The leaders of New Haven Jewish community Tuesday condemned President-Elect Donald Trump’s choice of Stephen Bannon, a man known for “racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, and Islamaphobic views,” as a top adviser.
The condemnation came in the form of a statement issued by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and its Jewish Community Relations Council. The statement follows:
The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven and its Jewish Community Relations Council believe and support the democratic values and ideals articulated by the constitution of the United States of America and its history of supporting the freedoms enjoyed by the citizens of this country. We applaud the longstanding tradition of a peaceful transition of presidential leadership and congratulate Donald J. Trump on becoming president-elect.
It is the responsibility of our Jewish Federation and its JCRC to support and defend the rights of the Jewish community and all minority communities against all forms of bigotry, hatred, racism and persecution. These ideals and our Jewish values guide us each and every day. We will remain vigilant.
We call upon President-elect Trump to make appointments that are aligned with and are true to the values that we hold dear. We condemn the appointment of Stephen K. Bannon as Chief White House Strategist and Senior Counselor. As the editor of the Breitbart website and as campaign manager for the Trump campaign, Mr. Bannon promoted and exploited racist, sexist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, and Islamaphobic views. President-elect Trump should reconsider his appointment of Mr. Bannon and demonstrate his commitment to the unity, pluralism, diversity and respect for all Americans he pledged in his victory speech on November 9, when he declared that he would strive to “bind the wounds of division” in America.
While the rhetoric of the campaign season was often disturbing and divisive, we call upon all our leaders to speak words of freedom, equality, kindness and respect. Constructive dialogue is called for and we hope that our elected officials and leaders will engage in discourse that will reassure our community that the great tenets of American society that enabled our community to find safety on America’s shores and the opportunity to thrive will continue unabated for all her citizens.
Norman Ravski, President
Judy Alperin Diamondstein, Chief Executive Officers
Betty Levy, JCRC Chair
Rabbi Joshua Ratner, JCRC Director