Division and Antisemitism
There is no question that of the two presidential candidates, it is only Donald Trump who is stoking division and unleashing vitriol and hate aimed at groups who do not support him. Trump has:
- A long record as a dog whistler to white supremacists and antisemites.
- Regularly used Hitlerian rhetoric in describing immigrants as dangerous “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
- Set the stage for Jews to be blamed if he loses the election.
- Dined at Mar-a-Lago with unapologetic antisemites, Kanye West and Nick Fuentes.
It is not surprising that antisemitism rose 56% during the first year of Trump’s administration, with a stunning 86% year-on-year increase during the first three months.
Not only does Donald Trump’s behavior encourage antisemitism, but his rhetoric and actions pit members of the Jewish community against each other. He has charged Jews with dual loyalty – to the U.S. and to Israel – a canard used all too frequently by antisemites in the past.
He said that "every Jewish person who votes for the Democrats hates their religion. They hate Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves."
Questions & Answers
The number of recorded antisemitic incidents grew from a total of 5,107 during the second term of the Obama/Biden administration to a total of 8,729 during the four years of the Trump administration, an increase of 71%. This number continued to grow under the Biden administration, although most of the increase occurred after October 7 (all numbers as reported by the Anti-Defamation League).
Most observers attribute the increase to Trump’s encouragement of white supremacists during the Charlottesville rally in 2017 (where protesters shouted, “Jews will not replace us”), his embrace of antisemitic groups like the Proud Boys (“Stand back and stand by”), and his friendly relations with known antisemites like Kanye (Ye) West and Nick Fuentes. This has normalized street-level antisemitism and encouraged extreme incidents like the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.
In May of 2024, the New York Times analyzed Trump's emails to his supporters and statements from Members of Congress that used antisemitic messages. The report found at least 790 Trump emails and over 300 statements from 79 Republicans in Congress in 2023, vs. about 20 over the last decade from the Democrats. That’s 1,090 for Trump and the Republicans just in 2023 vs. 20 for the Democrats over the last ten years.
The majority of open or veiled antisemitic activities have been on the right. From the appointment of Steve Bannon, who trafficked in white supremacist and antisemitic views while running Breitbart as Trump’s campaign manager, to Trump’s key aid Sebastian Gorka’s ties to a Hungarian Nazi group, to Marjorie Taylor Green and Paul Gosar speaking at a white nationalist conference in 2022, to the most recent interview by Tucker Carlson on his podcast of Holocaust denier and Nazi apologist Darryl Cooper, there have been many open incidents of expressed antisemitism by prominent Republicans.
Trump himself continues to accuse Jews of having dual loyalties, a classic antisemitic trope used to portray Jews as “others.”
And at the Israeli-American Council National Summit on September 20, 2024 Trump shockingly said, “If I don't win this election - and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens because if 40%, I mean, 60% of the people are voting for the enemy - Israel, in my opinion, will cease to exist within two years."
Obviously, there have been antisemitic and anti-Zionist comments on the left, including from the members of “the Squad” in Congress. The difference is that high-level Democrat officials, led by Biden and Harris, have quickly and openly condemned those comments and, most importantly, moderate Democrats have primaried out Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman (two of the most outspoken Squad members).
Neither Trump nor most top Republican officials have condemned Bannon’s, Gorka’s, or Taylor Green’s antisemitism. Trump’s support for Tucker Carlson continues unabated even after his interview with Holocaust denier Darryl Cooper. In fact, both Trump and JD Vance are scheduled to be interviewed by Carlson before Election Day.
In October of 2023 the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass a resolution declaring solidarity with Israel, pledging to give its government whatever security assistance it needs to fight and win its war with Hamas. The vote was 412 to 10, with nine Democrats and one Republican voting against the bill. The Senate passed a similar resolution unanimously a week prior.
In May of 2024 the House passed The Antisemitism Awareness Act that would see the adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of antisemitism for the enforcement of federal anti-discrimination laws for education programs. This definition would allow educational institutions to prohibit “accusations of Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group" and "dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as collective." This legislation was in response to anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. college campuses.
The bill passed with a 320-91 vote. Seventy Democrats and 21 Republicans voted against the measure.
Harris played a key role in drafting the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. The Strategy, adopted in May 2023, is designed to increase awareness, improve security for Jewish communities, counter antisemitic discrimination and build coalitions to counter hate. The strategy also calls for tech companies to establish zero tolerance policies for antisemitism on their platforms.
The most visible recent examples involve public statements by some Democratic Party elected representatives who appear to ignore Israel’s right to self-defense. On September 18, 2024, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (known as AOC, pictured here as part of a Genesis Prize social media post on this matter) condemned Israel on “X” for precision pager attacks targeted against Hezbollah terrorists to avoid civilian casualties. She did not condemn Hamas’ execution of six innocent hostages, including American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Nor did she comment on 8,000 Hezbollah rockets fired on Israeli citizens, forcing 85,000 Israelis from their homes and killing 50 Israeli civilians, including 12 Druze children playing soccer. It is important to note that her comments were repudiated by other Democrats.
On September 25, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced Joint Resolutions of Disapproval to try to block certain arms sales to Israel, seeking to prevent the transfer of more than $20 billion in offensive weapons. In explaining his rationale, Sanders accused Israel’s “extremist government” of waging an “all-out war against the Palestinian people.” Senator Sanders forgets that Israel is engaged in a multi-front defensive war for its survival against Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. Depriving Israel of weapons will not end the conflicts; it will only give terrorists the upper hand. The Senate will vote on these resolutions when it reconvenes in November.
