CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd is correct when she says there is an alarming anti-Semitism problem in the United States. Just look at the (latest) attack on Jews in New York City over the weekend, where a hate-filled suspect stabbed multiple guests at a Hanukkah party. But where Vinograd may lose people is when she blames this cancerous growth on President Trump.
Vinograd recently commended the work that governors and mayors are doing at the local level to protect Jewish communities, singling out New York leaders Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio for some particular praise.
Despicable partisanship masquerading as objective analysis. Former Obama official/@CNN analyst @Sam_Vinograd just hailed Cuomo & de Blasio for their actions to thwart anti-Semitism in New York, but blamed Trump for not doing enough & "propagating anti-Semitic narratives" pic.twitter.com/bmODlwO9VR
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) December 30, 2019
Cuomo and de Blasio, she noted, are helping to "integrate more educational aspects into their curricula."
But, Vinograd regrets, "we have not seen the U.S. government address the lessons of countering extremism in a really strategic way and I do not understand why."
She elaborated on her quarrel with President Trump on this issue.
"President Trump has the authority and the ability to call together a whole government approach on this issue and he has failed to do so, while concurrently and unfortunately at the same time really propagating some anti-Semitic narratives," she said.
Vinograd may have been referring to Trump's speech before the Israeli American Council in which he joked that Jews "have no choice" but to vote for him in 2020. Mayor de Blasio also chose to point fingers at Trump, alleging that his hateful rhetoric has prompted some of these attacks.
But, as they say, actions speak louder than words. Vinograd's criticism comes just a few weeks after Trump signed an historic executive order that will expand Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to better protect Jewish students on college campuses. The anti-Semitic incidents on American campuses have been especially troubling these last few years.
He also moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, just to name a few other pro-Israel action items.
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