On a 15-city tour upon which Leo Terrell, chair of the U.S. Justice Department’s task force on Jew-hatred, plans to embark to spotlight antisemitism, he intends to bring out as many non-Jewish allies as possible, Terrell said at a JNS reception.
“We’re going to have as many non-Jews on the stage as possible,” Terrell, who is not Jewish, said at the event, which was held during the recent Republican Jewish Coalition conference in Las Vegas.
JNS has previously spoken to Terrell about the 15-city tour.
“Our goal is to show people that hate comes in all shapes and forms, and these people here are standing up against that,” he told the audience in Las Vegas. “We’re talking to about 10 or 12 different organizations within those communities, within Michigan, within Los Angeles, within Boston, to bring everyone.”
“That’s the whole key, to make sure it’s an American fight against hate,” said Terrell, who is also senior counsel to the assistant U.S. attorney general for civil rights.
Fighting Jew-hatred isn’t just an issue for Jews. “That is a lie,” he said. “It is an American issue. It is a Western civilization issue.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions to protect Jews “are only effective with the people who are implementing them,” Terrell said at the reception.
The multi-city tour will include a daily podcast, a social media effort and participating federal officials, including cabinet members, according to Terrell. There will also be a mobile application for “any type of hate crime.”
“We’re bringing the State Department with us. We’re bringing the Labor Department with us. We’re bringing the Treasury Department,” he said at the event.
He said that there also must be pressure on politicians to do more than to just express support for Israel’s right to exist.”
“Why do you say that? Do you support Mexico’s right to exist? Do you support Italy’s right to exist? It’s a horrible statement,” Terrell said. “We have to demand more from these politicians who come before you and talk about what they have done in the past. That doesn’t help us in the future.”
