WASHINGTON (EJP)—“We call upon all American leaders, whatever their political affiliations, led by President Trump, to specifically condemn the extreme alt-right and white nationalists who sow seeds of hate, distrust and violence,” said Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper — the dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) following violence perpetrated by supremacist demonstrators in Charlottesville over the weekend.
The violent demonstrations left one dead and dozens wounded in a car ramming attack.
Neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups seeking to preserve Confederate iconography and “Christian heritage” in the American South organized a march on the college town of Charlottesville over the weekend, where roughly 6,000 participants – virtually all white, and mostly male – chanted anti-Semitic slogans, hailed Hitler and flew flags with swastikas, stars and bars. The targets of their signs and slogans were Jews, African-Americans and immigrants of color.
Clashes turned violent once counterprotesters encountered the hateful gang.
“They and all other extremists, left or right, have no place in the mainstream of our nation,” the SDC leaders stated.
“It is utterly distressing and repugnant that such hatred and bigotry still run rampant in parts of this country,” declared World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder.
‘’There is no place in our democratic society for such violence and intolerance. We must be vigilant and united in our opposition to such abhorrence.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described the event as “the largest and most violent gathering of white supremacists in decades.”
ADL’s CEO Jonathan A.Greenblatt urged President Donald Trump to “clearly denounce white supremacy in all forms”, to take action and to more clearly and unequivocally denounce neo-Nazis, white supremacists and anti-Semitism. ADL was due to convene a media briefing conference call on Monday to discuss concerns about the manifestations of anti-Semitism, racism and hate on full display at the so-called “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.
“This is a moment that demands moral leadership. President Trump should acknowledge that this is not a matter of equivalence between two sides with similar gripes. There is no rationalizing white supremacy and no room for this vile bigotry. It is un-American and it needs to be condemned without hesitation,” Greenlatt said.
ADL was due to outline a series of steps the administration should take now to address the threat of far-right extremism in the U.S. as these movements are gearing up for future mobilizations against the supremacists.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center said the car-ramming attack ‘’should be treated as a deliberate act of terrorism.”
In a tweet addressed to President Trump, the American Jewish Committee said, “Time for moral clarity. Condemning ‘hatred, bigotry & violence on many sides’ blurs truth & gives pass to neo-Nazi perpetrators.”
Senior Trump administration officials have characterized the killing of a 32 year-old woman at the white supremacist rally as an act of domestic terrorism, and the event precipitating her death as one motivated by hatred and bigotry, amid questions from Republican lawmakers over the president’s refusal to address the racist nature of the event.