Former US President Donald Trump posted a New Year’s message for liberal Jews, accusing them of destroying the US by voting for President Joe Biden. Trump boasted about his pro-Israel accomplishments, leading left-wing Jews to accuse him of antisemitism.
“Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed in false narratives,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, listing his pro-Israel accomplishments, including the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem and recognition of Israel’s sovereignty in the Golan Heights. In characteristic hyperbole, Trump claimed to have recognized Israel’s sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. In point of fact, his State Department acknowledged that Jewish settlements in the Biblical heartland did not contravene international law. While Trump’s post overstated this, his actions at the time were controversial and strengthened Israel’s case.
Trump shared a flier created by the group JEXIT, which advocates for Jewish voters to defect from the Democratic party. The flier cited several policies he implemented as president involving Israel, antisemitism, and Holocaust education and tells “liberal Jews” they “voted to destroy America & Israel because [they] believed false narratives!”
The post he shared read “Wake up Sheep – What Nazi/Antisemite ever did this for the Jewish people or Israel,” pushing back against claims that he is antisemitic. It should be noted that Trump’s daughter and son-in-law are Orthodox Jews, making this claim seem absurd. “
“Let’s hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward,” the former president also wrote, adding: “Happy New Year.”
While Trump is not antisemitic, he has criticized liberal Jews in the past. In 2024, he stated that liberal Jews do not appreciate him as much as they do in Israel and they should “reset themselves” and appreciate what they have in Israel “before it is too late.”
US Jews have historically supported the Democratic party, and 77% voted for Biden in the last election, compared to 21% who voted for Trump. But this contrasts sharply with US Orthodox Jews. A Pew survey reported that 60% of Orthodox Jews describe their political views as conservative, 75% identify as Republicans or lean toward the GOP, and 81% approved of Trump’s job performance at the time of the survey.
Trump’s post was quickly criticized by several Jewish groups. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called the message “dangerous and wrong” in a statement to Forbes and accused Trump of “playing into conspiracy theories about dual loyalty . . . on one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar.” It should be noted that while the ADL was created to counter antisemitism, Greenblatt, who served in the White House as Special Assistant to Barack Obama, has been accused of turning the organization into a mouthpiece for the Democratic Party and adopting liberal agendas that contradict Jewish values.
Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer highlighted Trump’s history of controversial statements about Jewish people and said his most recent post is a repeat of “the same depraved antisemitic threats & tropes.”
CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs Amy Spitalnick also called the post “antisemitic,” while the American Jewish Committee said the message “is deeply offensive and divisive” and urged “political candidates from the top to the bottom of the ballot to avoid incendiary rhetoric.”
