>>> AM I REALLY EXPERIENCING THIS?
THIS? IS THIS JUST SOME HORRIFIC
NIGHTMARE AND I’M GOING TO WAKE
UP?
UP? THERE IS HATE, AND IT ISN’T
GOING AWAY.
GOING AWAY. IT JUST SEEMS TO BE GETTING
WORSE.
WORSE. >> WELCOME BACK TO "HARDBALL."
THAT WAS RABBI JEFFREY MEYERS OF
THE TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE IN
PITTSBURGH RESPONDING TO THE
HORRIFIC ATTACK ON HIS
CONGREGATION THIS SATURDAY.
SATURDAY’S ATTACK TOOK THE LIVES
OF 11 CONGREGANTS, MAKING IT THE
DEADLIEST ATTACK ON JEWISH
PEOPLE IN U.S. HISTORY -- IN
U.S. HISTORY.
U.S. HISTORY. ACCORDING TO THE ANTIDEFAMATION
LEAGUE, IT’S PART OF A PATTERN,
HOWEVER, OF GROWING
ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE COUNTRY.
IN 2017 THE NUMBER OF
ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS ROSE BY
MERELY 60%, THE LARGEST
PERCENTAGE BY THE ADL.
PRESIDENT TRUMP CONDEMNED THE
ATTACK AS EVIL, BUT HIS
OFF-PROMPTER COMMENTS HAVE BEEN
MORE TROUBLE, OF THE LAST WEEK
FOR EXAMPLE AT A RALLY IN
HOUSTON, RIGHT HERE, TRUMP
REFERRED TO HIMSELF AS A
NATIONALIST.
NATIONALIST. A TERM EMBRACED BY THOSE WITH A
RACIST IDEOLOGY.
RACIST IDEOLOGY. >> THEY HAVE A WORD THAT SORT OF
BECAME OLD-FASHIONED.
BECAME OLD-FASHIONED. IT’S CALLED A NATIONALIST.
AND I SAY, REALLY, WE’RE NOT
SUPPOSED TO USE THAT WORD.
YOU KNOW WHAT I AM?
I’M A NATIONALIST, OKAY?
I’M A NATIONALIST.
[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]
>> WHILE TRUMP HAS CONTINUED TO
STOKE CONSPIRACIES ABOUT
BILLIONAIRE LIBERAL DONOR GEORGE
SOROS, AND THE TARGET OF ONE OF
THE MAIL BOMBS SENT OUT LAST
WEEK, HERE HE GOES.
>> IT’S BECOME RADICAL
RESISTANCE.
RESISTANCE. YOU EVER SEE THE SIGNS, RESIST
IN THEY SAY, WHAT ARE YOU GOING
TO RESNIFT I DON’T KNOW.
GO TO A PERSON HOLDING THE SIGN
WHO GETS PAID BY SOROS OR
SOMEBODY.
SOMEBODY. THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS.
>> A SOURCE OR SOMEBODY.
LAST YEAR AFTER THE DEADLY RALLY
LED BY WHITE NATIONALISTS DOWN
IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA,
THIS IS WHAT THE PRESIDENT SAID.
>> I THINK THERE’S BLAME ON BOTH
SIDES.
SIDES. YOU LOOK AT -- YOU LOOK AT BOTH
SIDES, I THINK THERE IS BLAME ON
BOTH SIDES.
BOTH SIDES. YOU ALSO HAD PEOPLE THAT WERE
VERY FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH
SIDES --
SIDES -- >> VERY FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH
SIDES.
SIDES. WE’RE JOINED RIGHT NOW BY JULIE,
CORRESPONDENT FOR G.Q. MAGAZINE,
AND IS HOWARD FINEMAN, MSNBC
NEWS ANALYST.
NEWS ANALYST. HOURS, I WANT -- HOWARD, I WANT
TO GO TO YOU ABOUT GROWING UP ON
SQUIRREL HILL.
SQUIRREL HILL. >> I BASICALLY GREW UP IN TREE
OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE.
MY PARENTS WERE SUNDAY SCHOOL
TEACHERS THERE.
TEACHERS THERE. I WAS BAR MITZVAH THERE.
I GREW UP IN THE WONDERFUL
PEACEFUL
PEACEFUL PEACEFUL SPRAWLING NEIGHBORHOOD
OF SQUIRREL HILL.
IT MAY BE 50% JEWISH, LESS THAN
THAT NOW.
THAT NOW. A WONDERFUL PLACE TO GROW UP AND
A PLACE WHERE SOMETHING LIKE
THIS HAPPENING WAS, UNTIL
SATURDAY AT AROUND 10:00 A.M.,
INCONCEIVABLE.
INCONCEIVABLE. I CAN TELL YOU, CHRIS, AND WE
KNOW EACH OTHER WELL, THERE WAS
NO PLACE IN AMERICA THAT WAS
MORE AMERICAN AND YET MORE
COMFORTABLY JEWISH THAN SQUIRREL
HILL.
HILL. THAT COMFORT IS GONE, AND THE
JEWS IN AMERICA ARE NOW LINING
UP WITH EVERY OTHER GROUP --
AFRICAN AMERICANS, GOING BACK
HUNDREDS OF YEARS, CHINESE
IMMIGRANTS, HISPANICS, YOU NAME
IT -- WHO HAVE -- NATIVE
AMERICANS WHO HAVE SUFFERED
VIOLENCE FOR POLITICAL REASONS
BECAUSE THEY ARE REGARDED AS THE
OTHER.
OTHER. THEY’RE REGARDED AS SOMETHING
FOREIGN, SOMETHING NOT QUITE
AMERICAN.
AMERICAN. I GREW UP THINKING THAT WAS
IMPOSSIBLE.
IMPOSSIBLE. >> SO SAD.
JULIE, YOUR THOUGHTS.
I’VE BEEN READING ABOUT YOU AND
YOUR EXPERIENCES.
YOUR EXPERIENCES. UNFORTUNATELY, TRAGICALLY, THIS
IS NOT COMPLETELY NEW TO YOU.
>> RIGHT.
>> RIGHT. AND I HAVE TO SAY UNFORTUNATELY,
IT WASN’T VERY SURPRISING TO ME.
I THINK PEOPLE LIKE HOWARD
BLESSEDLY GREW UP AS JEWS IN
AMERICA WHERE THEY DID THINK
THIS WAS COMPLETELY UNTHINKABLE
IN AMERICA.
IN AMERICA. AND UNTIL SATURDAY’S EVENTS, IT
WAS UNTHINKABLE.
WAS UNTHINKABLE. I UNFORTUNATELY CAME FROM A
PLACE WHERE IT WAS FAR MORE EASY
TO IMAGINE.
TO IMAGINE. THE REASON WE CAME TO THE UNITED
STATES FROM THE SOVIET UNION, WE
CAME AS REFUGEES, FLEEING
ANTI-SEMITISM, WAS BECAUSE IN
THE SUMMER OF 1988, MY MOTHER
WAS STUCK IN THE RUSSIAN COUNTRY
SIDE WITH ME.
I WAS 5.
I WAS 5. MY LITTLE SISTER WAS SIX MONTHS
OLD.
OLD. THERE WAS NO PHONE, NO
CONNECTION TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD,
AND THERE WERE VERY PERSISTENT
RUMORS GOING AROUND ABOUT AN
ANTI-JEWISH RIOT.
ANTI-JEWISH RIOT. SHE REALIZED SHE LIVED IN A
COUNTRY WHERE THE POLITICAL
CLIMATE HAD BECOME SO PERMISSIVE
THAT IT WAS COMPLETELY EXTREMELY
PLAUSIBLE AND THAT SHE DIDN’T
WANT TO RAISE HER KIDS IN A
COUNTRY LIKE THAT.
AND WATCHING MY PARENTS’
RESPONSE TO -- AND THEIR HEART
BREAK WATCHING WHAT HAPPENED AT
SQUIRREL HILL, MY FATHER
ACTUALLY CALLED IT AN
OLD-FASHIONED PAGRAM, HAS BEEN
FRANKLY HEART BREAKING.
>> HOWARD, LET ME ASK YOU,
BECAUSE YOU ARE A COMMUNICATIONS
EXPERT, LIKE I TRY TO BE.
TALK ABOUT THESE CODE WORDS.
I GUESS I UNDERSTAND THE
NATIONALIST OF NATIONALIST
SOCIALISM, OF COURSE, AND THE
’30s WHEN THEY CALLED THEMSELVES
NATIONALISTS, INCLUDING THE GUY
WHOSE NAME ESCAPES ME RIGHT NOW
FROM SPAIN.
FROM SPAIN. FRANCO, OF COURSE, MUSSOLINI.
THEY CALL THEMSELVES
NATIONALISTS.
NATIONALISTS. THEY WERE AWFUL FOR MINORITIES.
THIS THING ABOUT GLOBALIST, I
DIDN’T KNOW THAT WAS A CODE.
I DIDN’T KNOW THAT SOROS WAS
PARTICULARLY TARGETED BECAUSE OF
HIS FAITH, HIS RELIGION, HIS
JEWISHNESS.
JEWISHNESS. TELL ME ABOUT THOSE CODE WORDS.
>> WELL, CHRIS, TO JEWISH EARS
AND JEWISH EYES, THE KINDS OF
WORDS THAT LEND CREDENCE TO THE
THEORY THAT THERE IS AN
INSIDIOUS FORCE IN THE WORLD
SOMEHOW NOT QUITE HUMAN, SOMEHOW
NOT RESPONDING TO YOUR TRIBE, TO
YOUR FAMILY, THAT SOMEHOW HAS NO
LOCAL RULES OR ALLEGIANCE,
THAT’S BEEN THE TROEP THAT’S
BEEN THE ACCUSATION USED AGAINST
THE JEWS FOR HUNDREDS, IF NOT
THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
AND THAT’S SOMETHING THAT, EVEN
THOUGH I DID GROW UP AS I DID, I
KNOW A LOT OF HISTORY.
AND THAT’S ALL TOO FAMILIAR A
SOUND BECAUSE IT POSITS THE
LOCAL PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY AS
SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM THE
JEWS WHO, OFTEN FOR MANY
GENERATIONS HAVE LIVED THERE,
AND VIEW THEMSELVES AS MUCH
AMERICAN OR SPANISH OR RUSSIAN
AS ANY OTHER PERSON.
THIS IS THE CONUNDRUM.
THIS IS THE THREAT.
THIS IS THE VULNERABILITY THAT
JEWS HAVE FACED FOR THOUSANDS OF
YEARS.
YEARS. CAN I ADD JUST ONE QUICK THING,
CHRIS, SINCE I HAVE A LOT OF
SOURCES BACK IN PITTSBURGH?
>> SURE.
>> SURE. A I’M TOLD THAT ON ANOTHER
NETWORK, I.E., FOX, THEY’RE
CLAIMING THAT ALL THE LOCAL
POLITICAL OFFICIALS INCLUDING
THE GOVERNOR AND THE MAYOR, ET
CETERA, ARE GOING TO BE WITH
DONALD TRUMP IF HE GOES TO
PITTSBURGH TOMORROW.
PITTSBURGH TOMORROW. I’M TOLD AUTHORITATIVELY BY SOME
OF THOSE SAME PEOPLE -- AND YOU
SHOULD ASK BILL PEDUTO ABOUT
THIS -- THEY’RE NOT HAVING ANY
OF IT.
OF IT. THEY MIGHT WANT TRUMP AT SOME
TIME.
TIME. THEY DON’T WANT HIM RIGHT NOW
WHILE THE JEWISH FAMILIES ARE
HURT
HURT HURRYING UNDER JEWISH TRADITION
TO BURY THEIR DEAD.
>> WE’LL HAVE THE MAYOR TO
STRAIGHTEN IT OUT.
JULIA, I THOUGHT A LOT ABOUT
HISTORY.
HISTORY. I THOUGHT WORLD WAR II WAS THE
TURNING POINT.
TURNING POINT. THAT WAS THE ASSIMILATION OF
CATHOLICS AND JEWS.
THAT’S WHEN WE GOT THROUGH THE
DOOR BECAUSE OF ALL THE SERVICE
OUR FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS
FOUGHT IN THAT WAR.
ALL OF THEM.
YOU ARE SHOULD SEE THE STAR OF
DAVIDS OVER ARLINGTON CEMETERY
AND ALL THOSE TOMBS.
IT’S UNBELIEVABLE, ALONG WITH
THE CROSSES.
THE CROSSES. I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE DOOR
OPENED.
OPENED. NOW I WONDER ABOUT, CERTAINLY
NOT UNIVERSALLY IN THIS COUNTRY.
NOT UNIVERSALLY.
NOT UNIVERSALLY. >> IT’S INTERESTING YOU MENTION
WORLD WAR II, BECAUSE WHEN
DONALD TRUMP SAID THAT HE WAS A
NATIONALIST, HE DIDN’T JUST OFF
THE CUFF SAY HE WAS A
NATIONALIST.
NATIONALIST. HE SAID, LISTEN, THIS IS AN
OLD-FASHIONED WORD, AND I KNOW
I’M NOT SUPPOSED TO SAY IT.
WELL, THE REASON IT’S AN
OLD-FASHIONED WORD AND THE
REASON YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO
SAY IT IS BECAUSE NATIONALISM
LED US TO TWO WORLD WARS AND
TENS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DEAD
IN HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE WAYS,
INCLUDING IN THE HOLOCAUST.
SO THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT
STIGMA.
STIGMA. AND HIM, KIND OF DREDGING THAT
UP AND APPLYING IT TO HIMSELF AS
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, AS WE USED TO SAY, THE
LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD, IS
FRANKLY HORRIFYING.
FRANKLY HORRIFYING. AT THAT POINT I THINK THE KIND
OF THE RACISM AND ANTI-SEMITISM
HE HAD BEEN WINKING AT AND THESE
DOG WHISTLES BECAME A --.
THE ONE THING I WOULD ADD ABOUT
GEORGE SOROS, WHEN I WAS A
REPORTER IN RUSSIA, I HEARD
ABOUT GEORGE SOROS’S
QUOTE-UNQUOTE PERNICIOUS
QUOTE-UNQUOTE PERNICIOUS POLITICAL INFLUENCE ALL THE
TIME, HE WAS NOT RUSSIAN, HE WAS
NA
NA NEFARIOUSLY CONTROLLING ALL
THESE PEOPLE AND CONTROLLING
AFFAIRS WITH ALL HIS MONEY, THAT
WAS IN RUSSIA.
I NEVER EXPECTED TO SEE IT HERE.
I MEAN, HOWARD IS RIGHT.
IT’S A TROPE THAT GOES BACK
HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS OF YEARS.
BUT MORE PROXIMATELY, I FEEL
LIKE IT WAS PLUCKED STRAIGHT OUT
OF PUTIN’S PLAY BOOK.
>> AWESOME.
>> AWESOME. >> THANK YOU, MY FELLOW
AMERICANS, FOR THAT.
I THINK -- WE’LL SEE.