The Zionist Organization of America praised President Donald Trump on Wednesday for strongly condemning anti-Semitism during comments the day before in Washington, D.C.
Trump was visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture when he made the comments, referring to the repeated phoned bomb threats to Jewish community centers around the country this year.
"The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil," Trump said after touring the museum, said Fox News.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump added: "Anti-Semitism is horrible, and it's gonna stop and it has to stop. … Whether it's anti-Semitism or racism or any — anything you wanna think about having to do with the divide. Anti-Semitism is, likewise, it's just terrible."
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America, praised Trump for what he called "powerful" comments against anti-Semitism.
"We applaud and appreciate President Trump's powerful, heartfelt condemnation of anti-Semitism and the strong promise contained in it to fight and stop anti-Semitism, which has manifested itself in threats and assaults on Jews and Jewish institutions," Klein said.
"His strong words more than implied using the resources of the federal government and law enforcement to achieve that goal. I don't recall a similar expression of such resolve by any of President Trump's predecessors and it is our earnest hope that concerted action will follow."
The Zionist Organization of America is the oldest and one of the largest pro-Israel organizations in the United States, according to the organization's statement.
Fox News said Trump had been under increasing pressure to speak out against anti-Semitism, sparked again Monday after phone-called bomb threats were made to 11 Jewish community centers.
It marked the third time this year that a wave of phone bomb threats were made to Jewish community centers around the country. Vandals also damaged more than 150 headstones at the Jewish cemetery in suburban St. Louis, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.