FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2018

CONTACT: Elliot Levy, [email protected], 202-800-7409

New York – Today, on the one-year anniversary of the violent white nationalist ‘Unite the Right’ protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, released the following statement:

“Today’s anniversary of the Charlottesville protest, marked by another rally of white nationalist extremists in our nation’s capital, is a reminder that white supremacist ideology is becoming ever more normalized in our political discourse. Today, white nationalism is being celebrated across the street from the White House, but over the past year we’ve seen this hateful worldview spread from within the White House to threaten society’s most vulnerable communities, including immigrants, Muslims, people of color, and LGBTQ people.

With President Trump’s blessing, white nationalists have champions for their cause throughout our government. From Trump’s cruel immigration policies, to his Muslim Ban, to his administration’s attacks on voting rights, he is implementing an agenda designed to maintain white supremacy and to oppress and subjugate the groups targeted by white nationalists. While we haven’t seen policies that explicitly target Jews, we know that antisemitism is a core animating component of white nationalism and that American Jews must remain united with all who are threatened. On this day, we recognize how pervasive this hateful ideology has become in our society and reaffirm our commitment to defeating it and bringing Trump’s radical agenda to a halt.”