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Trump Under Fire After Claiming Jewish Democratic Party Voters ‘Hate Their Religion, Hate Israel’
Former US President Donald Trump is seen at a campaign event in South Carolina. Photo: Reuters/Sam Wolfe
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump encountered a firestorm of criticism on Tuesday after he claimed that American Jews who vote for the Democratic Party “hate” both their religion and the State of Israel.
Deploying the inflammatory rhetoric that is his trademark, Trump made the comments during an appearance on a show anchored by Sebastian Gorka, who served as a White House aide during the former president’s single term in office between 2016-20, on the far right “America First” network. The timing of the interview coincided with growing tensions between President Joe Biden’s administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s conduct in its current war against Hamas in Gaza, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urging Israelis to demand an election to remove Netanyahu in a speech last week.
After Gorka effusively praised Trump as “the most pro-Israel, most philosemitic president since the rebirth of Israel in 1948,” citing the decision to move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as evidence for his claim, he asked why the Democrats “so hate” Netanyahu.
“I actually think they hate Israel,” Trump responded, drawing an enthused “yes” from Gorka.
“Any Jewish person that votes for the Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel and they should be ashamed of themselves, because Israel will be destroyed,” Trump continued. “You have Iran now making a nuclear weapon, none of that would have happened with me, that’s a big thing.”
Trunp then stated that during his term in office, Iran was “stone cold broke” due to US and international sanctions. He added that “there was no terrorism, because they [the Iranian regime] didn’t have money to fund Hamas and Hezbollah.”
The assertion that there was “no terrorism” directed against Israel during Trump’s presidency does not stand up to scrutiny. State Department reports issued during each of his four years in the White House uniformly noted that Israel faced consistent threats from Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, ISIS and other terrorist organizations, and listed numerous terrorist incidents from stabbings of Israeli civilians to missile launches against Israeli population centers.
The report for 2018 included details of the weekly “return marches” staged by Palestinians along Israel’s security fence on its border with Gaza, noting that these “drew tens of thousands of people. Armed terrorists breached the security fence, launched incendiary devices into Israel, and threw stones and other objects at IDF soldiers. Additionally, sniper attacks injured IDF forces and resulted in the death of at least one IDF soldier. Since April, militants sent hundreds of incendiary devices into southern Israel by kite and balloon, resulting in more than 7,000 acres burned, including a forest preserve and numerous farmed fields.”
Trump’s latest remarks drew an angry response from several US Jewish organizations, including the charge of “antisemitism” — one with which the former president is familiar both from his time in office and afterwards. He attracted strong opprobrium for a Nov. 2022 dinner he hosted with antisemitic rapper Kanye West and the American Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, and again in Sept. 2023, when Trump used the occasion of Rosh Hashanah to attack “liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed false narratives” on social media.
“Accusing Jews of hating their religion because they might vote for a particular party is defamatory and patently false,” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “Serious leaders who care about the historic US-Israel alliance should focus on strengthening, rather than unraveling, bipartisan support for the State of Israel.”
“Another day, another depraved antisemitic screed from Donald Trump, who has repeatedly vilified the overwhelming majority of American Jews,” Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, separately declared.
The White House also condemned the remarks, referring to the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel in a statement.
“As antisemitic crimes and acts of hate have increased across the world — among them the deadliest attack committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust — leaders have an obligation to call hate what it is and bring Americans together against it,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said. “There is no justification for spreading toxic, false stereotypes that threaten fellow citizens.”
US Jews have historically voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Democratic Party. In 2016, Trump won just 24 percent of the Jewish vote, rising to 30 percent in his failed 2020 bid for re-election. However, several past Republican candidates fared equally or better with American Jewish voters, among them Ronald Reagan, who won 39 percent in 1980, George H.W. Bush, who won 35 percent in 1988, and Mitt Romney, who won 30 percent in 2012.
Monday’s comments during the interview with Gorka came at the close of a difficult day for Trump’s presidential campaign after his lawyers conceded defeat in their attempts to raise a bond of almost half a billion dollars in his ongoing civil fraud case in New York. The state’s attorney general, Letitia James, brought Trump to trial last year, accusing him of fraudulently inflating the value of his assets to obtain favorable loan terms. In total, Trump presently faces four separate criminal prosecutions.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
The post Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Melbourne Police Investigate Wave of Antisemitic Attacks, Including Synagogue Arson
Illustrative. Vandals defaced the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Australia on June 22, 2025. Photo: Screenshot
i24 News – A wave of antisemitic incidents across Melbourne is under urgent investigation by Victoria Police, after a synagogue was set alight, a Jewish-owned restaurant targeted by protesters, and a third attack saw multiple cars torched at a business in the city’s northeast.
The third incident occurred around 4:30 a.m. Saturday at a business on Para Road in Greensborough. Offenders set fire to three vehicles and sprayed graffiti on both the cars and a nearby building wall. One car was destroyed, and two others sustained moderate damage.
“There were references of antisemitism in the graffiti,” Dunstan confirmed, adding that the business had previously been linked to pro-Palestinian activism.
While police say no direct link between the three incidents has been established yet, they are not ruling out the possibility of coordination.
The attacks began Friday night, when a man was seen pouring a flammable liquid on the entrance of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation and setting it alight around 8 p.m., while around 20 people were inside for Shabbat services. Worshipers quickly evacuated through the back, and the fire was contained to the front of the building. No injuries were reported.
Police have released an image of a suspect believed to be in his 30s, of Caucasian appearance, with a beard and long hair.
Just hours after the synagogue arson, a protest of around 70 people moved through Swanston Street before a smaller group gathered outside Miznon, a popular Jewish-owned restaurant in the CBD, chanting offensive slogans. One man was arrested and later released on summons for hindering police.
In response to the series of attacks, federal agencies including the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) have joined the investigation.
“This is disgraceful behavior by a pack of cowards,” said Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. “Any attack on a place of worship is an act of hate. Any attack on a Jewish place of worship is an act of antisemitism. There should be no hesitation in calling this what it is.”
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Trump Says Iran Has Not Agreed to Inspections, Give Up Enrichment
US President Donald Trump speaks at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not pictured), at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium.
He told reporters aboard Air Force One that he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump said he would discuss Iran with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits the White House on Monday.
“I would say it’s set back permanently,” Trump said as he traveled to New Jersey after an Independence Day celebration at the White House. “I would think they’d have to start at a different location. And if they did start, it would be a problem.”
Trump said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff deepens over their return to the country’s nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel.
The U.S. and Israel say Iran was enriching uranium to build nuclear weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in a 12-day war with the Islamic Republic three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran’s facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.
Iran’s parliament has passed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency’s inspectors will be able to return to Iran.
Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.
The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran’s three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran’s nine tons of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg (880 pounds) enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.
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