Anne Frank Center: Trump administration ‘infected’ with anti-Semitism

A Jewish Holocaust memorial group on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump’s denunciation of anti-Semitism, saying it was “pathetic” and “too little, too late,” while accusing the administration of being “infected” with anti-Jewish sentiment.

Steven Goldstein, executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, said the president’s “sudden acknowledgement is a band-aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected his own administration.”

Under pressure by Jewish groups and political leaders, Trump on Tuesday denounced anti-Semitism, a day after bomb threats were made to 11 Jewish community centers across the country and a Jewish cemetery was vandalized in the St. Louis area.

But Goldstein called the statement “a pathetic asterisk of condescension after weeks in which he and his staff have committed grotesque acts and omissions reflecting anti-Semitism, yet day after day have refused to apologize and correct the record.”

https://www.facebook.com/AnneFrankCenterforMutualRespect/posts/10155151871429040

Trump’s words were “too little, too late,” Goldstein said.

“Make no mistake,” he said. “The anti-Semitism coming out of this administration is the worst we have ever seen from any administration.”

“When President Trump responds to anti-Semitism proactively and in real time, and without pleas and pressure, that’s when we’ll be able to say this president has turned a corner. This is not that moment,” he added.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Tuesday lamented the center’s response, saying “I wish they had praised the president for his leadership in this area.”

Spicer claimed Trump “has been very forceful with his denunciation of people who attack people because of their religion or because or their gender or because of the color of their skin. It’s ironic that no matter how many times he talks about this that it’s never good enough.”

Asked what Trump will do about the perceived uptick in anti-Semitic incidents in the US, Spicer said: “I think the president is going to do what he’s talked about since election night. It’s through deed and action, talk about how we can unify this country and speak out against hate, anti-Semitism, racism. And he’s going to continue to do that.”

Goldstein has been a fierce critic of Trump and in late January accused the president of “driving our nation off a moral cliff.”

Trump said Tuesday that anti-Semitic threats to the American Jewish community were “horrible” and “painful,” as well as a “sad reminder” of evil.

“We have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms,” Trump said during a visit to the National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC. “The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community centers are horrible and are painful, and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.”

Trump earlier told MSNBC that “anti-Semitism is horrible, and it’s going to stop and it has to stop.” Asked if he denounced displays of anti-Semitism, the president said: “Oh of course, and I do it wherever I get a chance.”

Trump calls anti-Semitic threats “a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate” https://t.co/MzBRzkB6Pa

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) February 21, 2017

The US president did not give specifics on how he planned to combat hatred, saying only that “we’ll have various things coming out over a period of time, and you’ll see them as they come out and we’ll let you know exactly what they are.”

Shortly before Trump spoke, his defeated election rival, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, chastised him for his failure to denounce anti-Semitism.

In a Twitter post, Clinton wrote that “JCC threats, cemetery desecration & online attacks are so troubling & they need to be stopped,” adding that “everyone must speak out, starting w/ @POTUS” Trump.

JCC threats, cemetery desecration & online attacks are so troubling & they need to be stopped. Everyone must speak out, starting w/ @POTUS.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) February 21, 2017

Last week, Trump was asked during a news conference about the previous JCC bomb threats and what the government’s response would be to “an uptick in anti-Semitism.” Although the reporter did not suggest Trump was anti-Semitic, the president answered by denying he is an anti-Semite and called the question “insulting.” He ordered the reporter to sit down, and did not answer the question.

Jewish groups and political leaders have called on Trump to speak out against anti-Semitism, especially after the four waves of bomb threats called in to dozens of JCCs across the country in the past five weeks.

Eric Cortellessa contributed to this report.