Jewish people fear scapegoating as Trump invokes antisemitism to justify crackdowns [View all]
Source: Axios
8 hours ago
President Trump's invocation of antisemitism to justify everything from slashing college funds to deporting student protestors risks making Jewish people scapegoats for his policies, community leaders warn.
The big picture: With antisemitism rising in the U.S., Trump's repressive crackdown could stoke further animus against Jews, Lauren Strauss, a professor of modern Jewish history at American University, told Axios.
"Antisemitism is on the lips of people who probably never used that word in their lives," Strauss, said. "It has entered the American political discourse in a way that really it never has before."
The administration is not providing tangible solutions to actual antisemitism, she added.
The Trump administration's actions "seen by many as violations of people's civil liberties are not the way to stem this tide, she added, "and to take that even further, could end up hurting the Jews and everyone else more than they help."
The White House declined to comment on the record.
Context: On Wednesday, the administration said it would screen immigrants' social media for antisemitic content as grounds for denying immigration requests. Trump's administration has cast pro-Palestinian activism as antisemitic.
The creators of Project 2025 pitched a plan, "Project Esther," last year that used anti-Israeli remarks as a reason to deport students with visas or green cards.
Trump has targeted colleges' federal funding over allegations of antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
Reality check: Trump, himself, has been accused of antisemitism in the past.
During his campaign, Trump called Jewish people who voted for Democrats fools.
He also used "Palestinian" as a slur against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is Jewish.
Meanwhile, antisemitic conspiracy theories have flooded popular pro-Trump, far-right podcasts.
Close Trump advisor Elon Musk has been criticized for what was widely viewed as a Nazi salute on the day of Trump's inauguration and his years of antisemitic claims.
Read more:
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/14/trump-antisemitism-scapegoat-immigration-universities
How you know they are doing EXACTLY THIS is their flippant response to the vile antisemitic attack against Josh Shapiro, his family, and one of the families he had invited to stay over for the night. And did so literally after the first day of Passover, where a Seder had taken place earlier in the very dining room that was essentially destroyed.