Trump criticised for using antisemitic term to describe money lenders
Shylock refers to the villainous Jewish moneylender in Shakespeare's The Merchant Of Venice who demands a pound of flesh from a debtor.
The Anti-Defamation League, which works to combat antisemitism, said in a statement that the term 'evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous. President Trump's use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible'.
Democrat Joe Biden, while vice president, said in 2014 that he had made a 'poor choice' of words a day after he used the term in remarks to a legal aid group.
Mr Trump's administration has said cracking down on antisemitism is a priority. His administration said it is screening for antisemitic activity when granting immigration benefits and its fight with Harvard University has centred on allegations from the White House that the school has tolerated antisemitism.
But the Republican president has also had a history of playing on stereotypes about Jewish people.
He told the Republican Jewish Coalition in 2015 that 'you want to control your politicians' and suggested the audience used money to exert control.
Before he kicked off his 2024 presidential campaign, Mr Trump drew widespread criticism for dining at his Florida club with a Holocaust-denying white nationalist.
Last year, he made repeated comments accusing Jewish Americans who identify as Democrats of disloyalty because of the Democratic leaders' criticisms of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Critics said it perpetuated an antisemitic trope about Jews having divided loyalties and there being only one right way to be Jewish.
On Thursday night in his speech in Iowa, Mr Trump used the term while talking about his signature legislation that was passed by Congress earlier in the day.
'No death tax, no estate tax, no going to the banks and borrowing some from, in some cases, a fine banker and in some cases shylocks and bad people,' he said.
When a reporter later asked about the word's antisemitic association and his intent, Mr Trump said; 'No, I've never heard it that way. To me, a shylock is somebody that's a money lender at high rates. I've never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I've never heard that.'
The Anti-Defamation League said Mr Trump's use of the word 'underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States'.
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The National
an hour ago
- The National
20 years on from the Gleneagles G8 summit protests
Weeks earlier chancellor Gordon Brown spearheaded an African debt relief programme, 'Make Poverty History'. Protesters travelled to Scotland and established a camp in Stirling. The anti-G8 movement had debuted in Genoa in 2001, ending in extreme violence from Italian police towards protesters sleeping at night. READ MORE: Craig Murray: I've been left questioning real purpose of Alba Party The stakes for participants were high, but as British activist Jay Jordan says: 'In Europe, there is confrontational policing. In the UK, policing is cleverer – the bosses have read their Foucault.' Protest at the time was divided into two main 'blocs', pink and black. The pink bloc used non-confrontational, artistic, musical, mocking and playful approaches to get their message across, while the black bloc would sometimes resort to confrontation, rioting and destruction of buildings. In 2005, I was part of the pink bloc, as a member of a samba band called Rhythms of Resistance based in London. I took my 11-year-old daughter, a drummer in the band, to Scotland. The anti-G8 organisers had hired a train from London to Edinburgh for protesters – 'for about £2000', according to one of the leaders, Amy Stansell. Rhythms of Resistance occupied a carriage. We practised drums while speeding through England. I'd brought a picnic, including a large trifle containing Malibu as well as wild strawberries from my garden. King's Cross station was crammed with police looking wary as excited protesters assembled to get on the train. On the platform, I spied Helen Steel, a defendant in the 'McLibel' court case against McDonald's, the longest running libel trial in British history, in which she was represented by Keir Starmer. As a well-known protester, she had been tricked into having a long-term relationship with an undercover 'spy cop'. Many of the interviewees for this piece are participants in the ongoing Mitting Inquiry into the spy cop scandal. All of them talked about the phenomenon of being infiltrated by undercover police. Mark Kennedy, one of the spy cops, was present in Gleneagles and organised most of the protesters' transport. One Scottish activist, whom I'll call Fraser, said: 'I knew Mark Kennedy quite well. I thought I had some sort of 'spy sense', but I didn't know. I was a bit humbled. All I knew was I didn't like him.' The anti-G8 protest at Gleneagles was well organised. Amy Stansell explains the preparation: 'We moved to Scotland six months before, sofa surfing and staying in communities such as Bilston Glen protest camp.' Amy and her partner Robin spent months trying to find a piece of land where they could set up a convergence camp, which, inspired by a No Borders camp in Schengen, was divided into small local 'barrios' each with a kitchen. The idea was to create a horizontal democracy: 'Providing space for people to meet, network, connect – a safe non-capitalist space, where people can be without having to spend money, where people can dream and have ideas. We wanted to change people's hearts by creating a miniature vision of the world we wanted to see.' Fraser recalls the difficulties that arose when they met with farmers: 'There were a number of sites where we had handshake agreements, we had a site and then … we didn't.' Amy explains: 'We had a big pot, around £5000, for renting some land. We were looking at land, assessing it on the basis of accessibility, of drainage, of water, the flatness. One person intimated that they had been basically pressured not to make a deal with us. 'We'd lost our first two choices due to what we termed at the time 'dark forces'. I remember ringing up the chief executive of Stirling Council at 8pm one night and saying, 'In a few weeks' time, you're gonna have 5000 activists descending on your town, and if there's not anywhere for them to go, they're just going to be around in the town, and it's just going to be really hectic'. READ MORE: Kate Forbes: Bigger-picture switch is proving key in tackling tourism issues 'The next morning, the people at the council who we were liaising with contacted us and said, 'We've got a bit of land for you'.' But the land was not ideal, Amy remembers, 'One of the things that we really worried about was that the site was completely surrounded by a brook. There was one road in and the rest of it was surrounded by a river. We felt a bit like, 'are we in a trap now?'.' Fraser agrees: 'It wasn't what we wanted. There was the danger of getting kettled and the danger of when we got kettled, people jumping in the river.' On July 2, 2005, some 2000 people and the samba band marched through Edinburgh in a carnival atmosphere. The weather was hot; the buildings tall, grand and grey. I played a surdo, a huge drum (in general, the smaller the woman, the bigger the drum) for miles, which was exhausting. Then the band made our way to the camp in Stirling, the nearest large town to Gleneagles. I'd already attended an anarchist anti-G8 camp in Evian in 2003, which was the political equivalent of the Glastonbury Festival. Organised along the barrio system, it had music, workshops, tents, food stalls, activities and meetings. I cooked meals for the camp using donated and waste food from dumpsters for the Manchester barrio kitchen. I blogged at the time: 'Have attended more meetings in a week than ever before in life.' Meetings used hand signals, eg waving hands for agreement (silent clapping). Much of the language started in 1960s protest movements and has since been used in civil rights, Reclaim the Streets, climate camps, anti-globalisation movements and Occupy. Protest hand signals were added to the basic samba vocabulary, as players cannot hear each other. This is also a good way to cross language barriers for international participants. Sister protest samba bands travelled from Belgium, Germany, Holland. The camp was multilingual. I was surprised by the efficiency and organisation of the Stirling convergence camp. There were toilets, food stores and a sophisticated ecological greywater system for wastewater. Kate Evans, a political cartoonist who was present, recalls: 'There was an impromptu Highland Games. I won the caber toss!' We even had a camp witch – an American called Starhawk who cast spells over the campsite to protect it from the police. On Wednesday, July 6, the main day of protest against the Gleneagles summit, many activists walked through the undergrowth overnight, hiding in the heathery hills, to reach Gleneagles. I wrote at the time: 'The call came through at about 5am that the M9 had been taken by us. Big cheer. This was the least likely blockade to succeed. 'By 7am, the A9 was blocked, and many B roads. I was standing next to the medics as they received news: 'Lancaster took the B2499, Nottingham have taken this other road' and so on. It was like the Wars of the Roses!' Starhawk had been doing invisibility spells for the walkers who blockaded the roads. 'I think magic doesn't work in theory, only in practice,' Jay says. I spent the rest of the day on the 'baby bloc', a children's protest convoy headed by a London double-decker red bus (maximum speed 30mph). Once we arrived at the police lines, near Auchterarder, close to the Gleneagles hotel, we set up a 'terrorist toddlers' picnic, which included a sound system, clowns, bubbles, rain, banners, colour and an enormous umbrella under which we played samba. Entertainment was provided also by the Geishas of Gaiety (white-faced, dressed in kimonos and waving fans) and the Radical Cheerleaders, as well as the award-winning poet Kae Tempest (at that time Kate Tempest). The police appeared nonplussed. Jay, who led the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (Circa), which used clowning, satire and absurdity to critique the establishment, remembers with amusement: 'Bored cops were convinced to play a game similar to paper scissors rock, called wizards, goblins, giants. At the end, they couldn't help but laugh and we hugged.' That night in the camp, we were on high alert, blockaded by police. From time to time, people would run about, screaming, 'we are going to be raided'. Others sneaked out slowly, avoiding police lines. On July 7, the morning after the confrontation at Gleneagles, we heard the news – terrorist bombings on public transport in the centre of London. We gathered for a large meeting. People were sombre and concerned. I was holding back tears. My sister lived in King's Cross and I was terrified she'd been caught up in it. Our protest and the Make Poverty History message were wiped off the front pages. As Amy explains: 'That took the attention from us, which is terrible to say but that was our experience. 'We'd put in months of our lives to do this, and no-one noticed, apart from a few delegates who couldn't get to a few meetings. We wanted it to be big news and it wasn't because of the bombing. READ MORE: Pat Kane: The powerful vision of Adam Curtis has an obvious blind spot So, do participants in the 2005 anti-G8 camp at Stirling think protest works? What did they learn? Giovanna Speciale, a music leader in the samba band, reflects: 'The change is us. Politicians are very rarely changed by protesters coming up and saying, 'You should change, you should change your attitude. You're really bad'. 'Protest rarely changes anyone's mind, but it does change what is politically feasible to talk about. 'Nothing changes someone more than having gone out, taken, done an action, got a placard, written on it saying what their attitude is, then showing that to everyone else. There is a massive problem with protest in that often we're othering ourselves, so we make ourselves look different, sound different. 'There is nothing less likely to change a politician's mind than a bunch of people who are clearly outsiders.' Amy says: 'That question actually makes me well up a little bit – that's quite an emotional question. I variously go through phases where I'm just like, 'there's no point', right? It does nothing. Years and years of doing massive protests like the Stop the War march in London and they just still invaded the next day. 'You do all of these massive events and then the only coverage we'd get would be the traffic news. I gave up the whole of my 20s, pretty much, to fight capitalism and be an activist.' Jay says: 'Stirling was the end of a cycle. It was a symbolic victory. Protesters were saying, 'This isn't normal. This isn't democracy.' But there is a burnout culture in activism. I teach regenerative activism now to combat it.' Fraser says of direct action: 'Obviously there is a sort of bravado – of youth or masculinity.' Giovanna adds: 'There were huge amounts of courage and, yes, sacrifice and creativity.' Amy says: 'I don't want to categorise my life in a hierarchy of excitingness, but they definitely were very exciting times. There was a sense of heroism, we're the ones who are standing up. Danger intertwined with righteousness – which is what makes heroism, isn't it?' It is often wondered whether there is really a point to protest, not least by activists themselves. There is little doubt, though, that the Stirling camp and anti-G8 protest at Gleneagles was a deeply meaningful experience for those involved.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Trump calls bankers a term long considered antisemitic
"The meaning of Shylock is somebody that's a money lender at high rates," Trump said after disembarking from Air Force One. "You view it differently. I've never heard that." Anti-bigotry groups were quick to condemn Trump, saying the president has a long history of making antisemitic remarks and should have known better. "Shylock is among the most quintessential antisemitic stereotypes," said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the nonpartisan Jewish Council for Public Affairs and an expert on antisemitism and extremism. "This is not an accident," Spitalnick said in a post on X. "It follows years in which Trump has normalized antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories -- and it's deeply dangerous." The Anti-Defamation League, which combats antisemitism and racism worldwide, said the term "evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous." "President Trump's use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible," the ADL said, also in a post on X. "It underscores how lies and conspiracies about Jews remain deeply entrenched in our country. Words from our leaders matter and we expect more from the President of the United States." 'Shylocks and bad people' who 'destroyed a lot of families' Trump's remark came at a campaign-style rally speech at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines for a "Salute to America Celebration." Much of his speech celebrated the passage of his massive budget reconciliation bill earlier in the day. "No death tax. No estate tax. No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker -- and in some cases, shylocks and bad people... they destroyed a lot of families," Trump said. "But we did the opposite," Trump said, before describing the budget bill passed along party lines in the House and Senate. The term Shylock dates back centuries. In William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," the main antagonist was a character named Shylock, a Venetian Jewish moneylender portrayed as greedy, ruthless and charging high interest rates on loans. Joe Biden used the term too, then apologized Then-Vice President Joe Biden also used the term in 2014, describing unscrupulous bankers catering to American troops overseas as "these Shylocks who took advantage of these women and men." "Shylock represents the medieval stereotype about Jews and remains an offensive characterization to this day," Abraham Foxman, the ADL's national director said at the time. "The Vice President should have been more careful." Foxman later announced that Biden had reached out to him by phone to apologize. "Not only has he been a stalwart against anti-Semitism and bigotry, but he has the courage and forthrightness to admit a mistake and use it as an opportunity to learn and to teach others about the harmful effects of stereotypes," Foxman said of Biden. "Clearly there was no ill-intent here," Foxman added, "but Joe and I agreed that perhaps he needs to bone up on his Shakespeare." Biden also issued a public apology. "Abe Foxman has been a friend and advisor of mine for a long time," Biden said in a statement. "He's correct, it was a poor choice of words." Trump's history of remarks called antisemitic Trump has portrayed himself as a staunch advocate for Jews. Since retaking office, he has led an aggressive campaign to root out antisemitism at Harvard and other high-profile American universities - a move that some critics said curbs freedom of speech by those criticizing Israel for its war in Gaza. Trump has a long history of making statements that Jewish leaders, historians and civil rights organizations have interpreted as reinforcing antisemitic stereotypes, including jokes about being cheap and aggressive in business and accusations of them being primarily loyal to Israel. He also has associated with known antisemites. In 2015, he told the Republican Jewish Coalition, "You just like me because my daughter happens to be Jewish," and "I'm a negotiator like you folks; we're negotiators." During his first campaign for president in 2016, Trump tweeted an image of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton superimposed on dollar bills with a six-pointed star, widely interpreted as a Star of David. The ADL called it "blatantly antisemitic." Trump also has said any Jew who votes for Democratic "hates their religion" and "should have their head examined" because he has been so supporitive of Israel, which he has referred to as "your country" when addressing a Jewish audience. And in November 2022, Trump hosted far-right extremist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes - and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West - at his Mar-a-Lago club. Both West and Fuentes were avid supporters of Trump who repeatedly had made antisemitic remarks. Fuentes in particular is a prominent figure among the far-right, peddling white nationalist ideas and openly promoting antisemitic and racist rhetoric. "Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America - including at Mar-A-Lago," Biden administration White House spokesman Andrew Bates told CNN in a statement. "Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned." In response to heavy criticism, Trump said West "called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about."
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
'Big Beautiful Bill' summary shows the biggest changes for you
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