Letter To The Editor: Don’t Forget Trump’s Attacks Against An “International Elite”
Image by YouTube
Like other professed conservative writers, Bethany Mandel has joined a campaign to vilify liberals by attacking claims of right-wing anti-Semitism.
At the same time, she excuses the anti-Semitic sentiment fomented by Trump’s thinly veiled attacks against an “international elite” undermining American values and interests. The crudest example was his final presidential campaign commercial singling out specific “villains,” who “coincidentally” are all Jews.
Meanwhile, Mandel repeats the fiction that mainstream Jewish groups have ignored anti-Semitism on the left. While she says mainstream Jewish groups have failed to condemn Jewish Voices for Peace for inviting a Palestinian activist as a speaker, the ADL has specifically called out the group and properly labeled Ramsea Odeh a “convicted terrorist.”
Somehow Mandel also managed to overlook a major ADL report condemning the anti-Jewish mentality that has overtaken so much organized criticism of Israel on college campuses. The report singled out JVP as a major front organization that is really a leading anti-Israel group.
Going forward, the Forward itself should include a standard paragraph in its reporting on anti-Semitism, including a link to Trump’s infamous commercial, which portrayed Jewish investor George Soros, Federal Reserve head Janet Yellen and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein at the center of the international conspiracy of anti-American cabal.
At the same time, the publication should run a similar link pointing out JVF’s indifference to Israel’s continued existence. As stated on its website, the group says, “We support any solution that is consistent with the full rights of both Palestinians and Israeli Jews, whether one binational state, two states, or some other solution.”
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
That’s why I’m paying it Forward, by matching $36,000 of reader gifts. It’s an investment in the Forward’s newsroom, to continue telling the American Jewish story with truth and independence.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
