This weekend, as the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah drew to a close, an attacker stormed the home of a rabbi in the Monsey neighborhood of New York City and stabbed at least five victims. That attacker, Thomas Grafton, has been taken into custody and is expected to be charged with five counts of attempted murder, but his attack is not alone. In recent days, there have been at least seven attacks targeting Jews in the New York City and surrounding New Jersey area, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has now spoken out to condemn the violence and support those suffering.
She shared:
‘Heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the stabbing in Monsey and the many recent anti-Semitic attacks in the NY metro area, especially during this holiday season. We must condemn and confront anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and hate wherever & whenever we see them.’
Heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the stabbing in Monsey and the many recent anti-Semitic attacks in the NY metro area, especially during this holiday season. We must condemn and confront anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry and hate wherever & whenever we see them.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) December 29, 2019
Trump has done no such thing. As this violence has unfolded, the best that President Donald Trump has come up with is what amounts to condemnation of the victims. Although he didn’t even cite the ongoing attacks, he complained on Saturday that it’s “sad to see that New York City and State are falling apart” and blamed that supposed decay on state authorities’ attention to holding him accountable for his documented corruption.
So sad to see that New York City and State are falling apart. All they want to do is investigate to make me hate them even more than I should. Governor Cuomo has lost control, and lost his mind. Very bad for the homeless and all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2019
Trump’s daughter Ivanka, who serves as a presidential adviser and herself previously converted to Judaism, did speak out more directly about the attacks, although she also mustered up complaints about the locals. She claimed that “anti-Semitic violence in New York (and around the country) receives far too little local governmental action and national press attention,” although New York authorities have been swift in announcing plans to take on the violence, which has unfolded in the city area following a Jersey City Kosher Supermarket shooting on December 10 in which four people were killed.
Attacks on Jewish New Yorkers were reported almost every single day this past week.
The increasing frequency of anti-Semitic violence in New York (and around the country) receives far too little local governmental action and national press attention.https://t.co/ZfpJL8Pghc
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) December 29, 2019
This past Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that police patrols would be increased in three Brooklyn neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, and following the Monsey stabbing attack, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that he is “directing the State Police hate crimes task force to… use every tool available to hold the attacker accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
Check out Twitter’s response to Pelosi.
