Jews Denounce Trump For Shifting Blame Away From Neo-Nazis And White Supremacists

Image by Getty Images
Jewish leaders quickly denounced President Trump for blaming counter-demonstrators along with neo-Nazis and white supremacists for the racist violence that erupted in Charlottesville.
“As a Jew, as an American, as a human, words cannot express my disgust and disappointment,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) tweeted. “This is not my President.”]
Anti=Defamation League National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement he is “profoundly disturbed” by Trump, whom Greenblatt said “went beyond the pale today in equating racist white supremacists in Charlottesville with counter protesters who were there to stand up against hate.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York), who represents the most heavily Jewish district in the House of Representatives said Trump showed his true colors by refusing to shifting the blame away from the white supremacists who sparked the deadly violence.
When @realDonaldTrump says “us” he shows which side he associates, endorses + surrounds himself with: white nationalists, KKK, neo-Nazis. https://t.co/my2ro97ZNS
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) August 15, 2017
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said “good and great presidents” sought to unite Americans in times of trouble. He said Trump’s response to Charlottesville put him in another category.
Joining several other Republicans, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Florida) also loudly denounced Trump, for saying the “alt-left” who resisted the white supremacists were equally to blame as the racists themselves.
Blaming “both sides” for #Charlottesville?! No. Back to relativism when dealing with KKK, Nazi sympathizers, white supremacists? Just no.
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) August 15, 2017
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
