Donald Trump has always said that he is a great friend to people of Jewish faith. How could he be anti-Semitic, Trump argues, his son-in-law Jared Kushner is Jewish and his daughter Ivanka converted when she married him.
But the president has also been slow to condemn his supporters who have anti-Semitic beliefs. After white supremacists marched in the city of Charlottesville, Virginia chanting “Jews will not replace us,” Trump famously referred to them as “very fine people.”
And now, it seems that some of Trump’s supporters associate his name with anti-Semitism and racism. A Jewish cemetery was recently defaced with vandals spray painting the name Trump on headstones.
Notably the incident took place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Trump will be holding the final rally on his campaign in Grand Rapids.
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The vandalism was first reported by the Anti-Defamation League of Michigan, who tweeted, “We are appalled by the reported desecration of gravestones at the Ahavas Israel Cemetery in Grand Rapids, MI. We are in close touch with the Jewish community and Law Enforcement to investigate this vandalism.”
We are appalled by the reported desecration of gravestones at the Ahavas Israel Cemetery in Grand Rapids, MI. We are in close touch with the Jewish community and Law Enforcement to investigate this vandalism. pic.twitter.com/mVeGrlsWxE
— ADL Michigan (@ADLMichigan) November 2, 2020
When reached for comment Rabbi David J.B. Krishef said, “It may just have been opportunistic vandalism against a cemetery which is isolated and hard to see from the road, on Halloween weekend, not an attack against the Jewish community. We don’t know. We have been in touch with the Grand Rapids Police and the Michigan ADL.”
Todd Neikirk is a New Jersey based politics and technology writer. His work has been featured in psfk.com, foxsports.com and hillreporter.com. He enjoys sports, politics, comic books and spending time at the shore with his family.
