opinion
By Jonathan S. Tobin
I f pro-Israel Republicans think former President
Donald Trump will apologize or make amends
in any way for choosing to have a public dinner
at his Mar-a-Lago resort home with two notorious
antisemites, they haven’t been paying attention to
how he has conducted his public career.

And if they think they can weather this contro-
versy by trying to divert attention from what he’s
done by pointing to the way their Democrat oppo-
nents tolerate and even support antisemitism on
the left, they’re equally delusional.

Trump’s dinner date with Kanye West and Nick
Fuentes constitutes a turning point for his Jewish
supporters and Republicans in general. Up until
now, almost all of the attempts by Democrats
to accuse him of antisemitism or of encouraging
Jew-hatred have been highly partisan charges that
didn’t stand up to scrutiny.

After all, Trump didn’t actually say the neo-Nazis
who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017
were “very fine people” or anything like that. Nor
are his complaints about Jewish voters not reward-
ing him for his historic support for Israel antisemitic,
as those who twist his entirely factual comments
into a charge of dual loyalty have tried to assert.

He not only consistently condemned antisemitism
but did far more to combat it on American college
campuses than any other president.

Combine all that with his close family ties to
Jews, the case for damning Trump as an antisemite
or an ally of antisemites simply didn’t hold water.

And no one who wasn’t already convinced that he
was the spawn of the devil believed a word of it.

But after the Mar-a-Lago dinner, it’s no longer
possible to ignore the issue. And it’s incumbent on
those who have staunchly defended him until now
to do the hard thing and concede that he has now
done something they wouldn’t forgive or forget if
it had been a Democratic president or former one
who did it.

To their credit, the Zionist Organization of America,
which gave Trump its highest award at its New York
City dinner earlier this month, did “deplore” his
remarks. His former lawyer, David Friedman, who
served as U.S. ambassador to Israel from 2017-2021,
also tweeted his dismay, and called for his former
boss to disavow West and Fuentes.

But the problem here is not just that Trump has
granted an unwarranted legitimacy to both West
and the even more vile Fuentes. It’s that we all
know that Trump will never walk this back or make
the sort of apology that could help to ameliorate
16 DECEMBER 1, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Like it or not, Trump has
almost certainly
ensured that tolerance
for antisemites on the
far-right will become an
issue in the 2024
Republican primaries.

the harm he’s done.

Trump doesn’t believe in apologies.

Part of this stems from a savvy appreciation of
how to deal with gaffes or kerfuffles that, in most
cases, he made deliberately in order to gain atten-
tion or simply to generate outrage among media
and political-establishment foes.

In this case, however, there can be no moving beyond
an incident about which he can’t pretend he wasn’t
aware of the consequences. Nor can it be put down as
just another instance of liberals trying to enforce polit-
ical correctness with cancel-culture tactics.

To those who might say the dinner is no big deal,
the context here is everything. Trump may know
West and had hosted him in the White House. But,
as questionable as his outreach to the mentally
unstable rapper/fashion mogul who has been
diagnosed with bipolar disorder was then, it’s inde-
fensible now.

Trump should have steered clear of any public
connection with such a toxic and destructive per-
sonality under any circumstances. But this isn’t a
routine month for Trump; he just announced his
candidacy for the Republican presidential nomina-
tion in 2024.

And he has spent a disproportionate amount
of time since then seeking to shore up Jewish
support, as was indicated by his last-minute deci-
sion to make a virtual appearance at the annual
Republican Jewish Coalition conference only days
before his tête-à-tête with the two antisemites.

It’s one thing for him to gripe about Jews
who don’t prioritize Israel’s security voting for
Democrats, rather than him or any Republican. It’s
quite another to do so while associating with a
celebrity who is using his influence with the public
to mainstream antisemitism.

Nor do Trump’s excuses about not knowing who
Fuentes was excuse his meeting. As pundit Ben
Shapiro tweeted, the best way to avoid a meeting
with an antisemite whom you don’t know is to
avoid contact with one whom you do.

Moreover, it’s not as if Trump is unfamiliar with
some of the controversies in which Fuentes and his
extremist followers (called “Groypers”) have been
involved. Fuentes was the focus of controversy in
2019, when conservative pundit Michelle Malkin’s
support for the YouTube personality/Holocaust
denier led the Young America Foundation — a
group founded by conservative icon William F.

Buckley — to cut ties with her.

The meeting will help Fuentes, a participant in
both the 2017 Charlottesville disgrace and “Stop the
Steal” rally on Jan. 6, 2021, in his effort to work his
way into the mainstream. It will also encourage West
to continue with his efforts to speak out on public
affairs, rather than seek treatment for his problems.

What this means is that, barring the unlikely
event of a full apology and condemnation of West
and Fuentes from Trump, no Jewish conservative
or Republican can possibly support him again. His
accomplishments as president earned him grat-
itude, but not a lifetime get-out-of-jail-free card
with respect to actions that aid antisemites.

Nor should the censure of Trump be diluted by
the typical whataboutism of citing the bad behav-
ior of Democrats.

What’s worse is the likelihood that some of
Trump’s devoted supporters will now, as they
invariably do, not only dismiss the meeting with
West and Fuentes as unimportant, but also dispute
the pair’s culpability as spreaders of hate.

That is something that will not only add fuel to the
fire of the already growing problem of antisemitism.

It will also likely become part of the debate about
Trump’s presidential campaign, as his true believers
bash Jews who support his GOP rivals as ingrates.

Like it or not, Trump has almost certainly ensured
that tolerance for antisemites on the far-right will
become an issue in the 2024 Republican primaries.

What is also clear is that there is no longer a
reasonable argument to be made for continued
support for Trump based on his stand on Jewish
issues. Understanding this is going to be hard for
many Jews who have become deeply invested in
him and in burnishing his legacy. But unless he
miraculously learns how to admit fault, anyone
who clings to him can’t pretend to be serious about
opposing antisemitism. JE
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish
News Syndicate).

“[Photographer Name]/[Collection Name]/Getty Images.

Trump’s Jewish Supporters Must
Condemn, Disavow Him



feature
JEWISH PLAYERS AND STORYLINES
TO WATCH IN 2022 WORLD CUP
Jacob Gurvis | JTA
Grass, Thomas-Soellner / iStock / Getty Images Plus; Ball,romakoshel / iStock / Getty Images Plus
IT’S A WORLD CUP like no other in recent memory.

Th at’s because it’s taking place in Qatar, where
temperatures don’t usually fall under 80 degrees
Fahrenheit. Th e headlines going in have been focused on the
country’s widely criticized human-rights record. Th e
preparations for the fi rst World Cup hosted in the
Arab world have taken years to complete, have cost
more than $200 billion and, according to human-
rights organizations around the world, have led to the
deaths of thousands of migrant workers.

Qatar also has no diplomatic relations with Israel,
leaving its fans in a somewhat tense situation.

But beneath these headlines, there are other Jewish
angles to the world’s biggest sports spectacle.

AMERICA HAS TWO JEWISH PLAYERS
Jewish professional men’s soccer players from the United
States who compete on the world stage are a rare phe-
nomenon. But this year, the U.S. men’s national team has
two on its roster, including the likely starting goalie.

Matt Turner, a 28-year-old New Jersey native who
didn’t seriously begin playing soccer until he was 14,
struggled to prove himself through high school, college
and the start of his professional career.

Aft er going undraft ed in Major League Soccer, he
joined the New England Revolution in 2016. In 2020,
Turner ascended to the upper echelon of the sport’s goal-
keepers. He’s now the backup keeper for Arsenal F.C., one
of the top clubs in England’s Premier League.

Turner’s father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic, but
he identifi es more with the Jewish tradition, according to
a profi le in Th e Athletic. Turner’s great-grandparents fl ed
Europe during World War II because they were Jewish;
once they arrived at Ellis Island, they changed their name
to Turner, he explained on soccer journalist Grant Wahl’s
podcast. Turner obtained Lithuanian citizenship in 2020.

His teammates playing defense include DeAndre
Yedlin, a Seattle native who was raised Jewish but
has said he practices Buddhism. Yedlin has a large
Hebrew tattoo on his right shoulder in honor of his
great-grandparents. Yedlin, who is of African-American, Native American
and Latvian heritage, is in his fi rst year of a four-year
contract with the MLS team Inter Miami aft er spending
fi ve seasons with the Premier League’s Newcastle United.

He is the only player on the U.S. roster with World Cup
experience; he served a bench role in 2014.

While Yedlin’s playing time this year may not be
much diff erent, his off -fi eld presence is seen as an
asset. “He’s a glue guy,” USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter said.

“He’s there for the team; he creates atmosphere for the
team. Sometimes, he’s a shoulder to cry on or to talk to.

Other times, he’s a motivator.”
(A third member of the U.S. team, forward Brendan
Aaronson, is not Jewish but occasionally gets questions
about his background due to his Ashkenazi-sounding
surname.) Clockwise, from top:
Jose Pekerman
Andres Cantor
Matt Turner
DeAndre Yedlin
Robbie Jay Barratt, AMA/Getty Images
Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images
John Dorton/ISI Photos/Getty Images
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM 17