Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and Chairman Mark Levenson, Esq. released the following statement:

The ZOA believes that it is wrong and tragic that ADL and ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, a former White House aide to President Barack H. Obama, demonized President Trump for something that the president should be praised for – the president’s exemplary defense of Jews and Israel from vile anti-Jewish hatred. We Jews should be grateful that Trump is making the rise and legitimization of official Jew-hatred and Israel-bashing a major issue that must be confronted. 

Tragically, ADL’s and Jonathan Greenblatt’s statements also downplayed the real, serious horrors of the “squad” of vicious, unrepentant anti-American, Jew-hating, anti-Israel Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC), etc.  ADL’s/Greenblatt’s recent statements moreover compounded Jonathan Greenblatt’s prior tweet, that wrongly praised Rep. Omar for purported “commitment to a more just world” and mischaractered Omar’s insincere, promptly-contradicted non-apology as an “honest apology.”

And at virtually the same time that ADL and Jonathan Greenblatt wrongly accused the president of “throwing around accusations of anti-Semitism,” ADL itself hurled an unwarranted “antisemitic dog whistle” accusation at pro-Israel Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO).   

In Jonathan Greenblatt’s recent NBC op-ed, Greenblatt wrongly accused President Trump of “invoking his support for Israel to justify his offensive comments.”  Similarly, an ADL press release wrongly accused the president of “using Israel and Jews as a shield.”  Also, both Greenblatt’s op-ed and ADL’s press release wrongly accused the president of “politicizing the widespread support for Israel and throwing around accusations of anti-Semitism,” and asserted that this “is damaging to the security of Israel and the Jewish community.”  

In fact, the President was defending Jews and Americans from vile antisemitism.  The president is not “using Israel and Jews as a shield.”  Rather, the president is shielding Israel and Jews!  The president’s willingness to stand up against Omar, Tlaib and AOC’s vicious Jew-hatred enhances the security of Israel and the Jewish community. ADL should thank the president for the stand he is taking against virulent antisemites. We should be grateful that President Trump is making these Congressmembers’ Jew-hating statements and positions a national, visible serious issue. 

Downplaying or remaining silent about these Congresswomen’s antisemitism and anti-Americanism is the real danger.  That’s what ADL should be focusing on. For such silence encourages and normalizes the Jew-hatred, Israel-hatred and America-hatred that these Congresswomen regularly spew.  

Tlaib, Omar, AOC are also not merely “liberal freshman members of Congress” – as ADL and Greenblatt identified them.  They are extremist, far left radical vicious Jew-haters and America-bashers. 

The President did not call out Tlaib, Omar, etc. because of their race or “who they are” – as ADL wrongly claimed.  The President called out Tlaib, Omar, AOC, etc., for what they say and do.  

Tlaib’s, Omar’s and AOC’s horrendous records include: all promoting anti-Jewish anti-Israel boycotts; opposing Israel’s existence; Tlaib cavorting with terrorists and antisemites; Omar falsely accusing Israel of “evil doings” and “hypnotizing the world”; demeaning and rewriting Holocaust history; Tlaib wrapping herself in the Palestinian flag to celebrate her election victory, and posing for a photo with a well-known Hezbollah terrorist group supporter after her official swearing-in ceremony (despite Hezbollah’s responsibility for the death of hundreds of Americans and Israelis); Omar belittling 9-11; Omar laughing about al Qaeda, Hezbollah and al Shabaab terrorists; Omar blaming supposed U.S. “involvement in other people’s affairs” for terrorism against innocent Americans; AOC falsely accusing Israel of committing a “massacre” against Gaza “protesters” when in fact the Palestinian-Arabs concerned were murderous Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives and rioters attempting to enter Israel to murder Jews; Omar endangering Americans by demanding reduced sentences for convicted Somali ISIS terrorists; and much more. 

President Trump’s condemnation of these anti-American Jew-haters and Israelophobes had nothing to do with Tlaib’s, Omar’s and AOC’s color or gender or religion. NOTHING.

If white male Episcopalians said similar things, Trump would have surely condemned them too.

In America, we dare not allow anyone to be immune from condemnation when he or she preaches and promotes bigotry and hatred.  Identifying as a woman, or Muslim, or “person of color” does not entitle someone to a “free pass” to hate and harm Jews and fellow Americans.

Additionally, ZOA believes that ADL’s and Jonathan Greenblatt’s multiple publications condemning President Trump’s tweet were disproportionate and way over-the-top.  It is tragic and shameful to attack a president who is such a great friend of the Jewish people in this manner.

President Trump is truly the best friend the Jewish people have ever had in the oval office. He moved the U.S. Embassy to Israel’s eternal capital Jerusalem; recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights; left the Israel-bashing UN Human Rights Council; closed the PLO/PA’s Washington office; stopped U.S. taxpayer funding to the terror-supporting Palestinian Authority and UNRWA; withdrew from the catastrophic Iran deal and sanctioned the Iranian terror regime’s leaders; demanded that the Palestinian Authority must end the PA’s incitement of terror and heinous payments to terrorists to murder Jews and Americans; deported the last-known Nazi concentration camp guard; made numerous strong statements against antisemitism, neo-Nazism and white supremacy (see Mort Klein testimony to the House Judiciary Committee, at pp. 20-24); is taking action against campus antisemitism; and more.

President Trump has also publicly strongly condemned, in the president’s own words: “the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans,” and dedicates significant funds and federal resources to combatting white supremacists. 

Yet, in Jonathan Greenblatt’s NBC op-ed, Greenblatt also unfairly attempted to tie the president to white supremacists.  And still another recent ADL press release, emphasized “White Supremacists, Extremists Celebrate President Trump’s Latest Racist Tweets.”  In a huge illogical leap, Greenblatt’s op-ed even appeared to tie Trump’s tweet to Jews being “gunned down in synagogues,” which Greenblatt blamed on a “widespread white supremacist belief that Jews are orchestrating caravans ferrying immigrants of color who threaten the existence and dominance of white people.”  

The Pittsburgh synagogue shooter indeed was a white supremacist who hated HIAS’s immigration work bringing in large numbers of Muslims. But ADL ignored that the shooter also hated President Trump because the Trump administration has Jewish members and advisers, which the shooter referred to as a “kike infestation.”  In other words, the shooter hated President Trump because Trump is not antisemitic and is not allied with white supremacists.

There have unfortunately been similar instances:

• When stalwart pro-Israel, pro-Jewish Congressman Louie Gohmert truthfully mentioned the damage George Soros has inflicted on Israel (Soros finances vicious anti-Israel NGOs) and Soros’ involvement in the Nazis’ removal of fellow Jews’ property during the Holocaust, ADL called Congressman Gohmert’s remarks “abhorrent” and “antisemitic” and “conspiracies.”  (See “ZOA to ADL: Apologize/Retract ADL’s ‘Abhorrent’ Attack Against Pro-Israel Cong. Gohmert,” Dec. 11, 2018.)

• ADL wrongly accused the pro-Israel Canary Mission of engaging in “Islamophobic and racist” rhetoric.  Canary Mission exposes and combats antisemitism and anti-Israel activities on U.S. college campuses – and surely did not deserve ADL’s attack.  (See “ZOA to ADL: Stop Attacks on Pro-Israel Groups/Leaders Who Combat Radical Islamists/Anti-Semites – Don’t Promote Groups Hostile to Israel,” Apr. 27, 2018.)  In that instance, ADL later announced that it regretted its attackon Canary Mission.  

We urge ADL to apologize for wrongly attacking the most pro-Israel President ever, President Trump and one of the most pro-Israel Congressman ever, Louis Gohmert.  

Esteemed journalist Caroline Glick discussed some of the above issues in an interview by Avi Abelow, entitled “President Trump is Amazing!,” which is worthwhile listening.  Here is a rough transcript of a few excerpts. (ZOA hopes to send out a fuller transcript):  

Caroline Glick:  “No president except Trump has recognized the intrinsic link between hatred of America and hatred of the Jews. . . . ”  

“ I think that people like Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the ADL, should be condemned by all right-thinking American Jews for saying what he [Greenblatt] said.  He [Greenblatt] said he was hiding behind Jews to hide his [Trump’s] racism. No.  Jews are being hounded by these women [Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and AOC], and by the political forces that they represent, who are taking over his party, the Democrat party.”  

 “So here’s this incredible antisemite, this incredible bigot [Tlaib], that said these things, and I don’t recall the ADL coming out and saying she [Tlaib] has to resign over it.  That her [Tlaib’s] fabrication, out of whole cloth, of history, is unacceptable and unforgiveable, that she’s going to be shunned from now on.  No, to the contrary, it’s President Trump that they’re [ADL is] shunning, it’s President Trump that [ADL is] they’re attacking. . . .”