On Tuesday, writing for MSNBC, Georgetown University Jewish Civilization professor Jacques Berlinerblau claimed that former President Donald Trump is mainstreaming new forms of antisemitism into American politics.
"No roundup of This Week In Antisemitism would be complete without a contribution from Donald J. Trump, a true thought leader, influencer and innovator in the Judeophobic space," wrote Berlinerblau. "Via a post on his own conservative media platform Truth Social, the former president counseled Jewish Americans to emulate 'our wonderful Evangelicals,' urging Jews to follow the evangelicals in supporting and admiring him for all he has done for Israel."
"To Trump’s point, amongst the Jewish electorate, support and admiration have not been abundantly forthcoming: In 2016 and 2020, roughly 70 to 75% of Jewish Americans did not cast their vote for Trump (whereas 80% of evangelicals did)," wrote Berlinerblau. "Perhaps aware of those data points, Trump routinely chides the Jewish community. There was thus nothing surprising when he concluded his post with a warning: 'U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel — before it’s too late.'"
This is a bit different from the "dual loyalty" trope, that Trump has already used in the past. Rather, argued Berlinerblau, Trump is doing something more subtle: singling out Jews who don't support him as a traitor to their heritage.
IN OTHER NEWS: Allegations about antifa scrubbed from '2,000 Mules' book after publisher recall: report
"Trump’s now dividing Jews into two mutually exclusive categories of unequal size. First, there are the good Jews. They vote for MAGA Republicans. They unequivocally support Israel (by which Trump means hard-right Israeli governments beholden to religious-nationalist policies)," wrote Berlinerblau, noting as an example some Orthodox Jewish communities. "This brings us to the 'Bad Jews,' to borrow a Twitter phrase from right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro. These wayward Members of the Tribe ... have the revolting tendency to vote for Democrats and are accused of not supporting Israel (i.e., they are not supportive of the way that Trump supports Israel). For those who prescribe to the good Jew/bad Jew school of thought, this isn’t 'dual loyalty' — it’s triple disloyalty to Israel, the good Jews, and the United States."
All of this comes amid renewed attention to anti-Semitism around the country, amid pro-Trump rapper Kanye "Ye" West's repeated rants against Jews, and neo-Nazis hanging signs supporting him and performing Hitler salutes on a bridge above a California overpass.
