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The Liberal American Jewish advocacy groups have reacted with horror to reports that the U.S President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order defining Judaism as a nationality rather than just a religion. The New York Times has reported that the president is planning the order to help combat anti-Semitism on U.S college campuses and a crackdown on boycott campaigns against the state of Israel. But, the progressive Jewish groups have suggested the proposed move is basically anti-Semitic. It would cast Jews as a separate nationality to all other Americans and it could stifle legitimate criticism of Israeli policies. The move amid the president himself is experiencing renewed allegations of anti-Semitism. Trump said in a weekend speech that all Jews must support for the Israeli government.

The U.S Education Department can currently withhold funding from institutions or programs that discriminate on the ground of race, color, or national origin, but not religion. The administration will be able to defund institutions seen to be allowing an anti-Semitic environment do develop by defining Judaism as a nationality. It will also help the efforts from Education Department to quell Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions-linked movements, which seek to pressure the Israeli government to improve its treatment of Palestinians and end its continued violation of international law. Supporters of Israel and the Trump administration have claimed such movements are inherently anti-Semitic.

The Minnesota branch of the Jewish Community Action group described the Times report on Twitter as horrifying. The group said, “As American Jews, we will resist being defined as anything else. This is an empty, dishonest manipulation, the President needs to distract us from the truly violent white nationalism he has emboldened, and his own blatant anti-Semitism. We can’t let it work”. The liberal J Street group also condemned the reported executive order. The President of the group, Jeremy Ben-Ami suggested that the move was regarding shutting down legitimate opposition to the White House and its far-right Israeli allies. Ben-Ami said in a statement, “We feel it is misguided and harmful for the White House to unilaterally declare a broad range of nonviolent campus criticism of Israel to be anti-Semitic”.