'Not Welcome:' Jewish Group Demands Trump Make a Move

Open letter calls on Trump to denounce white nationalism or stay out of Pittsburgh
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 29, 2018 6:41 AM CDT
Updated Oct 29, 2018 7:02 AM CDT
Jewish Group to Trump: Denounce White Nationalism
Stars of David with the names of four of the 11 people killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue are seen outside the temple Sunday.   (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

President Trump denounced the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh as "pure evil" and an "assault on humanity." Not good enough, say the leaders of a Jewish group in the city: In an open letter, they demand that Trump denounce white nationalism or skip his planned trip to Pittsburgh, reports the Hill. As of Monday morning, the letter from the local affiliate of the progressive Bend the Arc group had been signed by more than 18,000 people. "For the past three years your words and your policies have emboldened a growing white nationalist movement," the letter asserts. "You yourself called the murderer evil, but yesterday’s violence is the direct culmination of your influence."

The letter tells Trump he is not welcome in the city until he "fully" denounces white nationalism and stops "targeting and endangering all minorities," as well as immigrants and refugees. Group leader Josh Friedman read the letter aloud in front of the White House on Sunday, and said he was surprised when people began reading it aloud with him, reports the Washington Post. "People are on board," he said. The president, however, has made the case that he and the GOP are being unfairly blamed. "The Fake News is doing everything in their power to blame Republicans, Conservatives and me for the division and hatred that has been going on for so long in our Country," he tweeted Sunday. The real culprit is "their Fake & Dishonest reporting." (The shooting has put the focus on a controversial social media site.)

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