Readers React: Donald Trump’s popularity in Israel is dismaying

To the editor: It is an incredibly sad reflection of the degradation of Israeli political discourse under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could find supporters in Israel. (“Meet the Israelis praying for a Trump win,” March 17)

As an American, I am terrified by Trump. History makes abundantly clear that once someone is allowed to say the things he says, those sentiments drift into being publicly acceptable and eventually, actually become possible.

Expelling 11 million people from the United States, barring a specific ethno-religious group entry to the country, possibly even interning that group in camps — as an American, I find these ideas deeply shameful. I do not believe that the majority of the U.S. population supports these ideas, but it is shocking that a certain proportion does.

That such support exists in a country borne of the Holocaust is simply inconceivable to me.

The highly polarizing, intransigent political strategy of the conservative party here has produced Trump. The same kind of parties in Israel have made it possible for him to become popular there. How deeply, deeply sad.

Peggy McInerny, Santa Monica

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