While most of us know when to keep dumb thoughts to ourselves, President Trump and Rudy “America’s Mayor” Giuliani do not abide by these rules. They tell the world their real or satiric attitudes toward Jews that compound our confusion about their approach to the Jewish people. Or anyone else, for that matter.
It is hard to assess Trump’s value to Israelis and American Jews. In terms of his entire performance, Trump has been a horrid president who should have been impeached for criminal conduct long ago, perhaps on his first day in office.
Yet American Jews cannot dismiss what he has done for the Jewish community and Israel. His executive order in mid-December that extends civil rights protections to Jews is long overdue. I can attest from personal experience various anti-Semitic actions at the workplace. Harassment of Jewish students has been consistently reported in the media for the last several years. Trump’s attentiveness to the issue is likely due to advice from Jewish friends and advisors.
Jews nonetheless also cannot ignore our president’s treatment of other minority groups, particularly Muslims and Hispanics. Not to mention that the executive order raises questions about free speech.
Trump’s order is a healthy first step which should be expanded to protect all groups that face bigotry, including gays and other religions while ironing out its flaws.
As Trump has demonstrated strong support for Israel, Jerusalem should have been recognized as Israel’s capital and been the site of all embassies when Israel became a sovereign nation. Many have argued that taking these steps today could intensify tensions and display Trump’s hostility to Palestinian concerns.
Yet it is weird that Trump reaches out to both Jews and white nationalists simultaneously. As is widely reported, Trump has refused to condemn white nationalists who vote for Trump and other Republicans.
The Iran nuclear deal was troubled from the outset. It took me five or six weeks to accept the deal as a wise move, but I am still not sure. Trump might have acted rashly to break the pact.
Trump’s helping hand to Jews is undermined by the mashugah (Yiddish for crazy) comments uttered by him and Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who is now his personal lawyer. Trump is a Protestant and Giuliani is a Catholic.
Addressing a Jewish organization convening near Fort Lauderdale last week, Trump said, “I know you very well, you’re brutal realtors. But you have to vote for me. You have no choice.”
Brutal realtors? I have never been employed as a realtor, and I do not regard myself as brutal. Why must we vote for him?
His buddy claims membership among us: “Don’t tell me I’m anti-Semitic if I oppose him. (Billionaire George) Soros is hardly a Jew. I’m more of Jew than Soros is. I probably know more about – he doesn’t go to church, he doesn’t go to religion – synagogue. He doesn’t belong to a synagogue.”
If Giuliani was at least an honorary Jew, he would be aware of our strict requirements for membership in the tribe. LOL!!!
To state the obvious, this is no way for anyone to speak about an ethnic or religious group in public. Let’s give Trump and Giuliani the benefit of the doubt that these were vain attempts at humor and/or sarcasm. They misfired by miles, and as experienced public figures they should know better.
Respected critics were offended, as CEO Jonathan Greenblatt of the Anti-Defamation League declared, “Mr. Giuliani is not the arbiter of who is Jewish and who is not, or what is anti-Semitic and what is not,” according to Jewish Insider.
To give Trump credit, the following comment is appreciated: “My administration is committed to aggressively challenging and confronting anti-Semitic bigotry in every resource and using every single weapon at our disposal.”
Too bad he could not stop there.