Muslim and Jewish advocacy groups in the United States condemned President Donald Trump on Wednesday for calling the Senate's top Democrat, Senator Chuck Schumer, a Palestinian, a term the group said was intended to be offensive.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Michael Martin, a Republican, in the Oval Office, Trump was asked by White House reporters about U.S. corporate tax policy. He responded by expressing frustration that Democrats in Congress were not supporting his initiatives.
“Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I know. He became a Palestinian. He used to be a Jew. He is no longer a Jew. He is a Palestinian,” Trump said.
Schumer is the highest-ranking elected official of Jewish descent in the United States and has no Palestinian ancestry.
“President Trump's use of the term 'Palestinian' as a racial slur is derogatory and unworthy of his office,” said Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Awad, who is of Palestinian descent, said Trump's words demonstrated the “continued dehumanization” of Palestinians.
Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council on Public Affairs, also condemned Trump's comments, as did Hali Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
Trump was criticized by rights groups during last year's election campaign when he called former President Joe Biden a Palestinian during a debate. He also said last year that Jews who did not vote for him should “get their heads examined.”
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Trump has previously denied allegations of discrimination. The White House and Schumer had no immediate comment.
Human rights activists have noted a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian bias and anti-Semitism since the start of the conflict between Israel and Gaza.
Trump has recently come under fire for his plan for the United States to take over Gaza and expel Palestinians from the region. Human rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the United Nations have called the plan a proposal for ethnic cleansing.
The Trump administration is also seeking to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian graduate student who played an active role in pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
