Donald Trump Is Using Jewish People As ‘Shield For Racism And Attacks On Free Speech,’ Says Rabbi Alissa Wise
In the wake of Donald Trump’s attacks on four congresswomen of color ?— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, also known as “The Squad” ?— and his rally that culminated in the crowd chanting “send her back” to Omar, Rabbi Alissa Wise penned an article for Newsweek that accuses the President of using Jews to cover for his racism.
“Indeed, the Trump administration — and now also his campaign — has been laying the groundwork to use Jews as a shield for racism and attacks on free speech for a long time,” she said.
“It’s disgusting and wrong and straight-up dangerous to Jewish people everywhere — and it has stop, now.”
Wise highlighted Vice President Mike Pence’s speech at a summit hosted by evangelical group Christians United for Israel (CUFI), during which he spoke about anti-Semitism, which Reuters reports has been rising around the world — especially in the United States and Europe. But Wise noted that Pence used his speech not to genuinely speak on the issue. Instead, he used the speech to launch a “thinly veiled stab at Omar.”
Wise claims that the Trump administration’s focus on anti-semitism is not about protecting Israel but keeping the Israeli-America alliance, protecting it from critics, and “undermining the power of those fearless leaders not cowed by the bullying of the anti-Palestinian lobby.”
“The charge of anti-Semitism has long been used as a cudgel to stifle pro-Palestinian activism,” Wise wrote.
“It’s now being used, ingeniously, to shield actual neo-Nazis, bona-fide racists and their enablers from criticism.”
I'm a rabbi, and I'm done with Trump using my people to cover for his racism | Opinion (via @AlissaShira) https://t.co/OfRTjGhm1O
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 24, 2019
Per RT, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has urged Trump to stop being so liberal with accusations of anti-Semitism during his attacks on The Squad. ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said that while the ADL has disagreed with The Squad on some issues, he suggests Trump is harnessing the talking points of white nationalists and using Jews as a shield for racist attacks.
Former White House Adviser Omarosa Manigault Newman claims that Trump’s intentions are clear. As reported by The Inquisitr, she said on MSNBC’s Saturday Night Politics, hosted by Donny Deutsch, that Trump is attempting to start a race war with his attacks on The Squad. She also believes Trump is currently a “danger” to American democracy.
Raw Story reports that Newman said as of now, people are refraining from calling out what she believes are clear attempts to divide the country into a race war.
