UPDATE: So far, no, Trump cannot say anything bad about anti-Semitism.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Can Trump say something bad about anti-Semitism?
This is a serious question. On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the White House issued a statement that made no mention of the Jewish people or anti-Semitism. And now, when asked directly about the increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S., Trump avoided using the phrase "anti-Semitism." Is it just coincidence? Or is there a reason why he can't mention anti-Semitism?
UPDATE: So far, no, Trump cannot say anything bad about anti-Semitism.
UPDATE: So far, no, Trump cannot say anything bad about anti-Semitism.
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8 comments:
Per usual, rhetoric and reality diverge, and he's not winning much support from those who support the cause of the Palestinians:
https://theintercept.com/2017/02/15/trump-says-palestinian-statehood-isnt-necessary-for-peace-netanyahu-calls-him-the-greatest/
http://www.juancole.com/2017/02/palestinians-stateless-forever.html
Though I should answer your question in the post: perhaps the reason he doesn't mention or emphasize anti-Semitism is because he doesn't want to rhetorically alienate an important part of his base. He likely counts on their not understanding the difference between rhetoric and reality.
JDB,
Are you saying that Trump avoids condemning anti-Semitism, because he's trying to win support of those who support the cause of the Palestinians? Or are you saying that there hasn't been an increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. since Trump got elected?
Neither of those things, but thank you for the opportunity to clarify. I think the fact that White House left the Jewish people (and everyone else!) out of their Holocaust statement, plus his failure to talk about anti-Semitism, is thought by some people to be evidence of a turning away from the policies of the government of Israel. My point is that, so far, it's not looking that way from the point of view of people who support the Palestinians - they see Trump as intensifying support of those policies that are most harmful to the Palestinians.
For example, many people mistakenly believe that Barack Obama was hostile toward the government of Israel, due to his rhetoric, as well as the abstention at the UN. Yet, as Glenn Greenwald explains concisely in a piece I saw just now (https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/16/greenwald_on_trump_netanyahu_meeting_how):
"If you look at a map, it’s almost impossible to see where a separate Palestinian state in the West Bank can be created, given the growth of settlements under Prime Minister Netanyahu, growth which, by the way, the United States not only didn’t stop, but abetted by shoveling Israel with money, with weapons, with all kinds of diplomatic support, as they were expanding those settlements. Yes, they objected occasionally, in rhetoric, but, in action, never did." (emphasis mine)
I made the rhetoric/reality distinction before I even read that! I'm my very own Glenn Greenwald!!!
JDB,
So do you think condemning anti-Semitism is harmful to the cause of the Palestinians?
In complete isolation, condemning anti-Semitism is helpful to the cause of the Palestinians - especially if they do the condemning themselves. In practice, unfortunately, condemning anti-Semitism serves as a framework for condemning criticism of the state of Israel and justifying policies that harm the Palestinians in the name of opposition to anti-Semitism. I think that everyone should continue condemning anti-Semitism, but refrain from doing so in the problematic way I describe.
JDB,
Meanwhile, I suspect your answer to my question is correct. Trump doesn't want to alienate an important part of his base.
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