The following is adapted from an article from yesterday’s L.A. Times.
I changed only one detail.
● President Trump is under fire for posting a video of Jewish kindergarteners in yarmulkes, a TruthSocial message Minnesota Jewish leaders say amplifies anti-Jewish bigotry and targets children.
● The post has drawn sharp rebukes from civil rights groups and Gov. Tim Walz, who accuse Trump of endangering vulnerable kids and inflaming anti-Semitic sentiment statewide.
● Minnesota’s Jewish communities link the rhetoric to synagogue vandalism, arson and threats, saying a surge of attacks has left families fearful and demanding stronger protections.
MINNEAPOLIS — Jewish communities in Minnesota are once again condemning a social media post by President Trump, alleging it communicates “anti-Jewish bigotry” toward children.
Trump posted a 14-second video clip showing children singing in graduation outfits, with boys also wearing yarmulkes. The children had sashes that read “kindergarten” on one side and “graduate” on the other. The video posted Monday appears to be from a Jewish TV Minnesota news clip filming a ceremony at a charter school in St. Paul.
Included in Trump’s TruthSocial post is a screenshot of a caption from an X account that first posted the video in June. The caption said, “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every boy is in a yarmulke … in kindergarten.”
The post drew statements from the Council on American-Jewish Relations and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
“By using his global platform to amplify antisemitic bigotry and target Jewish children at this elementary school, President Trump is putting lives at risk,” said governor Walz. “Those with public platforms have a responsibility to protect children, not endanger them.”
In a statement on X, Walz accused Trump of “attacking a group of kindergarteners because of the clothes they wore to school.”