Op/Ed: Trump Doesn't Understand How Anti-Semitism Works. Neither Do Most Americans.

It’s long past time we figure it out.

By Jeffrey Herf | The Washington Post 

"On the evening after the deadliest act of violence against American Jews, President Trump said that Jews had 'endured terrible persecution' for centuries: 'You know that. We have all read it. We have studied it.'"

"But his response to the horrific news that a gunman had killed 11 people and wounded six at Shabbat services at Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh made it clear that Trump doesn’t actually understand the nature of anti-Semitism at all.

"After the shooting, on the airport tarmac on his way to speak to the National FFA Organization, Trump didn’t utter a single word about anti-Semitism. Instead, he resorted to the talking points of the National Rifle Association regarding the need for armed guards in the synagogue, as if an armed guard with a pistol could have been a match for this lunatic armed, yet again, with an AR-15-style assault rifle. (It’s worth noting here that three armed police officers were injured.)"

Read the complete Op/Ed in The Washington Post. 

Image by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP.