Political Exploitation of the Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre
By Matthew M. Hausman
On Shabbat Vayeira, an anti-Semitic madman attacked a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA, killing eleven people and injuring several others. Those who turned on their televisions and computers that Saturday night were greeted with shock and horror. The killer had railed online about Jewish influence in the White House before stating he was “going in.” President Trump swiftly condemned the shooting and denounced the scourge of anti-Semitism, and his remarks sounded cogent and sincere. Nevertheless, Democratic politicians within hours began to heap blame on Trump, despite the killer’s posted statements of disdain for him because he “is surrounded by k*kes…” In somewhat cryptic fashion, Joe Biden seemed to impute responsibility to Trump by stating that “words matter” and “silence is complicity,” while Barack Obama and others swiftly usurped the tragedy to blame “gun violence” and implicitly smear Republicans before the midterm elections.


File photo: Homes in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.Emil Salman





