Former President Donald J. Trump accused Jewish voters of hating their religion and Israel if they voted for Democrats, reviving and escalating a claim he made as president that Jewish Democrats were disloyal.
He made his comments in an interview published online Monday with Sebastian Gorka, a former White House adviser to Mr. Trump who now hosts a conservative talk radio show. Mr. Gorka asked Mr. Trump about criticism that prominent Democrats — including President Biden and Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader — had leveled against Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s right-wing prime minister.
“I actually think they hate Israel,” Mr. Trump replied.
“Every Jewish person who votes for the Democrats hates their religion,” he later added. “They hate everything about Israel and should be ashamed because Israel will be destroyed.”
Democratic officials “hate Israel,” he said, because they want votes from people who understand the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 30,000 people have been killed in the war.
“Don’t forget, when you see these Palestinian marches — even I am amazed at how many people participate in these marches,” Trump said. “And people like Schumer see that, and for him it’s votes. I think it’s mostly because of the votes because he’s always been pro-Israel. He’s very anti-Israel now.”
Mr. Trump received significant criticism for similar comments he made as president, when he repeatedly accused Jewish voters of disloyalty if they voted for Democrats. Those remarks, and Mr. Trump’s comments on Monday, raise the anti-Semitic theory that Jews have “dual loyalty” and are often more loyal to Israel than to their own countries.
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2024-03-18 22:03:58
www.nytimes.com
