Jewish people fear scapegoating as Trump invokes antisemitism to justify crackdowns
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President Trump's invocation of antisemitism to justify everything from slashing college funds to deporting student protestors risks making Jewish people scapegoats for his policies, community leaders warn.
The big picture: With antisemitism rising in the U.S., Trump's repressive crackdown could stoke further animus against Jews, Lauren Strauss, a professor of modern Jewish history at American University, told Axios.
- "Antisemitism is on the lips of people who probably never used that word in their lives," Strauss, said. "It has entered the American political discourse in a way that really it never has before."
- The administration is not providing tangible solutions to actual antisemitism, she added.
- The Trump administration's actions "seen by many as violations of people's civil liberties are not the way to stem this tide, she added, "and to take that even further, could end up hurting the Jews and everyone else more than they help."
- The White House declined to comment on the record.
Context: On Wednesday, the administration said it would screen immigrants' social media for antisemitic content as grounds for denying immigration requests. Trump's administration has cast pro-Palestinian activism as antisemitic.
- The creators of Project 2025 pitched a plan, "Project Esther," last year that used anti-Israeli remarks as a reason to deport students with visas or green cards.
- Trump has targeted colleges' federal funding over allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
Reality check: Trump, himself, has been accused of antisemitism in the past.
- During his campaign, Trump called Jewish people who voted for Democrats fools.
- He also used "Palestinian" as a slur against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish.
- Meanwhile, antisemitic conspiracy theories have flooded popular pro-Trump, far-right podcasts.
- Close Trump advisor Elon Musk has been criticized for what was widely viewed as a Nazi salute on the day of Trump's inauguration and his years of antisemitic claims.
What they're saying: The Nexus Project, which combats antisemitism, said last week the Trump administration promotes antisemitic conspiracies alongside anti-democracy policies.
- "Using vague language like 'terrorist sympathizer' to target and punish immigrants will not combat antisemitism or make Jews any safer," Jonathan Jacoby, the project's national director, wrote in a statement.
- "The Trump administration continues to exploit our community's concerns to unfairly target others – all while elevating and engaging in antisemitism themselves."
- Trump's approach to campus antisemitism has made some Jewish students feel less safe, Kenneth Stern, director of Bard College's Center for the Study of Hate, told NPR in March.
- Stern led the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's efforts to define antisemitism.
- More than 100 Jewish organizations, including reform and conservative groups, wrote a public letter in February denouncing several Trump administration policies.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the most senior Jewish House member, also said Trump's use of antisemitism is exploitative and "an expression of his authoritarianism," per the Guardian.
- "The president is weaponizing the real pain American Jews face to advance his desire to wield control over the truth-seeking academic institutions that stand as a bulwark against authoritarianism," Nadler said.
- Even conservative activist Christopher Rufo called out antisemitism in social media among right wing influencers.
The bottom line: "Most people have no doubt that if the Jews stop being a useful tool for this incursion and this assault on civil liberties, then they will be thrown under the bus very quickly," said Strauss, the professor of Jewish history.
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