Trump is not an anti-Semite, but his words and actions have emboldened anti-Semites

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President Trump is not an anti-Semite, at least in the strict sense of the word. But you have to be living on another planet — or exclusively watching Fox News — to not realize that his words and actions have led to the worst outburst of anti-Semitic hate crimes in recent U.S. memory.

It’s no coincidence that there have been 68 bomb threats to 53 Jewish community centers in 26 states so far this year, according to the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America. Or that nearly 200 tombstones were vandalized at a Jewish Cemetery in Missouri, or that anti-Semitic talk is raging through U.S. social media.

Trump created this monster. While he probably harbors no ill feelings against Jewish people — he keeps reminding everybody that his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and married an Orthodox Jew — he has unleashed the dark forces of racism, xenophobia and intolerance among his followers since the first day of his presidential campaign.

And as a public figure, you can’t be anti-Mexican, or anti-Muslim, or make fun of the handicapped, or say that you can grab women by their genitals, without sending the message that it’s OK to deride minorities and unintentionally emboldening some of your followers to commit hate crimes.

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