Nadler Calls Trump’s Failure to Condemn Rising Anti-Semitism ‘Alarming’

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By Josh Nathan-Kazis February 16, 2017

Rep. Jerry Nadler said that President Trump’s failure to condemn anti-Semitism in response to a question at a Wednesday press conference was “alarming.”

“Mr. Trump’s silence earlier today in the face of these questions shows a sickening disregard for the safety and rights of not just Jews, but all minority groups across America,” Nadler said.

The question came from an Israeli reporter at a White House press conference with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The reporter cited a reported rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the U.S., and asked what the president would say to Jews concerned that his “administration is playing with xenophobia.”

In response, Trump noted that he had won the presidential election, and then said that members of his family are Jewish. He did not directly address anti-Semitism or the charge of xenophobia.

Nadler’s statement also noted that a reporter with the website Breitbart News was given a front-row seat at the press conference. He called that a “terrifying signal.”

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected]

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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