One sentence stands out in Jonathan Tobin’s generally thoughtful and balanced Opinion piece, “Has Trump Lost His Jewish Supporters?”, July 21: “Many, if not most, liberal Jews cling to the largely debunked assertion that Trump has encouraged anti-Semitism.”
Largely debunked? I don’t think so.
No, Trump is not literally an anti-Semite. But who has inspired and encouraged all the haters, Holocaust deniers, the “alt-right” anti-Semites, crazies and racists who have flocked to Trump’s bandwagon? It is his encouragement of violence and his contempt for human beings, his disregard for truth, his sleazy promotion of conspiracy theories that speaks to them as the voice of unreason and brutality.
From the outset of his campaign, when he defamed a genuine American hero, John McCain, to his mockery of a disabled reporter, to his rip-off of thousands of low-income people enrolling at Trump University, Trump has debased America and done nothing positive for the American people.
To think that someone who is indifferent to human rights here and abroad — and who counts ex-KGB Putin as a friend — can be relied upon by the Jewish community and Israel is a pipe dream.
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