Despite how many hateful attacks have occurred in America due to his divisive hateful rhetoric, President Donald Trump still refuses to call out white nationalism — not even after 11 people were killed in a Pittsburgh synagogue yesterday.
A group of eleven Jewish leaders aren’t having it and are calling on Trump to act like a real president, stating that he is no longer welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism.
Members of the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice have sent a powerful message to Trump after the synagogue shooting, swiftly calling the president out:
Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted. You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.”
It is insane that Trump still needs to be told to condemn white supremacy, especially since the president got loads of backlash for stating there was “blame on both sides” after the racist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Not to mention the onslaught of criticism that came after the president called Neo-Nazis “fine people.”
The group of Jewish leaders also told the president that he would not be welcomed back into the city until he stops attacking minorities, refugees and immigrants, stating that Trump “spread lies and sowed fear about migrant families in Central America.”
The Torah teaches that every human being is made b’tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. This means all of us. In our neighbors, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God.”
It’s a powerful letter, and the president will have to respond sooner or later. Unfortunately, he will probably take his time considering how little he cared about the attack. Just hours after the synagogue shooting was reported, Trump was tweeting about the World Series game. This should make every Trump voter ashamed of their “president,” but they still continue to blindly follow him.
You can read the full letter from the Jewish leaders here.
Featured image via screen capture
