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The Hill: Jewish groups condemn Trump’s ‘disloyalty’ remark

August 20, 2019

“This is yet another example of Donald Trump continuing to weaponize and politicize anti-Semitism. At a time when anti-Semitic incidents have increased — due to the president’s emboldening of white nationalism — Trump is repeating an anti-Semitic trope,” said Halie Soifer, Jewish Democratic Council of America executive director.

Trump’s comment, “I think Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty,” didn’t directly state whether he’s speaking about disloyalty for him or for Israel.

Either way, it’s wrong, Soifer said in an emailed statement.

“If this is about Israel, then Trump is repeating a dual loyalty claim, which is a form of anti-Semitism. If this is about Jews being ‘loyal’ to him, then Trump needs a reality check. We live in a democracy, and Jewish support for the Republican Party has been halved in the past four years,” she said.