http://lobelog.com/anti-semitism-in-the-u-s-its-foundations-and-recent-surge/#more-38431

Anti-Semitism in the U.S.: Its Foundations and Recent Surge

by Paul R. Pillar
There is an upsurge in anti-Jewish hatred in America.  It has manifested itself in criminal and violent acts and threats of still more violence.  Jewish cemeteries have been vandalized, and Jewish educational and cultural institutions have received death threats.  The obvious increase in such incidents leaves no doubt about the existence of intense anti-Semitism, and about how it persists in the United States and not just elsewhere.  This hatred and prejudice should be vigorously condemned.  All Americans should realize that while Jewish citizens are those most directly vulnerable to harm, such hatred and prejudice offends American values that benefit everyone.
We must ask about the hatred: why?  Not just why in general, but why now.  The correlation that immediately comes to mind regarding the rise of this vile phenomenon is with the political rise of Donald Trump, through the time of his candidacy and campaign and now the opening weeks of his presidency.  We must be careful with any correlation not to be hasty in attributing cause and effect.  In this case, we should be aware of two ways of looking at Trump regarding this entire issue.  On one hand is his strategy of appealing to the prejudices of a white nationalism in which anti-Semitism is not far below the surface, and sometimes visible on the surface.  Trump relies on, as his most influential adviser, Stephen Bannon, whose Breitbart News has provided a forum for anti-Semitic sentiment.  Another senior appointee in the Trump White House proudly wears a medal associated with the wartime Hungarian regime that collaborated with the Nazis.  Trump himself has come close to denying that the cemetery attacks were a manifestation of anti-Semitism by suggesting that they were false flag operations. http://lobelog.com/anti-semitism-in-the-u-s-its-foundations-and-recent-surge/#more-38431