Jews In America: Ivanka Trump Calls For Religious Tolerance After JCC Threats But What About Muslim Ban?
Ivanka Trump made a statement Monday on Twitter to show her support for the Jewish community after 11 Jewish Community Centers received bomb threats on Presidents Day. The JCCs in Birmingham, Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Paul, Tampa, Chicago, Tulsa, Houston, Buffalo and Nashville were evacuated in response to the threats.
No injuries were reported. The centers were reopened after investigators did not find any explosive device. The recent threats follow the FBI's hate crime investigation last month when about 60 threats were received by JCCs.
President Donald Trump has not yet commented on the latest incident. Trump has been criticized for being slow in responding to anti-Semitic comments. At two press conferences last week, reporters raised questions about Jewish safety in America and the rise of anti-Semitism.
At the press conference held Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump's response did not directly address how the administration would deal with the rising number of hate crimes and anti-Semitic incidents in the country, but he did mention his daughter's faith. Ivanka Trump converted to Orthodox Judaism when she was 27 years old before getting married to Jared Kushner.
"I will say that we are going to have peace in this country. We are going to stop crime in this country. We are going to do everything within our power to stop long-simmering racism and every other thing that's going on. There's a lot of bad things that have been taking place over a long period of time. As far as people, Jewish people, so many friends; a daughter who happens to be here right now; a son-in-law, and three beautiful grandchildren. I think that you're going to see a lot different United States of America over the next three, four, or eight years. I think a lot of good things are happening. And you're going to see a lot of love. You're going to see a lot of love," he reportedly said.
In the press conference Trump held Thursday for the announcement of his pick for labor secretary, he also answered questions related to anti-Semitism.
"Number one, I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life. Number two, racism, the least racist person. In fact, we did very well relative to other people running as a Republican," he reportedly said.
A presidential executive order on immigration last month temporarily barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. Several users on social media said Tuesday that Trump's policies ran contradictory to his oldest daughter's latest tweet.
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