During a speech celebrating the passage of his tax-cut and spending plan, President Donald Trump came under fire for using the term “Shylock” while talking about certain bankers — a word widely recognized as antisemitic.
“Think of that: No death tax. No estate tax. No going to the banks and borrowing from, in some cases, a fine banker — and in some cases, Shylocks and bad people,” Trump remarked while speaking at an event in Iowa late Thursday.
The term “Shylock” originates from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, where the character is a greedy Jewish moneylender. Over the centuries, the name became synonymous with predatory lending and has been broadly criticized as an antisemitic slur.
In response, the Anti-Defamation League condemned Trump’s comments in strong terms. “The term ‘Shylock’ evokes a centuries-old antisemitic trope about Jews and greed that is extremely offensive and dangerous,” the ADL said. “President Trump’s use of the term is very troubling and irresponsible.”
Representative Dan Goldman of New York, who is Jewish and a member of the Democratic Party, reacted forcefully, stating, “This is blatant and vile antisemitism, and Trump knows exactly what he’s doing.”
When asked by reporters aboard Air Force One about the term and whether he understood its implications, Trump claimed ignorance. “No, I’ve never heard it that way. To be Shylock is somebody that, say, a money lender at high rates,” he said. “I’ve never heard it that way. You view it differently than me. I’ve never heard that.”
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{Matzav.com}