More than a week ago, Donald Trump said, “American Jews must ‘get their act together’ to show appreciation for Israel ‘before it is too late’.”
“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.”
The online response was immediate and damning. White House Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “Donald Trump’s comments were antisemitic...and insulting both to Jews and to our Israeli allies. But let’s be clear, for years now, Donald Trump has aligned with extremist and antisemitic figures...”
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said, “It is bewildering that President Trump, who has Jewish children and Jewish grandchildren, continues to evoke age-old antisemitic tropes.” (He’s referring to the sentiment that Jews have more loyalty to Israel than to the United States.)
“Nothing to see here. Just a former US president using threatening language about American Jews at a time when antisemitism is on a global rise,” wrote The Jerusalem Post’s editor-in-chief, Yaakov Katz.
And, I particularly liked Mikey Feinstein’s, excellent diary, Trump Jabs American Jews.
To me, antisemitism is a personal issue because I am Jewish, and my paternal grandparents came to America to escape the pogroms. But, for some odd reason when I read Feinstein’s diary, I vividly remembered the one antisemitic incident I experienced in junior high school about 60 years ago. It wasn’t truly violent, but it was upsetting. It was during Passover, and I was standing, and talking with friends in a crowded outside patio, some of whom were sitting and eating their sandwiches on matzoh, although I wasn’t, and had already finished mine.
And, this girl, whom no one knew and had been sitting with some really loud girls a little ways away from us, brashly walked over to us, looked at the food, but turned towards me, and loudly said, “I hate kikes and your stupid food.” And, then she pushed me, albeit, not hard enough for me to fall.
For a second, time stopped, and it was totally quiet. And, then without a second thought, all my dad’s words flooded through my brain because I had once been briefly bullied in elementary school when I was younger, and he taught me to protect myself. “You never allow anyone, ever, to bully you,” he said. “Most of them are cowards. You use your words unless you’re attacked, and then you defend yourself if you have to without escalating the situation. If it’s not immediately controllable, find a teacher or an adult.”
So, I straightened up, walked right up to her, locked eyes, surprisingly saw fear in hers as she started slowly backing away, and I said in my best imitation of my father’s voice, “Don’t you ever use that word again, and don’t you ever push me again, or anyone else.” And, I stood my ground, but she turned around, ran away, and so did her friends. The moral of the story is that many bullies are cowards.
And, speaking of cowards, the real story is why the former Coward-in-Chief persists in making antisemitic remarks that cause violence against Jews, when Ivanka, Jared and their three children, Arabella, Joseph, and Theodore Kushner are Jewish?
After my rage died down, my immediate questions were: What manner of man spews forth antisemitic garbage that puts his family members in jeopardy? When will we finally charge Trump for all the hateful words he has written and/or speeches he has made about Judaism and other religions or POC that ultimately result in violence? Finally, why didn’t Ivanka and Jared speak out against him?
While I didn’t see any response from them, I did learn that Ivanka, who must be as intellectually challenged as her father and brothers, has always felt that Trump should have more support from Jewish Americans. Perhaps she doesn’t understand that antisemitism is not an appealing quality. (I wonder if she can be kicked out of the tribe for stupidity. That’s something I’ll have to research further.)
Still, my last question made me think of the following quote, which I have read many times before.
First They Came
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
“This quote is attributed to the prominent German pastor Martin Niemöller. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a poem. After World War II, Niemöller openly spoke about his own early complicity in Nazism and his eventual change of heart. His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today.”