WASHINGTON — Twice in two days, President Donald Trump has been asked to respond to a spate of anti-Semitic incidents, including bomb threats directed at Jewish community centers in New Jersey and elsewhere.
Both times, he changed the subject, once attacking the Orthodox Jewish journalist who asked the question. The Anti-Defamation League called his response “mind-boggling.”
While Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner are Jewish, his campaign was criticized for themes traditionally seen as anti-Semitic and as president, he issued a statement about the Holocaust without mentioning the 6 million Jews that were its victims.
Trump criticized for anti-Semitic memes
“On two separate occasions over the past two days, President Trump has refused to say what he is going to do about rising anti-Semitism or to even condemn it,” said Anti-Defamation League Chairman Marvin D. Nathan and chief executive Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “It is mind-boggling why President Trump prefers to shout down a reporter or brush this off as a political distraction.”
David Harris, chief executive of the American Jewish Committee, told Trump: “Please use your bully pulpit not to bully reporters asking questions potentially affecting millions of fellow Americans, but rather to help solve a problem that, for many, is real and menacing,” said David Harris, chief executive of the American Jewish Committee.
.@POTUS may not acknowledge or condemn the rise in anti-Semitism, but ADL sees it & confronts it head-on every day https://t.co/wwFT4iZvhQ
— ADL New Jersey (@ADL_NJ) February 17, 2017
The questions have followed a series of bomb threats leveled against Jewish community centers nationwide, including those in West Orange and Tenafly at the end of January.
Trump has responded in part by defending himself against non-existent charges that he himself was anti-Semitic.
“I am the least anti-Semitic person that you’ve ever seen in your entire life,” Trump said Thursday.
That came after a reporter for an Orthodox Jewish publication, asked about the rise in anti-Semitic incidents even as he was careful to exonerate Trump.
“What we are concerned about, and what we haven’t really heard be addressed is an uptick in anti-Semitism and how the government is planning to take care of it,” he said.
Trump responded by attacking the reporter.
“He was gonna get up and ask a very straight, simple question, so you know, welcome to the world of the media,” Trump said.
The day before, Trump was asked, “I wonder what you say to those among the Jewish community in the states, and in Israel, and maybe around the world who believe and feel that your administration is playing with xenophobia and maybe racist tones.”
Trump responded this way: “We are very honored by the victory that we had, 306 Electoral College votes. We were not supposed to crack 220. You know that, right? There was no way to 221, but then they said there’s no way to 270. And there’s tremendous enthusiasm out there.”
Jewish Republicans defend Trump
Trump had been dogged throughout the campaign by allegations that he invoked anti-Semitic memes. His two-minute closing commercial warned of “those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special interests” over pictures of Jews.
He accused Hillary Clinton of holding secret meetings with international bankers, retweeted a picture of Clinton and a Jewish star against a background of dollar bills, and used the slogan “America First,” the name of the World War II-era group that blamed the Jews for trying to push the U.S. into war against the Nazis.
Trump then named Stephen Bannon of Breitbart as a top White House adviser. The website is a favorite of white supremacists.
After taking office, Trump issued a statement marking Holocaust Remembrance Day without mentioning the Jews, who were the main victims of the Holocaust.
The head of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein said he was “compelled to express our chagrin and deep pain” at Trump’s failure to mention the Jews. ZOA is partially funded by Trump backer and casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson.
Besides going after the Jewish reporter, Trump suggested at the same press conference that a black journalist should be able to get the Congressional Black Caucus to meet with him.
“Are they friends of yours?” he asked. “Let’s go set up a meeting.”
Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook
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