President Trump on Tuesday condemned anti-Semitism and the recent wave of bomb threats made against Jewish community centers across the country.
“The anti-Semitism threat targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and painful and a very sad reminder of the work that must be done to root out hate, prejudice and evil,” Trump said after touring the National Museum of African American History in Washington, DC.
He said he will fight for freedom for African-Americans and for all Americans.
This tour is a reminder of “why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms,” he added.
His comments come after his daughter, who converted to Judaism before she married Jared Kushner, pleaded for religious tolerance.
“America is a nation built on the principle of religious tolerance. We must protect our houses of worship & religious centers,” Trump’s elder daughter wrote on Twitter Monday evening.
Threats were called in to 11 Jewish community centers — including in Houston, Buffalo and Chicago on Monday — but no explosives were found and they were eventually considered “not credible,” according to the JCC Association of North America.
The White House denounced the threats.
“Hatred and hate-motivated violence of any kind have no place in a country founded on the promise of individual freedom. The President has made it abundantly clear that these actions are unacceptable,” said White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters.
The Anti-Defamation League said it was “deeply disturbed” by the bomb threats — the fourth series so far this year.
“While ADL does not have any information at this time to indicate the presence of any actual bombs at any of the institutions threatened, the threats themselves are alarming, disruptive, and must always be taken seriously,” the group said in a statement on Monday.
After the president’s daughter’s comments Monday evening, the national director of the ADL asked for Trump to weigh in on the issue.
“Glad to see this. All Jews need to urge @POTUS to step forward & share a plan. His words carry weight. His actions will speak even louder,” wrote Jonathan Greenblatt on Twitter.
Hillary Clinton, Trump’s foe in the presidential election, also called on him to speak out.
“JCC threats, cemetery desecration & online attacks are so troubling & they need to be stopped. Everyone must speak out, starting w/ @POTUS,” she wrote on Twitter on Monday.
The JCC Association of North America said a series of bomb threats — 69 incidents in 27 states and one Canadian province — were received on Jan. 9, Jan. 13, Jan. 18 and Monday.
The FBI said last month it is “investigating possible civil rights violations in connections with threats to Jewish Community Centers across the country.”
“The FBI will collect all available facts and evidence, and will ensure this matter is investigated in a fair, thorough, and impartial manner,” the agency said in a statement.
Following the threats, vandals toppled 100 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, Mo., on Monday.