By PETER SMITH and TIFFANY STANLEY (Associated Press)
From the beginning of his political career, Donald Trump has used stereotypes about Jews and politics.
In 2015, he told the Republican Jewish Coalition that they wanted to control their politicians and hinted that they used money to have control. In the White House, he said that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal to Israel.
Two years ago, the former president hosted two outspoken antisemites for dinner at his Florida residence.
This week, Trump accused Jewish Democrats of being disloyal to their faith and to Israel. This caused many American Jews to take familiar political stances. Trump's opponents accused him of promoting antisemitic ideas, while his supporters suggested he was making a reasonable political point in his own way.
Jonathan Sarna, a history professor at Brandeis University, said Trump is taking advantage of tensions within the Jewish community.
“For people who dislike Donald Trump in the Jewish community, this statement will strengthen their feeling that they do not want to be associated with him,” he said. “For people who like Donald Trump in the Jewish community, they probably agree with him.”
To many Jewish leaders, who are mostly Democratic and supported President Joe Biden in 2020, Trump’s recent comments promoted harmful antisemitic ideas, suggesting that Jews have divided loyalties and that there is only one correct way to practice Judaism.
“That escalation of rhetoric is so dangerous, so divisive and so wrong,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest U.S. Jewish religious group. “This is a moment when Israel needs there to be more bipartisan support.”
But Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said the president’s comments must be understood in the context of the Israel-Gaza war and Democratic criticisms of Israel.
“What the president was saying in his own unique style was giving voice to things I get asked about multiple times a day,” Brooks said. “How can Jews remain Democrats in light of what is going on?” He argued that the Democratic Party is no longer the strong supporter of Israel that it used to be.
More than 31,800 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 people and took hostages. Much of northern Gaza has been leveled, and officials warned famine is imminent.
Trump’s comments followed a speech by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the country’s highest-ranking Jewish official. Schumer, a Democrat, last week sharply criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s handling of the war in Gaza. Schumer called for new elections in Israel and warned the civilian toll was damaging Israel’s global standing.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion,” Trump retorted Monday on a talk show. “They hate everything about Israel.”
Many Jewish leaders, including Schumer, the Anti-Defamation League, and religious leaders, criticized Trump's statement.
The Trump campaign reiterated its criticism of Schumer, congressional Democrats' support for Palestinians, and the Biden administration's Iran policies and aid to Gaza in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, stated that President Trump is correct.
Jeffrey Hert, an expert on antisemitism at the University of Maryland, disagrees with Schumer's call for a ceasefire in Gaza, but believes most Democrats support Israel. He also mentioned that a second Biden term would be better for Israel than a second term for Trump.
Herf stated that if Trump loses the 2024 election, his comments could be used to blame the Jews for his defeat, which could provoke antisemitism and reinforce the idea that the Jews are at fault.
Sarna viewed Trump's actions as an attempt to appeal to politically conservative Jews, especially the small but rapidly growing Orthodox segment, who see Trump as a protector of Israel.
A 2020 Pew Research Center report revealed that about 10% of U.S. Jews are immigrants. Sarna noted that a significant number of them are conservative.
Democrats grapple with the conflict between their predominantly pro-Israel Jewish constituency and their more pro-Palestinian progressive wing.
Sarna mentioned that although it may seem unusual to focus so much on specific segments of a minority population, the close nature of American elections means that every vote is essential.
On his podcast, conservative commentator Ben Shapiro expressed agreement with Trump's point that Jewish Democratic voters may not fully understand the Democratic Party. Shapiro, who practices Orthodox Judaism, argued that the party overlooks antisemitism within its ranks.
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, CEO of T’ruah, a rabbinic human rights organization, stated that Trump has no right to dictate who qualifies as a good Jew.
She emphasized that by suggesting that good Jews would vote for the party that is best for Israel, Trump is evoking the longstanding antisemitic belief of dual loyalty, which has historically fueled severe antisemitic violence.
During his time in office, Trump's support of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the settler agenda endangered both Palestinians and Israelis, making peace more challenging to achieve, according to Jacobs. According to Pittsburgh-based journalist Beth Kissileff, it was highly offensive for Trump to act as a self-appointed judge of Jewishness. Kissileff, whose husband, a rabbi in the Conservative denomination of Judaism, survived the nation's deadliest antisemitic attack in 2018, emphasized that just because they are Jews, it does not mean they agree with everything the Israeli government does. She added that they have compassion for innocent Palestinian lives.
Beth Kissileff, a journalist based in Pittsburgh, whose husband, a rabbi in the Conservative denomination of Judaism, survived the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack in 2018, noted that it was highly offensive for Trump to judge what it means to be Jewish. She emphasized that Trump's actions were highly offensive, especially considering her husband's survival of the nation's deadliest antisemitic attack in 2018. She added that being Jewish does not mean they agree with everything the Israeli government does and that they have compassion for innocent Palestinian lives.
Kissileff also added that Chuck Schumer had every right to express his opinion and highlighted that being Jewish does not imply unquestioning agreement with the Israeli government, as they also have compassion for innocent Palestinian lives.
Brooks, from the Republican Jewish Coalition, defended the former president against accusations of antisemitism, citing his presidential record as evidence.
Trump followed policies that were popular among American Christian Zionists and Israeli religious-nationalists, such as relocating the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and backing Jewish settlements in occupied territories. His daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism, and her husband and their children are Jewish. The couple served as high-profile representatives to the Jewish community during Trump’s administration.
Trump's main supporters include white evangelicals, many of whom believe that the modern state of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy. Prominent evangelicals who advocate for Zionism have also faced criticism for making provocative statements about Jewish people.
According to AP VoteCast, a survey of the electorate conducted in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago, 69% of Jewish voters in 2020 backed Biden, while 30% supported Trump. This made Jewish voters one of the religious groups with strong support for Biden. Additionally, 73% of Jewish voters in 2020 believed that Trump was too accepting of extremist groups.
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson stated that Trump's comments are “in a complex middle zone” — not explicitly antisemitic, but reliant on such tropes.
American Jews base their voting decisions on a variety of issues and values, “including inclusion, diversity, climate change, civil rights,” said Artson, a leader within Conservative Judaism. “While they have diverse feelings for Israel, many of us also care about the wellbeing and self-determination of Palestinians.”
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
