Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was injured in the attack on the Chabad synagogue in Poway, Ca. On Saturday, told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt Monday that he was grateful to President Donald Trump, and described how Trump had been “so gracious and generous” in a phone call to him.
“He was so gracious and generous with his words; exceedingly comforting to me, to my community, and he spoke to me like a friend,” Goldstein said. “I’m talking to the president of the United States. He was just exceedingly kind and sensitive, and we spoke for close to 15 minutes.”
Rabbi Goldstein told Hunt, “I thought to myself, for the president of the United States of America to take 15 minutes to talk to me about the issues at hand was just absolutely incredible and admirable. And we spoke about anti-Semitism.”
The gunman, John Earnest, was a Trump hater, and called him in a post he entered an hour before his attack, “that Zionist, Jew-loving, anti-White, traitorous [expletive].”
President Trump tweeted his own account of the conversation:
I spoke at length yesterday to Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, Chabad of Poway, where I extended my warmest condolences to him and all affected by the shooting in California. What a great guy. He had a least one finger blown off, and all he wanted to do is help others. Very special!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Rabbi Goldstein asked the president, “Mr. President, what are you doing about anti-Semitism in the United States of America?” Which Trump answered, “Listen I’ve got a son-in-law who’s Jewish, I’ve got a daughter who’s Jewish. I’ve got grandkids who are Jewish. And I love Israel, and I support Israel, and I’m going to do whatever we can to protect the Jewish people in the United States of America and abroad.”
“It was just an incredible comfort,” Rabbi Goldstein said, “It was the highlight of the day, after everything I’ve been through, to hear from the president himself, to be so comforting, and so consoling. It meant a lot to our community, it meant a lot to me.”
Rabbi Goldstein then delivered a spiritual message to the MSNBC viewers, who are, for the most part, left-leaning: “If the families at home and in the schools teach the children to respect God, and to respect each other as human beings, and to be accountable for your actions, your thoughts, and your speech, perhaps children will grow up with a lot clearer morals and ethics.”