Oy vey, Trump fakakta meshuggah Jewish TV commercial!
As if the recent ugly Trump Rally ‘lovefest’ at Madison Square Garden was not enough, now we are subjected to Trump campaign television commercials which stereotype Jewish American Trump voters. Now, I love diners as much as a lot of Americans—Jewish or not—but the commercial shows three women sitting over coffee with strong American sing-song Yiddish accents that most Jews in this country do not have anymore.
Immigrant Jews from Eastern Europe, most of whom came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries had strong Yiddish accents and many of their first-generation children (including my own parents) had milder versions of that accent. This was because most European Jewish immigrants, especially those from Eastern Europe, mainly spoke Yiddish. Most of the first-generation American Jews retained most of the Yiddish language from their parents as well as Yiddishisms or catch-phrases. However, from the second generation onward most American Jews have no Yiddish accents, since they don’t speak Yiddish. Those that still do speak the language, retain their American accents when talking in English.
The commercial does attempt to show women with different color hair. How liberating! I am surprised they did not have hook noses, and sheitels (hair covering) to go with the accents. In America, the only Jews that still retain some sort of Yiddish accent are the Hassidim and extreme orthodox sects because they retain the Yiddish language. This shows just how little the Trump campaign really knows about American Jews, how they imagine American Jews, and how intelligent they believe American Jews are.
From just anecdotal evidence, most Jewish people I have talked with find this commercial highly insulting and extremely stereotypical. Maybe the campaign is afraid to show the average American Jew who is highly educated, uses well-spoken English with an American accent and only occasional use of Yiddish aphorisms, and who come in all skin colors as well as hair colors (yes, there are Black Jews, Sephardic Jews and Middle Eastern Jews who tend towards darker skin).
Somehow, I get the impression that they really wanted to go for the images from “The Eternal Jew” but tried to push aside the antisemitism in a misguided attempt to get some of the Jewish vote. So sad. Remember that this presidential candidate and former president did not acknowledge International Holocaust Day, dines regularly with Holocaust deniers, other racists and antisemites, defends Israel not from the Jewish perspective but from the Evangelical one (which calls for the Second Coming and The Rapture to happen only when all Jews are back in Israel). During the dedication for the newly built American Embassy in Jerusalem during Trump’s presidency, an Evangelical pastor dedicated the building in the name of Jesus Christ! So, the fact that his daughter married a Jewish American holds little weight when looking at all the latent antisemitic actions by Trump. This commercial is totally in keeping with his real perception and diminution of American Jews—hopefully most of us will reject this commercial along with the goniff who is behind it.
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Ms. Rosen-Solomon holds a BA in Theatre and Journalism from CUNY Lehman College, a second BA in American History and Literature from SUNY Purchase College, a MS in English Education from Fordham University, and a MA in Holocaust and Genocide Studies from Kean University. She is a ASNE Journalism Fellow from Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, has worked with the Kean Holocaust Research Center and was a member of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center of Westchester Educator Programming Committee for 15 years.
