Halie Soifer, executive director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, writes:

Trump’s rhetoric matters. He is the President of the United States and he has — at best — been grossly irresponsible and utterly reckless with his words. At worst, he has inspired violence targeting minority groups in a manner reminiscent of the darkest moments in history. Whether Donald Trump himself is an anti-Semite, racist, neo-Nazi or white supremacist is almost irrelevant. Those who align with these movements feel legitimized and emboldened by him. Even if Trump is willfully ignorant as to origins of his incendiary language, anti-Semites hear his message loud and clear, and believe he is their champion and ally.

It is no coincidence that in 2017 anti-Semitic incidents in America surged nearly 60%, the largest single-year increase since the Anti-Defamation League began keeping records in 1979. Since his election, President Trump has stoked hatred of racial and religious minorities, cultivated fear of immigrants and refugees, and lied about alleged threats on our borders. He has been silent or equivocated in the face of blatant anti-Semitism, such as that witnessed by the neo-Nazis chanting “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virginia.

And he has repeated false conspiracy theories about immigrants and Jews that have exacerbated xenophobia. From his campaign to build a wall on the Mexican border, to his Muslim ban, to his most recent description of a caravan of asylum-seekers headed to the United States as a “national emergency,” Donald Trump has lit a match and fueled a fire of racism and anti-Semitism, exploiting fear for his own perceived political gain. [Continue reading…]