Trump proclaims May Jewish American Heritage Month
US President Donald Trump declared May to be Jewish American Heritage Month in a press release Friday.
“During Jewish American Heritage Month, we celebrate our nation’s strong American Jewish heritage, rooted in the ancient faith and traditions of the Jewish people,” he said.
Trump mentioned that the Jewish people have left “an indelible mark on American culture” through an ethical code and tikkun olam, or repairing the world.
He also stated that Jews came to America to escape persecution and violence, and that American Jews have stood for “human freedom, equality and dignity.”
Trump said he plans to celebrate the connection between the Jewish people and the United States with his daughter, Ivanka, and his son-in law, Jared Kushner.
“Now, therefore, I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2017 as Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to celebrate the heritage and contributions of American Jews and to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities and ceremonies,” Trump said in closing.
Last week, Israel observed Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Trump signed a proclamation to observe Holocaust remembrance for the week of April 23-28.
Ivanka Kushner was in Berlin at the time as a panelist at the W20 Summit on women’s economic empowerment. She took some time to visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the German capital’s Holocaust memorial. She posted about the visit on Instagram, saying, “I am deeply moved by the history of this memorial, honoring the six million European Jews whose lives were taken during the Holocaust.”
According to data released last Sunday, US campuses have seen a rise of 45% in antisemitic incidents.
The Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University, in collaboration with the European Jewish Congress, released its Annual Report on Antisemitism for 2016 during a press conference held at the university.
In the report, US campuses were reported to have become hotbeds for Jew-hatred, often under the guise of anti-Zionism and due to increased pro-Palestinian movements, such as BDS on campuses.
Lidar Gravé-Lazi contributed to this report.