Image by Getty Images

By Josh Nathan-Kazis November 21, 2016

White nationalists threw Nazi salutes at a Washington, D.C. conference over the weekend, as energy surges on the so-called “alt-right” following Donald Trump’s victory.

At the national conference of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, the group’s president, Richard Spencer, inveighed against Jews, according to a New York Times report, claiming that the media had attacked Trump in order to defend Jewish interests.

“One wonders if these people are people at all, or instead soulless golem,” he said, using a term describing a monster from Jewish folklore, according to the Times.

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)

In his remarks, Spencer, who coined the term “alt-right” to describe the younger, web-focused wave of white nationalists, said that the Trump victory had been a signal moment for his movement. “An awakening among everyone has occurred with this Trump election,” he said, according to the Washington Post. “We’re not quite the establishment now, but I think we should start acting like it.”

The Times reported that “several audience members” gave Spencer the Nazi salute as he finished his talk.

“The alt-right is here, the alt-right is not going anywhere, the alt-right is going to change the world,” Spencer said, according to NPR.

Speakers at the conference included Kevin MacDonald, who the Southern Poverty Law Center called “the neo-Nazis movement’s favorite academic.”

Protesters massed outside the conference.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

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. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount