IDF ethicist calls Trump a ‘disgrace to the democratic world’
President-elect is a sign of 'brutalization sweeping through civil society,' warns philosopher Asa Kasher
A noted Israeli scholar who penned the IDF’s code of ethics warned Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump represents a catalog of moral and social ills that are sweeping across the world’s democracies.
Trump’s campaign rhetoric was laced with statements offending various minority groups, and as candidate he was trailed by a series of sexual assault claims that came out after the publication of a recording from several years earlier in which Trump was heard bragging that he had groped women without consent.
In a post to his Facebook page, philosopher Asa Kasher offered “four sentences on the US elections.”
“The world is filling with congratulations to Mr. Trump on his election as the next president of the United States,” Kasher wrote. “I ask of anyone who writes an Israeli greeting to not congratulate Trump in my name.
“This man is the clear product of the processes of brutalization that are sweeping through the civil society of democratic countries — racism, hatred, aggression, violence against women, deceit, serial sexual assault, serial bankruptcy, and extreme rudeness.
Trump won the US presidency. (AFP PHOTO / Timothy A. CLARY)
“It is a disgrace to the democratic world that the man who stands at its head is the embodiment of a foolish kick to morality and ethics,” he concluded.
Known for authoring the IDF code of conduct, Kasher has written influential works on Israel as a Jewish and democratic state and a defense of the Law of Return.
Following Trump’s victory in the US elections on Tuesday, world leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a host of Israeli political figures, sent their congratulations to the Republican leader.
Some leaders hedged their responses to Trump with messages showing their concern over his controversial campaign. German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Trump “close cooperation” but said ties would be based on the shared values of their liberal democracies, while French President Francois Hollande warned of an “uncertain future.”
Netanyahu described Trump as “a true friend of the State of Israel” and said “we will work together to advance security, stability and peace in our region.”
Raoul Wootliff and AFP contributed to this report.