Key members of Washington�s pro-Israel community, along with Israeli government officials, are avoiding criticism of the controversial Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, even as some top Jewish-American leaders and groups including the Anti-Defamation League denounce him for anti-Semitism.

The uproar over Bannon and growing anxiety over signs of anti-Semitism among some Trump supporters has created a political test for some American Jews, particularly those focused on foreign policy. Some described feeling torn between personal disgust and a desire not to pick an early fight with a president whom they hope will be a strong defender of Israel.

�On a personal level I�d like to go bananas about it,� said one Washington Jewish activist. �On a professional level it would be malpractice. We don’t know what [Bannon’s appointment] means.�

Although Bannon is not expected to play a major foreign policy role, many American and Israeli Jews are appalled at the ascension to the West Wing of Bannon, a man they say at a minimum condoned anti-Semitism as the editor of the conservative website Breitbart.com and in some of Trump�s campaign messaging. Bannon was also accused by his ex-wife of disparaging Jewish people in a 2007 child-custody proceeding.

In a statement on Sunday the Anti-Defamation League called Bannon �hostile to core American values,� while other Jewish leaders have charged that Trump�s campaign attacks on �global special interests��including a campaign ad featuring prominent Jews like financier George Soros and Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen�had clear anti-Semitic undertones. The Trump campaign rejects those charges, as do friends and associates of Bannon.

But the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)�which focuses on U.S. foreign policy, and which sources said is likely mindful of preserving its influence over the incoming administration�s Middle East policies�has declined to weigh in.

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