where a tiny swastika appeared 
in his 2018 campaign ad, and a 
comment on a television inter-
view where James said under-
represented African Americans 
“need to make sure that we 
force both parties to treat us 
the way they’
re genuflecting for 
working-class white males and 
for our Jewish friends.
” 
James’
 own Jewish friends 
say the accusations against him 
are outrageous. “Never have I 
ever felt an ounce of antisemi-
tism in John’
s body,
” Green said. 
James has publicly apolo-
gized for the swastika incident, 
which he says was an oversight 
on behalf of his media compa-
ny who used stock footage of a 
school hallway for the ad. 
“I apologize to anybody 
whom I may have hurt because 
personally that doesn’
t repre-
sent me,
” he said. “The swastika 
is an evil symbol that only 
should be remembered so it 
never gets repeated.
”
As for the genuflection 
comment, James, while not 
addressing the word’
s conno-
tations, says he meant it as a 
compliment to the Jewish peo-
ple. The Jewish community and 
women in particular, he says, 
have worked hard to hold both 
the Democratic and Republican 
parties accountable to their vote 
in a way he wishes the Black 
community would. 
“I think that the African 
American community would 
do well to demand the same 
accountability from our politi-
cians,
” he said. 

ON BLM AND ANTISEMITISM
Donald Trump’
s pro-Israel pol-
icies do not take precedent over 
domestic security for a number 
of Jewish voters. Many are 
concerned with the president’
s 
alleged stoking of antisemi-
tism by failing to forthrightly 
condemn far-right extremist 
groups.
The James campaign has 

seen its own share of criticism 
in this field. In late August, 
members of the far-right group 
Proud Boys, which has been 
linked to antisemitic activity, 
volunteered at a James cam-
paign event in Antrim County.
“I can’
t speak for President 
Trump, nor will I try,
” James 
said. “But I will speak for 
myself that I hate bigotry in all 
of its forms.
” 
The president has offered his 
“total and complete” endorse-
ment for James. But Trump 
has also called the Black Lives 
Matter organization “bad for 
Black people.
” 
James said, “Of course I 
believe that Black lives matter. 
I’
m a Black man.
” But he says 
the Black Lives Matter move-
ment has been “hijacked by 
leftists.
”
“I do not believe that it hon-
ors the sacrifices of the civil 
rights leaders who came before 
us nor does it shed a positive 
light on George Floyd’
s death,
” 
he said. 
In a statement from his 
campaign, James said that as 
a Black man and officer, he 
understands both sides of the 
debate. To the public, he has 
denounced proposals to defund 
police departments and says he 
supports “increased training 
and increased transparency.
”
Regardless of the current 
movement’
s goals, James 
says Jewish people have been 
marching beside African 
Americans in the fight for 
equality since the civil rights 
era. As the nation experiences 
antisemitic and racial violence 
once again, the communities 
are only becoming closer, he 
believes. 
James says he plans on using 
every platform available to pro-
mote these words of unity. 
“I think that’
s a message that 
will hopefully resonate with 
all communities, especially the 
Jewish community,
” he said. 

 OCTOBER 15 • 2020 | 15

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