One of the constant and troubling trends of Donald Trump’s political career—both during his presidency and afterward—has been his repeated attempt to exercise powers far beyond the scope of the office he holds or held. From his flood of executive orders attempting to reshape legal and political norms into a warped MAGA fantasy to his frequent disdain for constitutional checks and balances, Trump has consistently behaved as if he alone defines reality. Now, with alarming arrogance, he has extended this behavior into a deeply antisemitic arena: declaring who is and who is not a “real Jew.”
Last week, Trump crossed yet another line when he publicly proclaimed that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is no longer Jewish. While railing against Democrats for not sufficiently backing his political agenda, Trump said, “And Schumer is a Palestinian, as far as I’m concerned. You know, he’s become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He’s not Jewish anymore. He’s a Palestinian.”
This statement is more than just another inflammatory soundbite; it’s a textbook example of antisemitism. Trump’s comments reflect an age-old pattern, in which powerful non-Jews assert authority over Jewish identity, determining who counts as a “good Jew” and who is a “bad Jew,” based entirely on political compliance and ideological alignment. His words also posit that being “Palestinian” is inherently bad, implying that an entire people is the enemy.
For centuries, Jewish identity has been policed by outsiders who use arbitrary standards to determine which Jews are acceptable and which are to be excluded. Whether through access to political spaces, employment, religious institutions, or public life, Jews have often been forced to prove themselves worthy of inclusion and respect by adhering to the norms and expectations imposed by the majority non-Jewish population around them. This “good Jew/bad Jew” dichotomy has always served to divide and control Jewish communities.
The modern Republican Party has a long history of pushing this antisemitic trope. During the McCarthy era, Jewish Americans were routinely viewed with suspicion, assumed to be Communists or subversives unless they could prove otherwise. Historians have long noted that Julius and Ethel Rosenberg—Jewish Americans accused of espionage—were subjected to uniquely harsh punishment not only because of the alleged crime but also because they symbolized the “bad Jew” in the eyes of the state: radical, leftist, and unwilling to conform to the nationalist, anti-communist ideal.
Their execution served as a message to other Jewish leftists: assimilate politically, reject radicalism, and align with state power, or be labeled disloyal and face the consequences.
Today, the same pattern persists, albeit in different form. Trump and other non-Jewish Zionists continue to push the idea that a “good Jew” is one who supports the right-wing Israeli government, accepts U.S. imperial foreign policy without question, and offers unwavering loyalty to the Zionist project. Any Jew who dissents—whether by supporting Palestinian rights, critiquing Israeli policies, or simply standing for democratic values—is branded a traitor or “not a real Jew.”
It is essential to recognize that Zionism is not synonymous with Judaism, nor does criticism of Israel equate to antisemitism. Many Jews around the world, including within Israel itself, oppose the Israeli government’s policies and advocate for Palestinian liberation and justice. But for Trump and his ilk, Jewish identity is only legitimate when it serves their political agenda. By declaring Schumer “not Jewish” because he fails to sufficiently praise Trump’s policies, the president isn’t just insulting a political opponent, rather he is reviving one of the oldest antisemitic tools in the book.
This rhetoric also serves a more strategic function. Trump and others like him try to portray themselves as friends of the Jewish people using a narrow set of politically aligned Jews as proof of their philo-semitism. But when prominent Jews dissent from their narrative, those same Jews are slandered, demonized, and erased from Jewish identity altogether. It’s a dangerous game that ultimately undermines Jewish safety and autonomy.
Trump’s attempt to redefine Jewish identity based on political loyalty is not just crude, it is unapologetically antisemitic. No one has the right to determine who is or isn’t Jewish. Jewish identity belongs to the Jewish people—not to Donald Trump, and not to any political agenda.
We must call this behavior what it is and resist it at every turn.
As with all op-eds published by People’s World, this article reflects the views of its author.
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