The Forward reports:

In a speech Thursday billed as former President Donald Trump’s answer to rising antisemitism, he said Jews would bear much of the responsibility if he loses the presidential election.

And in a second speech later in the evening, to the Israeli American Council, Trump elaborated on his past assertions in recent weeks that Israel would not survive if he doesn’t win in November, by painting a doomsday scenario in which Iran launches nuclear weapons and invoking the Holocaust.

“The Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss,” Trump said during the first speech of the evening, an hour-long address at an event called “Fighting Antisemitism in America,” organized with GOP megadonor Dr. Miriam Adelson, at the Hyatt Regency hotel on Capitol Hill.

“You can’t let this happen,” he told his largely Jewish audience.

Trump in recent weeks has offended many Jews by questioning their mental health for voting for Democrats — as most Jews do — and predicting Israel’s demise should Harris win. But Thursday night’s comments seem to represent an escalation in Trump’s rhetoric, in that he singled out Jewish Americans — who represent only about 2% of the electorate — as a significant reason he might lose the election, one whose results he has never pledged to accept.

Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs said after the speech that Trump’s remarks endanger Jews.

“Treating Jews and Israel as political footballs makes Jews, Israel, and all of us less safe,” she said in a statement. “Dividing Jews into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ camps and engaging in dual loyalty tropes further normalizes antisemitism.” [Continue reading…]