Where In The World Are Jared And Ivanka?
Image by Forward Montage / Laura E. Adkins
By Charles D. Dunst August 16, 2017
In an August 15 speech, the President of the United States equated actual American Nazis with liberal counter-protestors. Throughout his campaign and his nascent administration, President Donald Trump has ideologically and materially aided neo-Nazis and other hate groups with anti-Semitic goals and values.
When asked if he thought the alt left was the same as neo-Nazis, the President responded, “those people -– all of those people, excuse me –- I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists by any stretch.”
Rather than simply indicate his displeasure with the violence and murder committed by Confederate and Nazi flag-waving White Supremacists, the President, as he done repeatedly, gave them the benefit of the doubt.
In a crowd marred by the racist symbols of the Confederacy and the Nazi regime, the President, rather than condemn the crowd, craned his neck and searched for good people, the ones who were simply there to protest in favor of the statue of Robert E. Lee, a traitor to our republic.
In all of this, the question has to be asked –- where are Jared and Ivanka, the White House’s token Jews?
I have repeatedly been told that Ivanka and Jared are my protectors. I have repeatedly been told that while Trump enacts policy to craft his ethnocentric vision of American, Jared and Ivanka will protect the LGBT and Jewish communities.
Throughout the first eight months of this administration, the supposed social liberalism of Jared and Ivanka has been tossed to the side in favor of the ethnic nationalism of Steve Bannon.
Whenever reports indicate that Jared and Ivanka support something –- such as allowing transgender service people to serve and staying in the Paris Climate Accord -– the President has gone in the exact opposite direction.
Less than 15 minutes before Trump gave his speech failing to denounce Nazis and instead of blaming “both sides,” sources indicated that “Ivanka (and) Jared (are) among those pushing Trump to more forcefully denounce neo-Nazis, KKK and white nationalists over the weekend.”
As the President of the United States gave white hate groups the benefit of the doubt, while granting no such luxury to the diverse ANTIFA groups, his daughter and son-in-law were pushing him to do precisely the opposite.
In reality, Jared and Ivanka are not the White House’s moral center but token figures the President can point to in hopes to distract from his actual bigotry.
I continue to be told that the President simply cannot be anti-Semitic, as his daughter is Jewish.
This assertion is the same thing as saying “I’m not racist I have black friends,” or “I’m not anti-Semitic, I have Jewish friends.”
The President and his inner-circle, one which has long included Steve Bannon, have managed to turn Jared and Ivanka from supposed legitimate power players into tokens the President can point to as proof that he isn’t what his policy indicates him to be.
When are Jared and Ivanka going to wake up?
There is simply no world in which an American Jew simply shrugs off literal Nazis marching in the streets of an American city.
Despite their imagined discontent, there is no reason to expect any tangible action, as both Jared and Ivanka are fully devoted to the President, regardless of his disregard for their pet issues.
While Jared and Ivanka fail to stand up for American Jews in the midst of increased violence, I would implore politically Conservative, Trump-defending Jews to come to their senses.
Along with the Jared and Ivanka narrative, it has been parroted to me that Trump, due to his support for Israel, cannot be anti-Semitic.
Anti-Zionism on the Left is certainly real and has turned into anti-Semitism, but supporting the Israeli state does not mean that the President is not and cannot embolden neo-Nazis and other hate groups here at home.
What good is support for the Jewish homeland if Jewish safety is in question here in America?
It is long past due to stop falling victim to both the tokenism of Jared and Ivanka and the President’s support of the Israeli state.
Just because the President has a Jewish daughter and supports Israel doesn’t mean he cannot and will not continue to throw American Jews under the bus in order to solidify his hateful base in pursuit of a second term.
Most Jews didn’t vote for the President. We are not his base. In his mind, he owes us absolutely nothing.
We, therefore, shouldn’t expect anything from him.
We certainly shouldn’t be on the same side as Swastika-waving neo-Nazis simply because the President has a Jewish daughter and supports Israel.
I’m not sure how else to explain it.
This really shouldn’t be that hard.
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