Allan C. Brownfeld has sent the letter below to the Washington Post.

Allan C. Brownfeld has sent the letter below to the Washington Post. 

To the Editor:

President Donald Trump has a very strange understanding of Jews and Judaism.

In his effort to demonize two Muslim Democratic members of Congress for their criticism of Israel’s 51-Year occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem—-criticism echoed by many American Jews who believe Israel is violating the Jewish moral and ethical tradition—-President Trump has said that American Jews who vote for Democrats are “showing either a great lack of knowledge or a great disloyalty.”

Mr. Trump did not explain to us the nature of the entity to which Democratic Jewish voters are “disloyal.”  The implication is that, since he is singling out critics of Israel, he believes that American Jews owe their loyalty to that country and are failing to fulfill this responsibility.

Mr. Trump has made clear on a number of occasions that he thinks that Jews are loyal to this foreign sovereign state, not to their own country, the United States.  There is a word for those who hold such a view:  “anti-Semitism.”

The trope of “dual loyalty” flows easily from Mr, Trump.  In April, the president addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas.  He told this American Jewish audience that, “I stood with your prime minister at the White House.”  At a Hannukah celebration at the White House in December, he told those assembled that Vice President Pence had great affection for “your country,” Israel.

Someone should explain to Mr. Trump that Judaism is a religion of universal values, not a nationality.  Americans of Jewish faith are American by nationality and Jews by religion, just as other Americans are Protestant, Catholic or Muslim.  Despite what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu may claim, Israel is not the “homeland” of all Jews.  The homeland of American Jews is the United States.  Indeed, it is a form of idolatry to make Israel rather than God and the Prophets “central” to Judaism, much like the Golden Calf in the Bible.

President Trump is, unfortunately, fast and loose with charges of anti-Semitism, while at the same time embracing important elements of such bigotry in his own rhetoric.
         Sincerely,

               Allan C. Brownfeld,

                    Publications Editor,

                   American Council for Judaism.