No excuse for Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, say Republicans in Israel
Conservative organization says presidential front-runner’s inflammatory remarks are contrary to American values
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The Republicans in Israel organization Tuesday denounced remarks made by presidential candidate Donald Trump about Islam on Monday, who called for a complete ban on Muslims from entering the United States.
There is no excuse for Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim statements, the group’s co-chair Kory Bardash told The Times of Israel on Tuesday. “Trump’s comments are diametrically opposed to everything American stands for. And the statement should be rightly condemned by all.”
The Republican presidential frontrunner raised a furor across a wide swath of the American population — with critics ranging from GOP rival Jeb Bush to President Barack Obama — for advocating a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
Fellow Republican Paul Ryan also spoke out against the remarks in a press conference on Tuesday, saying comments like Trump’s are “not who we are as a party” and violate the Constitution.
“This is not conservatism. Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islam terror are Muslims,” Ryan told reporters.
American Jewish groups lambasted Donald Trump’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the United States, with the Anti-Defamation League condemning the remarks as “deeply offensive.”
“In the Jewish community, we know all too well what can happen when a particular religious group is singled out for stereotyping and scapegoating,” ADL chief Jonathan A. Greenblatt wrote in a statement Monday evening. “We also know that this country must not give into fear by turning its back on its fundamental values, even at a time of great crisis. As we have said so many times, to do otherwise signals to the terrorists that they are winning the battle against democracy and freedom.”
Undeterred by criticism, Trump on Tuesday stood by his call to block all Muslims from entering the United States, even as the idea was widely condemned by rival Republican presidential candidates, party leaders and others as un-American.
Trump defended his plan for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” by comparing it with US President Franklin Roosevelt’s decision to inter Japanese Americans during World War II.
“This is a president who was highly respected by all,” Trump said Tuesday. “If you look at what he was doing, it was far worse.”
The Times of Israel Community.