In rare statements on the presidential election, the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee and Anti-Defamation League issued statements on Friday morning condemning former President Donald Trump’s comments on Thursday evening about the Jewish vote.

Trump said Thursday evening that “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with that if” he loses the election “because at 40% [Jewish support] that means 60% are voting for the enemy.” 

The AJC, highlighting that the Jewish population makes up just 2% of the U.S. population, said that Jewish voters “cannot and should not be blamed for the outcome of the election. Setting up anyone to say ‘we lost because of the Jews’ is outrageous and dangerous. Thousands of years of history have shown that scapegoating Jews can lead to antisemitic hate and violence.”

The AJC also argued that “none of us, by supporting the candidate we choose, is ‘voting for the enemy,’” linking such language to “a time of rising threats of political violence,” including the two assassination attempts targeting Trump.

“Both candidates should work to earn the support of our community based on policy,” the statement concluded. “But let’s not make this election and its outcome about the Jews.”

ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said that Trump had “undermined” his condemnations of antisemitism last night “by then employing numerous antisemitic tropes and anti-Jewish stereotypes — including rampant accusations of dual loyalty.”

Greenblatt added that “Preemptively blaming American Jews for your potential election loss… increases their sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right-wing extremists and left-wing antizionists continually demonize and slander Jews.”

The ADL CEO warned “this speech likely will spark more hostility and further inflame an already bad situation. Calling out hate is important, but I can’t overstate how the message is diluted and damaged when you employ hate to make your point.”

Trump’s comments have also prompted outrage from liberal-leaning Jewish groups including the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Jewish Council for Public Affairs and J Street, as well as the chief policy officer of the Israel Policy Forum.