Head of Jewish human rights group denounces Bannon appointment

Rabbi Jill Jacobs, head of the left-wing T’ruah human rights organization, denounces President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to name Steve Bannon, an accused anti-Semite, as the White House chief strategist.

“Bannon’s open promotion of white supremacists who propagate racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric disqualifies him for a position of power in the United States, whose strength lies in its diversity,” Jacobs says in a statement.

“At a moment in which supporters of the president-elect feel emboldened to carry out daily hate crimes against people of color, Jews, Muslims, immigrants, LGBTQ people, women and other minorities, Bannon must not be permitted to assume a position as a public servant,” she says, referring to the over 200 cases of election-related harassment documented by the Southern Poverty Law Center.