WASHINGTON (JTA) — In a rate statement unrelated to Israel or the Middle East, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee implicitly rebuked President Donald Trump for drawing an equivalence between the sides in the Charlottesville, Va. clash.

“AIPAC shares the outrage and deep concern of our fellow Americans about the inexcusable violence and sickening displays of racism and anti-Semitism in Charlottesville this weekend,” AIPAC said in a statement posted on Twitter.

“The vile hatred expressed by neo-Nazis, the KKK and white supremacists must be categorically and unambiguously rejected,” said the statement. “We urge all elected officials to reject moral equivalence and oppose between those who promote hate and those who oppose it. There must be no quarter for bigotry in our county.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Our statement on #Charlottesville: pic.twitter.com/1mvdnBSBnK

— AIPAC (@AIPAC) August 17, 2017

AIPAC joins the virtual gamut of Jewish groups — encompassing all religious streams — that have issued similar statements after Trump forcefully reiterated in a press conference on Tuesday that both sides were to blame for the deadly violence.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount