalty, based on their party preference, is divisive, disrespectful, and unwelcome. Please stop. “
AJC’s CEO, David Harris, added that “for the President to assert that Jews who vote Democratic show ‘disloyalty’ is outrageous.”
“This is a free country. Jews aren’t a monolithic bloc, nor single-issue voters,” he added. “Some will vote Democratic, others Republican. As Americans, that’s their right. Please keep loyalty out of it.”
Senator Jackie Rosen of Nevada said that “questioning the loyalty of American Jews is antisemitic. This is unacceptable, and it’s something we must call out and confront head on.”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, joined the criticism, and tweeted: “It’s unclear who the President is claiming Jews would be “disloyal” to, but charges of disloyalty have long been used to attack Jews. As we’ve said before, it’s possible to engage in the democratic process without these claims. It’s long overdue to stop using Jews as a political football.”
“Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats are showing ignorance or ‘great disloyalty,'” Rep. Jamie Raskin Maryland Congressman tweeted. “The House voted to denounce precisely this imputation of dual or dubious loyalty to the Jewish people. American Jews are not foreign agents and Jews in politics are not tribal representatives.
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) defended President Trump’s remarks Tuesday. “President Trump is right, it shows a great deal of disloyalty to oneself to defend a party that protects/emboldens people that hate you for your religion,” the organization tweeted. “The GOP, when rarely confronted with antisemitism of elected members always acts swiftly and decisively to punish and remove.”
Yet another example of @realDonaldTrump continuing to weaponize and politicize anti-Semitism. At a time when anti-Semitic incidents have increased – due to the president’s emboldening of white nationalism – Trump is repeating an anti-Semitic trope. https://t.co/3kqDcsObdA
— Halie Soifer (@HalieSoifer) August 20, 2019
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