Is Trump a friend of Jews and the Jewish state?

Judge for yourself. Here are quotes from Deborah Lipstadt, the planet’s leading expert on the subject of antisemitism and the Holocaust. From the ‘Antisemitic Enablers’ chapter in her book, Antisemitism Here and Now. 

• “The simple fact is that Donald Trump was, and still seems to be, unwilling to castigate, much less mildly criticize, actions by the white supremacists, racists, and antisemites who voted for him and who continue to support him. Rather than be outraged by what they say and do, he enables and emboldens them because it serves his political purposes.”

• “Enabling antisemites is itself an antisemitic act that causes as much damage as something that comes from an ideological antisemite. When challenged, antisemitic enablers will often cite their personal relations with Jews.”

• “Trump has not created these white supremacist extremist groups or the sentiments to which they adhere. But he has let these reprehensible genies out of the bottle. They are convinced that they have his imprimatur. And he has not disabused them of that notion.”

• “Trump’s ambiguous relationship to antisemitism extended beyond his social media activities…the rambling, slightly incoherent nature of the answer aside, he never expressed any contempt for antisemites and racists.”

• “His response in the summer of 2017 to the terrible events in Charlottesville, Virginia, was more troubling. A few hours after the demonstrations Trump condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides.” Many sides? His equation of the neo-Nazi, KKK, and white supremacist marchers with those who had come to protest against them left even Trump’s political allies distressed. Only one side carried Confederate flags and flags with Nazi-like and swastika-inspired symbols. Only one side shouted racist and antisemitic insults. The only fatality was caused by a self-proclaimed white supremacist. Why was Trump suggesting that there was a moral equivalency between racists and the counter-demonstrators?”

• “The next day, at a news conference, he brought up Charlottesville again and reverted to an evenhanded approach. “You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.” He then added that there were “very fine people” marching with the white supremacist protesters.”

• “The thematic elements upon which Trump relies plays on traditional antisemitic stereotypes of the “international Jew” who dominates global financial institutions. He reinforced this notion a few days later in his campaign’s final television ad. The ad featured Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and three Jews: financier George Soros, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, and Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

As their images flashed onto the screen, Trump’s voice could be heard thundering: “The establishment has trillions of dollars at stake in this election for those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special interests. They partner with these people who don’t have your good in mind.” The word “Jew” did not have to appear in the ad for the insinuation that Clinton was an ally of a cabal of greedy global Jewish capitalists to register with white supremacists and nationalists.

Irrespective of how Trump intended it, his white supremacist and antisemitic supporters heard all this as a ringing endorsement.”

• “Locating the white supremacists who were considered social media “influencers,” Fortune discovered that a significant number of Trump campaign workers followed the leading #WhiteGenocide influencers. The study concluded that “the data shows… that Donald Trump and his campaign used social media to court support within the white supremacist community, whether intentionally or unintentionally.”

• “Trump and those around him did more than signal to these white supremacists that their comments were acceptable. They amplified their sites. In January 2016, then candidate Trump retweeted a message from an anonymous Nazi sympathizer and white supremacist who uses the twitter handle @White Genocide TM. His profile contained a link to a pro-Adolf Hitler documentary and his site featured a photograph with red lettering proclaiming “Get the F- Out of My Country” with the location of “Jewmerica.”

• “In the summer of 2016, candidate Trump retweeted an image of Hillary Clinton in front of piles of money and alongside a six-pointed star on which were emblazoned the words “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever.” The message seemed relatively unambiguous: Clinton had close connections with crooked Jews. When they were criticized for posting this image, the Trump campaign quickly changed the star to a circle, even as they contended that the star was actually a sheriff’s star (which can variously appear with either five or six points).  More telling than the image itself was the fact that it originated with a group that has a long history of posting racist, antisemitic messages.”

• Equally disturbing were Trump’s remarks at a rally shortly before the election. He proclaimed that his campaign was a message for “those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special interests.” This was a “global power structure that is responsible for the economic decisions that have robbed our working class, stripped our country of its wealth, and put that money into the pockets of a handful of large corporations and political entities.” According to Trump, those behind this cabal were “international banks [that) plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers. The thematic elements upon which Trump relied played on traditional antisemitic stereotypes of the “inter-national Jew” who dominates global financial institutions.”

• “During the presidential campaign Trump used classic antisemitic stereotyping in a speech he delivered to the Republican Jewish Coalition. He left his audience reeling when he asked, “Is there anyone in this room who doesn’t renegotiate deals? Probably ninety-nine percent of you [do renegotiate]. Probably more than any room I’ve ever spoken in… I’m a negotiator, like you folks.” And then:

“But you’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money…. You want to control your own politicians.” In those few sentences, Trump hit almost every millennial-old antisemitic stereotype: Jews have an unnatural desire for money, power, control, and haggling, and an innate deviousness (rene-gotiating a deal after it is made).'”

• “The fact that he could be so tone-deaf to antisemitic stereotypes left many people baffled. It reminded me of Franklin Foer’s observation that philosemites are antisemites who like Jews.”