‘Disgusting Jewsplaining’: Donald Trump under fire for attacking US Jews

Former U.S. President Donald Trump came under fire on Sunday after alleging that Evangelicals are more appreciative of his support for Israel than American Jews, calling on the latter to “get their act together.”

“No President has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” Trump said.

The former president also boasted that he could “easily” be elected Prime Minister of Israel due to his popularity in the country.

“Those living in Israel though, are a different story – highest approval ratings in the world, could easily be PM. U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel – before it’s too late,” Trump added.

American Jewish organisations condemned Trump’s comments, accusing him of “Jewsplaining” and speaking about American Jews in “dangerous ways.”

“We don’t need the former president, who curries favour with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid-pro-quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This ‘Jewsplaining’ is insulting and disgusting,” chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt said.

The left-wing Jewish advocacy group J-Street also lashed out at Trump, saying: “No one can excuse or justify this. Donald Trump constantly speaks about American Jews and Israel in the most ignorant, bigoted and dangerous ways.

“That’s part of why J Street and the vast majority of our community is determined to defeat his movement and its candidates.”

Trump did however receive support from the former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, Ellie Cohanim, who said she “wouldn’t be silenced” by organizations like J-Street, after the organization’s Vice President Dylan Williams called on her to “condemn her old boss.”

“I stand by every word of what President Trump stated here. AND Donald Trump will go down in history as the most philo-Semitic president of the US. You—a white, privileged male, are desperately trying to silence me-a woman of colour. I will not be silenced @dylanotes @jstreetdotorg,” Cohanim tweeted.

Trump has previously lashed out at American Jews for not supporting him enough, as well as alleging that Israel used to have “absolute control over Congress.”

According to a poll conducted by GBAO Strategies and commissioned by J-Street, 77% of American Jews voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election, while only 21% voted for Trump.

However, Israel is one of the few countries in the world where the former president remains popular.

According to a poll conducted by Pew Research Center in July, 71% of Israelis expressed confidence in Trump doing the right thing regarding world affairs, compared to 60% for Biden.

In a poll from 2019, Israel was the only country out of the 33 in the survey where a majority of people (55%) expressed net approval of Trump’s policies.