Critics of President Donald Trump accused him of antisemitism Tuesday evening because of a poorly-worded tweet by the New York Times about an executive order to fight discrimination against Jews.
As Breitbart News reported, President Trump planned to sign an executive order Wednesday directing federal agencies to apply Title VI of the Civil Rights Act — which bans discrimination on the basis of “race, color, or national origin” — to Jews.
The move has long been supported by Jewish groups and was first undertaken by the Department of Justice in the Obama administration in 2010, which expanded the federal government’s interpretation of Title VI to cover religious groups. That decision was also implemented by the Department of Education under Obama.
However, the New York Times tweeted Tuesday evening that Trump’s executive order would redefine Judaism as a “nationality” — an error that evoked the antisemitic practices of totalitarian societies, such as the Soviet Union.