Kellyanne Conway blames Pittsburgh synagogue shooting on ‘anti-religiosity’ not just anti-Semitism

  • The White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, on Monday said the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend was motivated by “anti-religiosity” that she said was prevalent in the US.
  • Saturday’s events at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh marked the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.
  • Federal prosecutors have filed hate-crime charges against the suspect in the attack, which left 11 people dead.

The White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, on Monday said the massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue over the weekend was motivated by “anti-religiosity” that she said was prevalent in the US.

“The anti-religiosity in this country, that it’s somehow in vogue and funny to make fun of anybody of faith, to constantly be making fun of people who express religion – the late-night comedians, the unfunny people on TV shows, it’s always anti-religious,” Conway told “Fox and Friends.”

But evidence from the shooting and law-enforcement data suggest Conway downplayed the issue of anti-Semitism in the US.

Federal prosecutors have filed hate-crime charges against Robert Bowers, the suspect accused of killing 11 people in the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Authorities said Bowers made anti-Semitic statements during the shooting. Bowers is also believed to have expressed deeply anti-Semitic sentiments on social media.

Saturday’s events in Pittsburgh marked the deadliest attack on Jews in US history.

Read the article by John Haltiwanger in Business Insider Australia.