Nation & World Glance
ASSOCIATED PRESS Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats ‘hate Israel’ and their religion
new YORK — Former President donald Trump on monday charged that Jews who vote for democrats “hate Israel” and hate “their religion,” igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White house and Jewish leaders.
Trump, in an interview, had been asked about democrats’ growing criticism of Israeli Prime minister Benjamin netanyahu over his handling of the war in Gaza as the civilian death toll continues to mount.
“I actually think they hate Israel,” Trump responded to his former aide, Sebastian Gorka. “I think they hate Israel. and the democrat party hates Israel.”
Trump, who last week became the republican Party’s presumptive nominee, went on to charge: “any Jewish person that votes for democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed.”
The comments sparked immediate backlash from the White house, President Joe Biden’s campaign and Jewish leaders. The vast majority of Jewish americans identify as democrats, but Trump has often accused them of disloyalty, perpetuating what critics say is an antisemitic trope.
The White house has been skeptical of netanyahu’s plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of rafah, where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as Israel looks to eliminate hamas following the militant group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack.
Sullivan said Biden in the call once again urged netanyahu not to carry out a rafah operation. at the coming talks, he said u.s. officials will lay out “an alternative approach that would target key hamas elements in rafah and secure the egypt-gaza border without a major ground invasion.”
“The president has rejected, and did again today, the straw man that raising questions about rafah is the same as raising questions about defeating hamas,” Sullivan said. “That’s just nonsense. Our position is that hamas should not be allowed a safe haven in rafah or anywhere else, but a major ground operation there would be a mistake. It would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel internationally.”