Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove: “As a matter of principle and policy, I do not endorse candidates. But as a matter of principle and policy, when I see the behavior of any person, presidential candidates included, threatening the well-being of the Jewish people, I have to speak out. So let me not mince words. President Trump is trafficking in the most base form of antisemitism. As far back as Pharaoh, as far back as Haman, there have been leaders who have accused Jews of dual loyalty, of being a fifth column, of being a threat to the well being of the general population. And that’s what Trump did on Thursday night. The suggestion that the only consideration an American Jew has when approaching the ballot box is Israel reeks of accusations that American Jews are somehow suspect citizens. The suggestion that blame for a prospective loss should lay at the feet of less than 2% of the electorate — our 2% — puts the Jewish people in grave danger. This is beyond dog-whistle. It is a form of preemptive scapegoating aimed to scare Jews into voting for Trump. Under the rhetorict, cover and guise of being a defender of the state of Israel, President Trump has endangered the Jewish people. It is abhorrent, it has no place in our national discourse, and it must receive blanket condemnation from every person of conscience.”