Three ways Trump made Jews less safe in the past week
Over the past week, the White House and Republicans in Congress refused to negotiate on a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) that would continue funding the government at current spending levels. In a move last night that surprised even Democrats, Senator Chuck Schumer agreed to allow the Republican bill to go forward to avert what he described as the only worse option – a government shutdown. As of the writing of this email, it remains unclear how many other Democrats will join Schumer and whether it will be enough to avoid a midnight shutdown. More on the Republican spending bill and the shutdown showdown is below.
TRUMP’S VITRIOL
Amid this week’s budget turmoil, President Trump once again said the quiet part out loud, exposing his bigotry, including toward the vast majority of American Jews. When asked in the Oval Office about the budget, the president responded with antisemitic animus toward Senator Schumer. Trump said that Schumer – the highest-ranking Jewish American elected official – “is a Palestinian as far as I’m concerned. You know, he’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore.”
In just a few words, Trump revealed his repugnant extremist views. First, this isn’t just about Chuck Schumer. With his Oval Office insult, Donald Trump was attempting to make the point that Jews who are “disloyal” to him – which included more than seven out of ten of us in the 2024 election – are not sufficiently Jewish. According to Trump’s logic, a litmus test for one’s Judaism is alignment with him. Despite what the president may believe are his vast and unlimited powers, Donald Trump does not get to decide who is and who is not a Jew.
Second, Trump’s attempt to use the term “Palestinian” as a pejorative racial slur is antisemitic, racist, Islamophobic, and bigoted all at the same time. It’s hard to imagine being so deeply offensive in so many ways at once, but this is a particular area where Trump excels. He’s used this same vitriol before, including when he called President Biden a “Palestinian” at their debate last year, and it makes it no less abhorrent. If anything, it’s even more dangerous when targeting Schumer because Trump is normalizing hate speech toward Jews.
As I said in The New York Times, Trump’s “rhetoric, agenda, and alignment with right-wing extremists are endangering American Jews.” More on Trump’s long record of antisemitism, including in this White House, can be found here.
THREE WAYS TRUMP MADE JEWS LESS SAFE
Trump’s rhetoric is not the only threat to American Jews. In the past week alone, this White House has taken three actions that have lessened our safety and security.
First, it has been confirmed that Trump’s funding freeze for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has paused funding of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), which provides essential security grants for synagogues, Jewish institutions, and Jewish organizations. Under the Biden administration, NSGP funding rose to nearly $500 million, including more than $200 million in emergency funding granted in October. These grants allow places of worship and institutions – including synagogues, JCCs, and day schools – to strengthen their security given the rise of antisemitism. Trump’s funding freeze has created uncertainty, as security funding now remains in limbo, with no end in sight on the current funding freeze.
Second, Trump gutted the Department of Education (DOE), eliminating approximately half of the department and workforce, including in the office responsible for addressing allegations of antisemitism at colleges and public schools. Trump eliminated staff and nearly half the regional offices at DOE’s Office of Civil Rights, which handles complaints of antisemitism filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and has been “a central source of recourse for Jewish and pro-Israel students who believed their rights were infringed upon by pro-Palestinian campus protests since October 7, 2023,” according to JTA.
The weakening of the government’s ability to combat antisemitism on college campuses comes the same week that the Trump administration arrested, detained, and threatened to deport pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. While Khalil fomented anti-Israel, antisemitic, and potentially pro-Hamas sentiment in the protests he organized on Columbia’s campus, he was denied due process, and it remains unclear if he broke the law, which is why a federal judge ordered the government not to deport Khalil until he reviews the case this coming week.
While we can vehemently disagree with one’s speech, that doesn’t mean it isn’t protected speech under the Constitution. In the case of Khalil, as a U.S. green card holder, he’s entitled to due process before deportation. Donald Trump’s effort to deny him that – and his threat to do the same to other pro-Palestinian protest organizers – is weaponizing antisemitism to potentially deny constitutionally protected speech. The use of antisemitism as an excuse to deny free speech is not good for our community, security, or democracy.
It may be pro-Palestinian protestors who are targeted and denied their rights today, but we don’t know who will be next. If we support the selective denial of protected speech and rights of others, even those with whom we strongly disagree, we fall into a dangerous trap that will only come at our own peril.
SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN
Later today, the Senate will decide whether or not to proceed with the spending bill that will fund the government after midnight and avert a shutdown. For weeks, Democrats have made strong arguments for a “clean” short-term CR to prevent a shutdown, but time has run out, and Democrats now face what Schumer described as a Hobson’s choice of a “dirty” CR drafted solely by Republicans or a government shutdown.
Regardless of what occurs, it’s clear that the cause of this tumult is Republicans’ insistence on changing current spending levels and authorities in service to Donald Trump as opposed to the American people. Specifically, the GOP spending bill:
- Adds billions for deportations;
- Cuts $13 billion in funding for non-defense programs and services;
- Surrenders congressional authority over tariffs to the White House;
- Strips more than $1 billion from Washington D.C.’s municipal budget;
- Gives Trump new powers to spend on military programs not approved by Congress; and
- Removes detailed spending directives, giving the White House more power.
The Republican spending bill does not advance Democrats’ top priority, which was to force Trump to spend money as appropriated by Congress. Instead, it removes spending guardrails, further consolidating power over to the executive branch. The message conveyed by this spending bill is one of acquiescence to Trump and Musk to “redirect funding to their own pet projects, force states and communities to abide by their directives, and slash, burn, and zero out programs that our families count on,” according to Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray.
SCHUMER’S CHOICE
Given this grim reality, why would any Democrat – especially Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer – allow for passage of this bill? According to Schumer, the only thing worse than this deeply flawed MAGA spending bill is a government shutdown with “consequences for America that are much, much worse.” In his explanation for allowing this Republican spending bill to proceed to a vote, Schumer said, “there is nobody that wants to shut the government down more than Elon Musk and Donald Trump,” and he refuses to give them this extraordinary power.
On the Senate floor last night, Schumer made the case that a shutdown “would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now.” He explained that in a protracted government shutdown, Republicans would re-open only select departments, leaving other federal agencies and services to languish for an indefinite period of time.
Schumer also explained that a shutdown would be the distraction Trump is looking for from his real agenda – “delivering massive cuts to the rich paid for on the backs of American families. He wants to gut social security, hollow out Medicaid, slap taxes on consumer goods through his reckless trade wars.” Given the terrible choice of this short-term Republican spending bill or a painful and protracted government shutdown, Schumer chose the spending bill. It remains to be seen if a handful of other Democrats will follow his lead to avert a shutdown, and widespread Democratic frustration with Schumer is understandable. According to Schumer’s logic, averting a shutdown will allow Democrats to move on to the next spending fight and effort to save Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare, but not every Democrat shares this view.
While we don’t yet know what will occur, we know that we at JDCA will continue to fight for our democracy, security, and values of the vast majority of American Jews, and we hope you’ll continue to join us and invest in our efforts.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Purim Sameach,
Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America