Trump causes outrage by saying that Jews who vote for Democrats hate religion and Israel

The Republican candidate for president of the United States, Donald Trump, caused outrage in the White House, Democrats and leaders of Jewish groups for saying that American Jews who vote for Democrats hate religion and Israel.

“Any Jew who votes Democrat hates his religion, hates everything about Israel and should be ashamed of himself,” said Trump, who hopes to defeat US President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the November 5 US election .

“The Democratic party hates Israel,” he said in an interview with his former advisor Sebastian Gorka, published on his website on Monday (18).

Groups including the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee condemned Trump's comments for tying religion to how people could vote.

Asked to comment on Trump's remarks, the White House said in a statement on Tuesday: “There is no justification for spreading false and toxic stereotypes that threaten citizens,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. in a statement.

After Trump's comments were published, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on social media platform X on Monday: “Trump is making highly partisan and hateful statements. I am working in a bipartisan manner to ensure that the U.S.-Israel relationship continues for generations, driven by peace in the Middle East.”

Last Thursday, Schumer, the highest-ranking U.S. Jewish elected official and a longtime supporter of Israel, criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to peace, five months into a war in Gaza that began with attacks on Israel by Hamas militants on October 7.

Biden said many Americans shared Schumer's concerns. Netanyahu called Schumer's speech inappropriate.

Democratic National Committee spokesman Alex Floyd said in a statement Monday, “American Jews deserve better than the offensive and appalling attacks that Trump continues to launch against the Jewish community.”

Trump's campaign defended his comments.

“The Democratic party has transformed into a completely anti-Israel, anti-Semitic, pro-terrorist cabal,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

This Tuesday, the Republican Jewish Coalition defended Trump's comments, which were republished on X.

Coalition spokesman Sam Markstein said he did not know what Trump meant by his comment that American Jews who vote for Democrats hate their religion, but that the Democrats' positions were problematic.

As president, Trump came under fire in 2017 for drawing an equivalence between white nationalists chanting “Jews will not replace us” and anti-racism protesters who clashed in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trump said there were “good people on both sides.”

Trump also took unprecedented steps to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights captured from Syria in a 1967 war.

Since Trump left office, critics have cited his 2022 meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his Florida club, which Trump said happened inadvertently. Biden also criticized Trump for echoing Nazis in using the word “worm” to describe political enemies.

Biden has strongly supported Israel's offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where Palestinian health officials say 32,000 people have been killed since Oct. 7, the day Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages. according to Israeli records.

Under pressure from some Democrats over his staunch support for Israel, Biden changed his stance to push for a ceasefire and negotiations that lead to side-by-side Israeli and Palestinian statehood.

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2020, when Trump and Biden faced off for the first time, revealed that 71% of American Jews surveyed identified with the Democratic party, while 26% leaned toward the Republican party.