Trump Avoids Jewish Reporter’s Question on How He Will Fight Anti-Semitism

By Elisa Meyer --
21 Feb 2017 --

President Trump tells Jewish reporter to “sit down” and be quiet.”

U.S. President shocked the world by snubbing a Jewish journalist by asking him to “sit down” and be “quiet” when the latter asked him a question about the rise in anti-Semitic feelings in the U.S. The Journalist, Jake Turx, is a Hasidic Jew who works for the Orthodox Jewish weekly, the Ami Magazine. Although Turx’s question was neither accusatory nor blaming, Trump took offence at his question and cut him short, leading to a spike in speculation over Trump’s alleged role in increasing anti-Semitism in the nation.

Trump Avoids Jewish Reporter’s Question on How He Will Fight Anti-Semitism[/tweetthis]

This was the first time a correspondent for the Jewish weekly had been invited to the White House. Turx had been very careful to not to irk the president by directly jumping into the issue of anti-Semitism. However, when he touched upon the subject, gently and subtly, the president quickly became curious and said it, “was not a fair question.”

Turx, however, wasn’t bent upon proving the president was anti-Semitic. In-fact, he says the allegations of anti-Semitism that are made against Trump are unfair and his only aim was to help clear the President’s name on this charge. Turx first pointed out to the president that despite what reports said, he himself had not seen anyone in his community who had accused him of promoting anti-Semitism. He also spoke about how Trump’s own daughter and grandchildren are Jewish, and used that as a justification to prove that Trump didn’t support anti-Semitism. An obviously pleased Trump nodded at this and thanked the journalist for his statements.

Trump calls Jewish reporter's question about anti-Semitism "very insulting," tells him to "sit down" https://t.co/oE5bam8Sbu
— Ben Gittleson (@bgittleson) February 16, 2017

What happened next, however, caught the journalist off-guard, shocking both, him as well as Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, editor of the magazine. Turx asked the president his views on the rise of anti-Semitism in the country, especially on the 48 bomb threats received by various Jewish centers as well as the crimes that occurred throughout the U.S. against Jews. Even as he was talking, Trump cut him short and asked him to sit down, calling the questions ‘unfair.’ When Turx tried to clarify himself, Trump even told him to keep quiet, saying he understood where the journalist was going. He also defended himself saying he is the least anti-Semitic and racist person.

Although Turx was upset, he defended Trump saying the president was reacting that way because he has been unfairly framed as an anti-Semitic leader. He also praised the president’s proactive efforts at reaching out to the Orthodox Jewish community.