Donald Trump recently hit out at the Democratic Party again whilst on his way to Alabama, this time with the rich charge of anti-semitism. On Thursday the House of Representatives received votes to pass a resolution condemning a litany of prejudices, namely anti-semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and bigotry practices.
'Disgraceful' allegations of anti-Semitism
"I thought yesterday’s vote by the House was disgraceful," the president blasted on the White House lawn, going on to say, "...the Democrats have become an anti-Israel party, an anti-Jewish party." He also commented that any honest politician would agree with him that the resolution's reluctance to isolate anti-semitism was "a disgrace," Jerusalem Post reported.
The inclusion of the additional forms of prejudice, denying anti-semitism as a sole focus, was indeed the subject of significant controversy for senior Democratic senators, particularly Jewish members of the party. The inclusions were attributed largely to pressure from freshman Democrats and the Congressional Black Caucus, in support of Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
The Representative recently courted controversy for questioning pro-Israel Americans about whether they were truly patriotic if they also so staunchly supported another country's policies. Her comments were met with hostility and intense criticism, including from House Majority Leader, Nancy Pelosi.
Dual loyalty and a new low
The senator joined several other high-ranking members of the party to issue a retaliatory resolution defining anti-semitism according to the concepts of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. “...allegations that Jews should be suspected of being disloyal neighbors or citizens...has been used to marginalize and persecute the Jewish people for centuries for being a stateless minority,” was one of the statements in the resolution proposal, decrying Omar's comments for perpetuating what they called "the myth of dual loyalty."
Needless to say, despite the seemingly rare agreement between the president and senior Democrats about the nature of the resolution's refusal to isolate Jewish prejudice, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wasn't having it.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Schumer hit out at the president's convenient change of tune, noting his response to the Charlottesville riots as a prime example of hypocrisy displayed.
"For the president, who when neo-Nazis marched in Charlottesville in front of a synagogue and said ‘burn it down’ and he said ‘both sides’ are to blame, this is a new divisive low," he wrote. "His comments show the president is only interested in playing the politics of division and not in fighting anti-Semitism. Mr. President, you have redefined chutzpah."
Amen to that.
