The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) announced on Friday it will support former vice president Joe Biden in the 2020 US presidential elections, the Jewish Insider reported.
In a video, the JDCA begins by showing the viewer images from the Charlottesville march where people chanted “Jews will not replace us," in another part of the video US President Donald Trump is shown saying “I take no responsibility."The scene was lifted from an interview during which Trump was asked about his responsibility for treating the coronavirus outbreak in the US.
JDCA executive director Halie Soifer said that the “JDCA is proud to support Joe Biden because he’s a principled and moral leader, and we know he’d never equivocate in the face of hatred facing Jews or anyone else.”
Biden said he feels "proud" about getting the support of the JDCA and that “they are an important new voice for the progressive values that unite us here at home and for a secure, peaceful future for the Jewish and democratic State of Israel.”
The JDCA is against the possible annexation of lands in the West Bank included in Trump's "Deal of the Century."
The issue of Trump's relationship with the radical right in the US is a complex one, some have pointed out to his bluntness and style as something that might appeal to radical right wing groups who oppose immigration to the US and wish to see a return to older values and norms.Trump's remarks about the US not needing immigrants from "s**t-hole" countries and his ease at ordering targeted killings can be seen as silent nods to these groups among the American voters.
On the other hand, Trump is the first sitting US president who is a non-Jewish grandfather of Jewish grandchildren and his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital was seen by many in Israel as evidence of his strong support of the Jewish people. The chanting about Jews not replacing "us" is related to replacement theory, the idea that powerful wealthy people who lack loyalty to one nation or group because they are so well-connected are secretly plotting to allegedly replace the white people of Europe and the Americas with cheap labor from other cultures, and that multicultural values are simply a ruse to make the white majority in the US accept this processes. While such ideas had been floating among the radical Right since the 1978 novel The Turner Diaries was published, they seem to have gained more popularity during Trump's time in office.