Nazi fan wins Republican primary in Missouri
Steve West, an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist who said Hitler did nothing wrong, defeated three other GOP candidates in the party’s primary election for Missouri’s 15th district. He now faces Democratic incumbent Jon Carpenter in November. He won with 49.5 percent of the vote; the second-place finisher had 24.4 percent. “Looking back in history, unfortunately, Hitler […]
Former presidents Bush condemn bigotry, anti-Semitism
Former US leaders George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush on Wednesday issued a tough joint statement condemning racial bigotry and anti-Semitism, in a veiled rebuke of President Donald Trump. Trump sparked a political firestorm on Tuesday when he said counter-protesters appeared to be equally to blame for violence over the weekend at a white […]
Why remembering the Holocaust matters more than ever
Philip Riteman was just 13 when the Nazis shoved him and his family on to a train bound for Auschwitz from the Pruzhany ghetto in Poland. At the time, he and his family had no idea they were being carted to their deaths. “Three o’clock in the morning somebody [yells] and I see the German […]
Women’s March Organizer Draws Anti-Semitism Criticism
Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American organizer who rose to prominence after spearheading the Women’s March along with several other progressive activists, may end up facing the same level of backlash over an upcoming commencement address that preceded recently scheduled university appearances by some far-right personalities, including Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos. Critics are calling on New […]
Damage to Jewish Cemetery Worse Than Reported
More than 500 headstones were toppled overnight on Saturday at a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia, according to Jewish community leaders there—a far higher number than the approximately 100 headstones that police had initially estimated. The vandalism occurred days after a similar incident at a Jewish cemetery near St. Louis, Missouri, and amid an ongoing rash […]
US Muslim Jewish Council Praises Trump on Civil Rights
A member of a new U.S. coalition of prominent American Jews and Muslims says President Donald Trump’s administration has expressed a strong commitment to fight hate crimes against religious minorities, a pledge that earned the president rare praise from leaders of the two minority groups. Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council (MJAC) member Robert Silverman, who is Jewish, […]
Trump and Jews: Vigilant Optimism
As Julius Caesar once said: ”It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.” Today, we all make decisions quickly, snap judgements in the heat of the moment based on our biases and instincts, and not necessarily on the full facts. […]
Trump Has Unleashed a Wave of Anti-Semitic Hatred
As a middle-class, white Ashkenazi Jew living in California in 2016, I’ve been privileged to avoid the systemic, cultural and interpersonal racism faced by many Muslims, immigrants and people of color across the U.S. today. However, my uncle was not as fortunate. He was a Holocaust survivor who saw his entire family killed in front […]
Florida Synagogue Faces Hate Crimes On Rosh Hashanah
A synagogue in Florida was vandalized on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year holiday, according to media reports. Amid the two-day holiday – which celebrates the creation of the world in the Jewish religion – vandals spray painted Sunday “Free Palestine” across signs and areas of the Chabad of Parkland synagogue in […]
Trump isn’t Hitler, but his supporters have much in common with those who voted in the Nazis
There has been no shortage of commentary comparing Donald Trump to the most horrible dictator of the 20th century. From politics to popular culture, from serious columns to sarcastic memes, Trump’s detractors have sought to discredit him by linking his actions and attitudes to Adolf Hitler’s. The entertainer Louis C. K. put it bluntly: “the […]