Watchdog: Anti-Semitic Acts Spiked in US Since Trump's Election - BARBARA GOLDBERG REUTERS

A visitor places a flower next to the name of a former concentration camp as he visits the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial during Holocaust Remembrance Day. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Watchdog: Anti-Semitic Acts Spiked in US Since Trump's Election

4/25/2017 BARBARA GOLDBERG/REUTERS

Anti-Semitic incidents, from bomb threats and cemetery desecration to assaults and bullying, have surged in the United States since the election of President Donald Trump, and a "heightened political atmosphere" played a role in the rise, the Anti-Defamation League said on Monday.

A sharp increase in the harassment of American Jews, including double the incidents of bullying of schoolchildren and vandalism at non-denominational grade schools, was cited in the ADL's "Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents."

Overall, the number of acts targeting Jews and Jewish institutions rose 34 percent in 2016 to 1,266 in 2016 and jumped 86 percent in the first quarter of 2017, the ADL said.

"The 2016 presidential election and the heightened political atmosphere played a role in the increase," the ADL concluded in its report.

White House spokesman Michael Short said Trump consistently called for an end to anti-Semitism, as recently as Sunday in a speech on Yom HaShoah, Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day.

"We must stamp out prejudice and anti-Semitism everywhere it is found," Trump told the World Jewish Congress Plenary Assembly in New York.

Trump had been criticized for waiting until late February to deliver his first public condemnation of anti-Semitic incidents, previously speaking more generally about his hope of making the nation less "divided."

He later called such incidents "horrible ... and a very sad reminder" of the work needed to root out hate, prejudice and evil.

The majority of anti-Semitic incidents were not carried out by organized extremists and should be seen in the context of a general resurgence of U.S. white supremacist activity, said Oren Segal, director of the League's Center on Extremism.

"Anti-Semitism is not the sole domain of any one group, and needs to be challenged wherever and whenever it arises," Segal said in a statement.

Among 34 election-linked incidents cited by the ADL was graffiti posted in Denver in May 2016 that exhorted readers to "Kill the Jews, Vote Trump."

The League also noted an incident from November when an assailant told a victim in St. Petersburg, Florida: "Trump is going to finish what Hitler started."

Technology that makes it easier to conduct harassment anonymously contributed to the rising numbers, the ADL said.

Michael Ron David Kadar, an 18-year-old Israeli-American, has been charged with making dozens of bomb threats to Jewish community centers in the United States earlier this year. 

© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

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Conservative Christian Leaders Gather in DC, Calling Trump's Election an Answer to Prayer - STEVE STRANG CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Pastor Jim Garlow in a file photo shown praying.

Conservative Christian Leaders Gather in DC, Calling Trump's Election an Answer to Prayer

 1/19/2017 STEVE STRANG  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

I'm in Washington, D.C, to attend tomorrow's inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

Although the news media is predicting protests, what I'm seeing is that everyone is abuzz and excited by Trump's election and inauguration.  

This proved especially true at a special prayer meeting today, hosted by Pastor Jim Garlow of Skyline Church in San Diego, and at several other events held at the historic Greater New Hope Baptist Church near the White House.

For two hours, dozens of Christian leaders prayed for the president, the vice president, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court and everything else you can think of. The meeting was packed with well-known evangelicals, including James Dobson, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Center and David Barton of Wallbuilders. But there were also many who were identified as intercessors. As the meeting progressed, the time of prayer grew more and more powerful until at the end, it became flat-out, fervent intercession for our country. It was one of the most powerful, Pentecostal-style prayer meetings I have ever attended.

The common theme was gratitude and thanksgiving to God for Trump's election. Several commented that Trump was by no means perfect. However, they felt his election was an answer to prayer in that the election of Hillary Clinton would have meant a continual downward spiral for our nation.

In any case, there seemed to be no bitterness or vitriol, but rather, heartfelt thanksgiving and a realization that the real work is not going to be done politically but in the spirit.

• Historian David Barton shared lessons about the first inauguration in New York City in 1789—which included fervent prayer—and the way George Washington incorporated prayer three times in his first inaugural address. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, said Christians must—like Nehemiah—start in prayer and then get to work. Jim Garlow told the crowd that if they claimed they were instrumental in getting Donald Trump elected, they were wrong. "This was done by God," he explained to wild applause.
• James Robison told about his close relationship with Donald Trump and mentioned how open the president-elect is to Christian counsel. He also chided Christians, saying none of them would have picked Peter to preach at Pentecost because of his denial of Christ. He implied that although Donald Trump isn't perfect, that doesn't mean God won't use him. "We must lift this President up," he said.
• Lance Wallnau, who wrote in Charisma that he believed Trump would be the 45th president, said Trump is like Cyrus in Isaiah 45: God raised him up. "He is a wrecking ball to the gates of hell," Wallnau said. He said later about Trump's election, God "did this for Israel's sake!" This got a huge reaction from the audience.
• Ralph Reed said to the crowd, "Good news! Your prayers and supplications to God have been heard." Before praying, he also said there are more believers in Trump's Cabinet than in any presidential Cabinet in history and "The enemy is not thrilled." 
• Michele Bachmann, former Congresswoman from Minnesota, thanked God as she prayed: "People confessed our sins and cried out; thank You for turning the pages of history."
• Trent Franks, a Republican from the 8th District in Arizona, said he was praying with gratitude for the election. "This breathes new hope into the nation," he said. He also predicted the Trump election would create a "bond with Israel as never before." Associate Justice Tom Parker of Alabama prayed for the justices, quoting Psalm 82:5 and Isaiah 12:6. He also asked God to "restore judges as in the days of old."
• Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said in his prayer that he "submitted the Supreme Court of the United States to the Supreme Court of Jesus Christ."
• Todd Starnes of Fox News prayed for the media, asking for "miracles of biblical proportion, that there would be revival in news rooms." He asked for good news to be reported instead of fake news. He reminded the crowd that in 1949, William Randolph Hearst reported on Billy Graham, launching him nationally. He asked God to "Do it once again. Raise up reporters that would seek your face."
• Alveda King, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, asked God to break the yoke of racial "tensions in our country." She reminded the crowd that there is only one race and one blood under Jesus Christ.
• Sammy Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, prayed about the immigration issue, declaring that God is "God of the stranger" and asking that "God would make us one."
• Many others prayed, including a Native American; a man from Taiwan, who prayed for relations with China; and a man from Russia, who prayed in Russian for relationships between the two countries.

With all the festivities going on in Washington, including a couple of "Christian Gala" events, I found it significant that more than a thousand believers gathered at a church to pray fervently for our nation. In fact, the gathering, only 24 hours before the actual swearing-in, started late because the line of those waiting to get through security wrapped around the block. I will report later on other inaugural events I attend, including the actual swearing-in tomorrow and the Faith, Freedom and Future Ball Friday night.

I'm praying that as you read, you'll add your own prayers in the Comments Section and forward this to others, encouraging them to pray. The entire nation needs to pray. We need a revival in America. Our answers are spiritual, not political. 

Steve Strang is the founder of Charisma and CEO of Charisma Media. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to subscribe to the Strang Report podcast, and here to sign up for the Strang Report newsletter.

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