Perhaps you’ve heard about the racist hate-crimes going on in America these days. (Buzzfeed and other sources have been keeping lists.) Perhaps you’ve heard about the lynching of black dolls. Perhaps you’ve heard of the women who had their hijabs pulled off their heads (if you think this is justified consider someone pulling off your mother’s hat, sheitel, or other head covering). Perhaps you’ve heard the threats towards Blacks, Muslims, Mexicans, and other minorities. Perhaps you've heard of the middle schoolers who were chanting “build the wall”. Perhaps you’ve heard of the racial slurs being called out to innocent minorities. Perhaps you’ve heard of the countless graffities praising Trump and extreme nationalism. Perhaps you’ve heard about racial slurs being graffitied on buildings, schools (high schools and colleges), sidewalks, private baseball stadiums, and storefronts. Perhaps you’ve heard of the swastikas that have begun to pop up all around this country. And perhaps you’ve seen the disgusting photos of these events.
Or perhaps you haven't. The media isn’t covering these stories as much they should be, because it's no longer “news.” With the election of Donald Trump comes the election of normalizing and mainstreaming racism.
There were valid reasons to support Trump in the 2016 election, and I’m not saying that everyone who supported Trump is racist and xenophobic, but there is a portion that is. And it’s a loud portion. The truth is that Donald Trump undeniably did say some very racist, sexist, islamophobic, xenophobic, etc. things while on the campaign trail and before. Some say that he’s not actually racist or xenophobic, that he was simply catering to the Americans who felt that way. (In that case, the appeal of Trump “telling it like it is” goes down the drain.) And maybe, just maybe, that’s true. If so, another truth is that he breeds racism. All of the above attacks were a result of his rhetoric.
Donald Trump may not be anti-semitic but there certainly have been moments on his campaign trail that were. He emphasized Jon Stewart's Judaism in a degrading twitter post. While speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition he asked “Is there anybody in the room who doesn’t negotiate deals?” and he also said that “You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money.” He refused to comment about rabid anti-semites attacking Julia Loffe, a Jewish reporter who did a profile on Melania Trump. Trump set his supporters against Jewish editor of The New York Times, Jonathan Weisman. One Jewish journalist, Bethany Mandel, received so many death threats, she went out and bought a gun. Several other Jewish journalists have been targeted by Trump's anti-semitic trolls too. Trump reposted a picture on Twitter of Hillary Clinton over a background of money with a Magen David which said “most corrupt candidate ever.” While the picture was removed and replaced by the same picture with a circle instead of the the Magen David, it was still anti-semitic and was taken from a neo-nazi website. Donald Trump Jr. has used references to gas chambers and the Holocaust in interviews against liberals and the media. He approved a campaign ad with anti-semitic undertones, which claimed that Americans must vote against the governmental machine. The video featured several Jews, depicting them as the cause of the corruptness. Donald Trump has never apologized and has only condoned any of the above behaviors.
Even more recently, since he was elected, he appointed Steve Bannon as his chief strategist for his presidency. Steve Bannon, CEO of Breitbart, an alt-right and anti-semitic online newspaper, reportedly refused to send his children to a private school that had “whiny” Jewish children and that Jewish children are raised to be “whiny brats.” Bannon openly hates and insults Jews (and women, gay people, etc.), and now he has a prominent place in the future Trump administration. He was also accused of physically abusing his wife.
There are, on the other hand, incidents which deny his anti-semitism. His daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism and married an Orthodox man, Jared Kushner. Their children attend Jewish schools and Kushner regularly donates money to Jewish schools. Trump has praised Shabbat, saying that he admired their observance, calling it “a beautiful thing.” He has expressed tremendous support for Israel and Bibi Netanyahu. He was grand marshal of NYC’s salute to Israel Parade in 2004. He has shown his respect for Israel in interviews where he praises Israelis, Israeli businesses, and Israeli culture.
Is Donald Trump an anti-semite? Maybe, maybe not. I think he himself is very pro-Jewish and pro-Israel, but his campaign and those surrounding him feel differently.
No, Donald Trump is not an anti-semite, but his rhetoric certainly supports it. Trump has been advocating against Muslims, even innocent ones, because they are Muslim, which apparently means they are terrorists. What stops this argument from applying it to Jews? A future president can argue that we must advocate against Jews, even innocent ones, because they are Jews, which means they are stingy, greedy cheaters. Many of Trump’s supporters claim that all Muslims are bad. What prohibits them from claiming that all Jews are bad too? Jews who support Trump are supporting hatred of a whole religion, and are setting us up for anti-semitic attacks which have already begun. Donald Trump’s views support hatred against a vulnerable minorities and who’s to say the Jews aren't next, especially after swastikas have begun to pop up all over the country.
When they come for the Muslims will you speak out? When they come for the Mexicans will you speak out? When they come for other minorities (as they have begun to) will you speak out? And when they come for us, the Jews, who will support us?
There’s no way to know for sure who would have made a better president, so maybe he was the better candidate. But I say to you Jew, you can support him, but you certainly can’t support his hateful claims, because you may be setting a precedent against yourself.
Note: This article contains sentiments from Jerome A. Chanes’ article, “Why Donald Trump is Worse than an Anti-Semite” in The Jewish Week.