Leave it to that smug little twerp Jared Kushner to "forget" to show his respect and appreciation to the same group that brought his grandparents to America. Don Lemon's guest explained.
"It was at a service last weekend that 11 members of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh were shot and killed," CNN's Don Lemon said last night.
"Now a social media campaign is calling on Americans of all faiths to join Jews at services all weekend. People are responding in solidarity. A long line formed early tonight outside one synagogue in Washington, D.C. In Boston, over 1,000 people packed into a service. In Boca Raton, Florida, over 2,000 jammed New York, a group of Muslim women holding signs and white roses greeted worshipers and visitors outside one synagogue.
"Mark Hatfield is the president and CEO of HIAS, founded as a Hebrew immigrant aid society and helps rescues around the world. HIAS was targeted by the alleged gunman. Thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.
"It's been a week since the massacre in Pittsburgh. You haven't heard anything from the president or Jared Kushner or Ivanka Kushner. That's extra surprising, considering the personal connection Jared has to that organization.Tell us about the relationship," he said.
"We are disappointed. HAIS worked, in partnership with the United States government and specifically with the State Department, to resettle refugees to this country and we have received a lot of words of support from many elected officials, but many -- and many others -- but not a word from the White House, nor has any political appointee at the State Department contacted us, and certainly Jared and Ivanka have not, either. Even though HIAS, Jared Kushner frankly wouldn't be here were it not for HIAS. We rescued his grandparents and brought them to this country," Hatfield said.
"Mark, HIAS became the focus really of Robert Bower's rage because you help immigrants from all over the world and he wrote on social media that HIAS likes to 'bring invaders in and kill our people.' Where do you think that kind of hate comes from?" Lemon asked.
"Well, you know, I think it comes from fear originally," Hatfield said. "And the problem is that if you don't deal with fear, fear deteriorates into hate speech. And then hate speech deteriorates into hateful acts.
"And what we have now in this country, instead of having leaders that address fears and tell us that we have nothing to fear but fear itself, our fears are not rational, instead they stoke them. and they lie and they mischaracterize and vilify refugees, people who are fleeing terror and say they're bringing terror but they're not."
"Mark, can I ask you something, forgive me if you think it's inappropriate. I mean it for -- with all the best intentions. What has this done to Jews, especially in America?" Lemon said. "Has it, in an odd way, is there more solidarity or is it just a sense of overwhelming grief and loss? Talk to me about that."
"You know, that's one of the few good things that have come out of this horrible terrorist act," Hatfield said.
"And that is that we have got be so much support from Jews and from others. and frankly, we were getting a lot of support from Jews before that. Because you know, there was one thing this terrorist was right about is that American Jews were welcoming refugees.
"We had celebrated the first-ever refugee Shabbat. And this was to show solidarity and love for refugees because American Jews realize that there would not be an American Jewish community but for those times when America opened its doors to refugees, including to Jared Kushner's grandparents."
