News

Jewish groups tell Trump he is 'not welcome' in Pittsburgh while he continues to target minorities

Jewish groups tell Trump he is 'not welcome' in Pittsburgh while he continues to target minorities

In the wake of the horrific antisemitic attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh, which claimed the lives of 11 people, a group of Jewish leaders have written an open letter to president Donald Trump.

The letter says that Trump is not welcome in Pittsburgh while he continues to fan the flames of white nationalism and make divisive statements about minorities.

Members of Bend the Arc, a progressive Jewish group, penned the declaration after what is believed to be the deadliest attack on Jewish people in US history.

The letter states:

For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement. You yourself called the murderer evil, but yesterday’s violence is the direct culmination of your influence.

Yesterday’s massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country.

Later in the text it accuses Trump of "deliberately undermining the safety of people of colour, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities".

The leaders tell Trump that he is not welcome in Pittsburgh until he stops "targeting and endangering all minorities".

The letter ends by explaining that, according to Jewish scriptures and texts, every human being is equal.

In our neighbours, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God.

While we cannot speak for all Pittsburghers, or even all Jewish Pittsburghers, we know we speak for a diverse and unified group when we say: president Trump, you are not welcome in Pittsburgh until you commit yourself to compassionate, democratic policies that recognise the dignity of all of us.

Read the full letter here

H/T: BuzzFeed

More: People think Trump's response to the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting is his lowest point yet

The Conversation (0)