A week after slamming Donald Trump for his cowardly reaction to rising anti-Semitism in the United States, the Anne Frank Center has called on the president to act following an attack on a Jewish cemetery near St. Louis and then another in Philadelphia:
Jewish graves in Philadelphia now vandalized. Stop this incubator of #Antisemitism and other hate. WE BEG YOU @POTUS @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/RHuIjdE2Yg
— AnneFrankCenter(US) (@AnneFrankCenter) February 26, 2017
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Watch the report courtesy of CNN:
Another Jewish cementary has been vandalized, Anne Frank Center calls for White House to take action https://t.co/J3l861PPMi
— New Day (@NewDay) February 27, 2017
Donald Trump, who draws so much support from his anti-Semitic, white supremacist base, has been reluctant to upset his followers by defending Jews from these increasingly violent acts, from bomb threats to vandalism. Over 150 tombstones were damaged in the first attack and at least 100 in the second. A nearby Christian cemetery was untouched.
In fact, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) documented over one thousand “Bias-related incidents” in the first month following the election, including over 100 swastikas and “scores” of bomb threats against Jewish community centers in just the last month.
The Anne Frank Center wants Donald Trump to speak out against anti-Semitism. He is unlikely to do so. Trump’s popularity continues to sink as his disapproval rating climbs, and he is more reliant than ever on the very people who promote this kind of behavior.
Trump’s crowd in Melbourne, Florida, was smaller than earlier crowds there, only highlighting his problems. If he were to disavow this demographic, his next such rally would be given only to his cheering staff.
Hrafnkell Haraldsson, a social liberal with leanings toward centrist politics has degrees in history and philosophy. His interests include, besides history and philosophy, human rights issues, freedom of choice, religion, and the precarious dichotomy of freedom of speech and intolerance. He brings a slightly different perspective to his writing, being that he is neither a follower of an Abrahamic faith nor an atheist but a polytheist, a modern-day Heathen who follows the customs and traditions of his Norse ancestors. He maintains his own blog, A Heathen’s Day, which deals with Heathen and Pagan matters, and Mos Maiorum Foundation www.mosmaiorum.org, dedicated to ethnic religion. He has also contributed to NewsJunkiePost, GodsOwnParty and Pagan+Politics.