“I think anti-Semitism goes back to Esau and Jacob. As for the last few years, this started happening as soon as Trump was nominated. Certainly, by the time he was sworn in, there was this dramatic rise in anti-Semitism.”
Israelis went to the polls yet again on March 2, for the third time in less than a year. Here are four takeaways from this week’s election.
“We have someone in the White House who believes right-wing conspiracies and tweets anti-Semitic tropes. A conservative website, TruNews, whose founder called Trump’s impeachment a ‘Jew coup’ orchestrated by a ‘Jewish Cabal,’ was credentialed by the Trump administration to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. They were treated like a legitimate news site, but this is hate speech and should be condemned and not legitimized by the president.”
“Trump has absolutely been a source for provoking all kinds of intolerance. Everything he does is rooted in promoting divisiveness. Trump’s white nationalist allies see him as one of them, which validates and legitimizes their ugly anti-Semitic, racist views. BDS and much of the left rhetoric is really more about Israel than it is about Jews. But it gets interpreted by many as anti-Semitism. I do not like “the squad.” I don’t like their views. But none of them is president of the United States.”
“Anti-Semitism is not a right or a left issue, and neither is racism. Most of the violence against Jews is coming from people who have heard rhetoric on the right. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no anti-Semitism on the left.”
“I would say the president has done a pretty good job of addressing anti-Semitism. I think he’s been a strong supporter of the State of Israel. I think, substantively, he’s been very friendly and very good to the Jews. On the other hand, when I look at the Democratic Party, I see a party that is not only unwilling to disavow anti-Semites but openly embraces them. You have Congresswomen who are talking about being hypnotized by the State of Israel and being unwilling to walk that back. You have a caucus that’s unwilling to take them to task for blatantly anti-Semitic comments.”
“Anti-Semitism is one area where the far-right and far-left kind of meet. Both sides are responsible in that sense. The far-left tends to be aggressors online but who knows where that could be originating from—it could be foreign influence. The far-right tends to be more likely to carry out violent, anti-Semitic attacks.”
“I think President Trump’s record speaks for itself. It is obvious that he has supported Israel and Jewish causes for the past three years unequivocally; he doesn’t flinch. “
“I cannot stand ‘the squad.’ I cannot stand where they’re coming from. And then there’s Bernie Sanders who I don’t understand at all. He worked on a kibbutz and members of his family on his father’s side were killed by Hitler. I don’t know why he became a socialist. If he’s elected, it will destroy the country.”
“It’s the far-right that holds marches and says ‘Jews will not replace us.’ It’s the far-right who are unabashedly anti-Semitic and racist. No question about it. But I don’t let the left off the hook either. I marched in Washington the day after the inauguration. I had my pink hat and I was very proud. But when two of the organizers ended up defending Louis Farrakhan and refused to condemn the anti-Semitism, I stopped paying attention to them. I push delete every time they send me something. And ‘the squad’ needs an education. Ilhan Omar apologized after one anti-Semitic comment and then proceeded to make a couple more, and that is not okay with me. I would love to sit down with her or ‘the squad’ and talk about what they’re doing, and how they’re splintering the left.”
“The rise of hate attacks against Jews in our country is appalling. It’s not only the shootings and stabbings but the fact that in my synagogue we have to have a police officer during Shabbat services. We’re living in a time where we feel so unsafe to be Jewish in our community that we have to pay a law enforcement officer to stand outside of our shul. That for me is the most frustrating thing of all. You can’t even live a normal life when you feel that you’re constantly having to watch your back.”
“I do believe the BDS movement is inherently anti-Semitic. I don’t think it’s just about rights for Palestinians. I think it’s anti-Semitic in its roots and that’s where the folks who are driving it are coming from.”
