Wednesday, February 19, 2025
I should be overjoyed that Donald Trump won the election.
But the truth is, I’m angry. Even deep into February. Still angry.
I had thought, ‘Finally, finally, American Jews will wake up
and stop voting Democrat, the party that hurts Israel.’ Instead, overwhelmingly, the Jewish vote once
again went to the Democratic candidate, this time Kamala Harris. But really, it
could have been any Democrat, an addlepated Biden or anyone at all.
It’s not like the Jewish vote made a difference to the
outcome, a landslide for Trump by all accounts. But to me, the American Jewish
vote felt like a betrayal of our people. Many Jewish lives had been lost as a
result of the policies and dirty machinations of the Biden Harris
administration. Had she won, Harris would have been far more hostile to Israel,
and infinitely more dangerous to the Israeli people.
It was aggravating. Couldn’t they see it? The Biden Harris
administration did not get our hostages home. They gave money to Hamas.
They gave money to Iran.
They slow-walked
arms to Israel and even forced
Israel to give aid to the people who murdered and raped them.
The Biden Harris administration did all manner of terrible things to Israel. As
such, I expected my people to stand up for me. Heck. I expected them to stand
up for themselves. Forget about the cost of bacon or tampons in boys’ bathrooms.
What about their Jewish grandchildren’s ability to safely step onto a college
campus?
Instead they posted memes about Kfir Bibas, but voted for Harris. Maybe they thought that sharing those memes meant they could vote however they liked and it wouldn't matter. Because posting memes of Kfir made them good Jews no matter what else they did. Except that Biden and Harris did exactly nothing for the Bibas family. They didn't fight for them. They didn't make the effort to ascertain their wellbeing. They didn't speak about the Bibas family often and at length or make them a household name.
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| Doug displays a stunning breadth of knowledge on the Jewish holiday known as Hanukkah |
We may not yet know when or how or even if it happened, but Shiri, Ariel, and little Kfir, as of this writing, are believed to be coming home to Israel in body bags tomorrow. Could we reasonably expect that Biden and Harris could have done something different that would have changed the outcome? Like not send money to Iran and Hamas to begin with? Of course! But their constituents didn't think about or do anything about that. They didn't pressure the administration. Instead, they just shared lots and lots of memes of little red-headed Kfir, then went out and voted for Harris.
I think of all the anxious calls I received from Jewish family and friends in the wake of October 7, and how much effort I expended in order to update and reassure them. How could they have voted this way? Did they really care anything at all about my kids in uniform?
It’s impossible. If they cared about me and my family or their people at all, it seemed to me they would have voted for Trump. But they cared more about voting for a Democrat than doing what their family and friends in Israel prayed they would do, speak up for Israel and for their people with their vote.
It must be said that not all American Jews voted Democrat. The
orthodox didn’t. But they’re a tiny minority within a minority. By and large, the
Jewish vote went to the party that shed
Jewish blood.
From The Jewish Vote in 2024 (emphasis added):
. . . At bottom, the story of the Jewish vote is really a tale of two communities—the ultra-Orthodox, who vote like Evangelicals and are about 10 percent of the total Jewish population, and secular Jews, who constitute 85 percent of the total and who vote more solidly for Democrats than any demographic besides blacks, with whom they are now virtually tied. . .
. . . More than 85 percent of American Jews (who are neither ultra-Orthodox nor Modern Orthodox) are solidly in the liberal camp and show little sign of abandoning the Democratic Party. In fact, the National Election Pool’s exit poll promoted by CNN (the one that showed that 79 percent of Jews voted for Harris) probably underrepresents the percentage of secular Jews who voted for her, since that poll included votes in Florida, where a sizable number of Modern Orthodox Jews reside. A poll by the Jewish Electorate Institute showed that Reform-affiliated Jews voted for Harris at a rate of 84 percent, with Conservative-affiliated Jews only slightly behind, at 75 percent. The same poll found that 74 percent of Orthodox Jews (Haredi and Modern Orthodox) voted for Trump.
Even when you add the pro-Trump observant Jews into the mix, American Jews still voted for Harris in greater percentages than any other major religious group in America. Catholics voted 41 percent for Harris; Protestants gave her 37 percent; Mormons came in at 25 percent, and Muslims only at 20. The only “religious” group that surpassed Jews in their support for Harris were described in the Washington Post poll as “voters with no religion” who voted for Harris over Trump 72 to 25 percent—a ratio that actually puts them behind Reform and Conservative Jews in their ardor for Harris.
For the most part, American Israelis voted much like the orthodox
Jews of America. We voted for Trump, because Trump is good for Israel. It
really is that simple. Why this simple fact didn’t matter to our American
co-religionists—or at least didn’t take precedence over more domestic issues—was
and remains unfathomable to me.
Because we had a frickin’ massacre here. I mean, wake the
hell up! Is it only me who is walking around with steam coming out my ears over
the Jewish vote?
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| Doug and Kamala doing Jewy-stuff in Jerusalem |
“Hi - American Israeli here,” wrote Stuart Schnee. I had wanted to speak to
American Israelis about the US election, and the self-described book “shepherd”
and book publicist was happy to oblige me.
I explained to Schnee that I was writing about our feelings
as American Israelis—how we felt about relatives and friends who did not vote
with Israel in mind in the recent presidential election.
“Ah. I am not the right guy,” wrote Schnee. “My family voted
with Israel in mind.”
I blinked. What a lovely, unexpected answer. I felt happy
for a brief moment. But I wanted to know how he felt.
“How did that make you feel?” I asked.
“I can say that I am proud and appreciate it,” wrote Schnee.
“They are all loyal Americans, and at the same time Israel was part of the
consideration for much of my family (and they didn't all vote the same!!)”
“Interesting,” I commented.
It was like a light had come on. I saw what he meant. In
their own way, even if they didn’t agree with us, Stuart Schnee’s relatives had
indeed voted with Israel in mind. They cared about Israel.
Okay, but what about in the run up to the election. Did he
do anything in an attempt to give them an insider’s perspective? “Did you leave
them alone, or try to persuade those who didn't see it your way? Or. . . I
guess you don't get all hot-headed about this stuff?”
“I used to,” wrote Schnee, “but over the years I have seen
that in the US one has very little influence.”
“Are you pleased with the way American Jewry votes?” I
asked. “Do you think they are well informed?”
Schnee was matter of fact. “I fully understand why Jews
still vote Dem even when it seems like it isn't such a great match any more. Even
Jews I know who have started voting GOP - they don't always agree with every
policy the GOP champions.”
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| She knows a thing or two about yarmulkes. |
I posed the same question to Batya Spiegelman Medad, an
expat American living in Shilo, a woman who has no problem stating her mind.
“Do you have relatives who expressed concern for you after October 7, then
proceeded to vote for a candidate you felt was bad for Israel?”
“Yes, for sure. The vast majority of my relatives vote
religiously for Democrats, and a few have shown concern—in one case very
strong, sincere concern and support—for Israel, but they don't recognize that
the party they support endangers the survival of the State of Israel. I never
initiate political discussions with them, nor with American friends. I write
very clearly what I think on Facebook and my blog Shiloh Musings. I try not to
argue with anyone or respond to the negative things they write, but I won't
mute my opinions,” said Medad.
“Does it make you angry to know they voted for someone who
you feel poses a danger to Israel? Or rather, how does it make you feel? I
don't want to presume you're angry,” I said.
“Angry? I'm beyond anger; it saddens me,” said Medad. “I'm
so different from my family. Actually, I'm the ‘rebel.’ I took the 1960s in a
different direction, becoming a Torah observant Jew, demonstrating for Soviet
Jewry as my version of civil rights and then making aliyah with my husband two
months after our wedding.
“When one tried to discuss American elections, I said that
for me the important issues for choosing which party to vote for in the
presidency depends on two things only, defense/security and economics. They
don't get it.”
“But you kept it to yourself. You said nothing to them. It's
just politics, and politics shouldn't come between relatives?” I asked. “Or you
just didn't see the point? Something else? Does it feel like you're carrying it
around? Does it make you uncomfortable to correspond/speak with them?”
“There's no doubt that many of my family have seen/read my
opinions,” said Medad, “but I'm not going to argue directly with them. Without
facebook, I'd lose all contact with most of my family, and I don't want that.
If anyone asks a question, I answer.
Medad continued, “The problem is that most Americans have chosen to listen/read
only one type of news media. They don't think/compare to make their own
decisions. They repeat the lies they've heard and aren't open to hearing
something else.
“It must be so confusing for most American Jews to have
heard what happened to innocent Israelis on Oct 7, 2023, and then be told that
Israel is guilty,” added Medad. “But there are left-wing Israelis, even
bereaved families from the southern kibbutzim, who can't accept that their
political opinions about peace with their Arab neighbors is a dangerous lie.
They're sticking together to make sure nobody shakes their ‘conceptzia.’”
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| Chanuka joy |
I went next to Susan Tova Mann Hirsch, a retired teacher (44 years) of children with special needs and asked her to weigh in. “Did you have relatives who expressed concern for you in regard to Oct. 7, but then voted in a way you felt was contrary to Israel's interests? Do you feel American Jewry is well informed about Israel and geopolitics?”
“My one sister expressed a lot of concern about my living
here in Israel after Oct. 7; however, she still voted for Harris,” said Hirsch.
“I still have lots of friends and family in America and I feel they are poorly
informed (and educated) about Israel and the geopolitical situation in our part
of the world. Most see no problem with granting the so-called Palestinians with
a state of their own. They really don’t understand what is going on here and
the issues/problems faced by Israel.”
“How does that make you feel?” I asked.
“That if my family members really cared about my safety (and
the safety of all Israelis),” continued Hirsch, “they would do more to support
Israel. They really didn’t/don’t understand how much more dangerous it would
have been for Israel if Harris and her crew would have been elected.”
“Well, but can you tell me what emotion it makes you feel,
for example, understanding, betrayed, patient, despairing, resigned, angry,
sad?” I pressed.
“A tad angry, but more resigned that they truly don’t
understand and/comprehend what really is happening here.”
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| Bear hug from Bibi! |
Last but not least, I spoke with Israel Pickholtz, a
genealogist friend. Knowing he shares my sentiments on the subject, I got right
down to it. “How do you feel about the fact that even after Oct. 7, American
Jewry still largely voted for Harris?” I asked
“There is definitely a disconnect between caring about
Israel and actually voting that way,” said Pickholtz.
“What do you think causes that disconnect, and is there
anything regular people can do to help them reconnect?” I asked.
“Let's give them the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “They
must have great faith to believe that we will survive despite the US
government.
He quoted Esther 4:14: "רֶוַח וְהַצָּלָה יַעֲמוֹד לַיְּהוּדִים מִמָּקוֹם אַחֵר" “Relief and salvation will come to the Jewish people from another place . . .”
I finished the verse in my head, “. . . and you and your father’s house will be lost.”
“We will survive,” said Pickholtz. “They?”
“Is there anything we can or should do to address this?” I
asked.
“Keep reminding them that they are on the wrong side of
Jewish history.”
Oh, I will. But I guess I’ll have to start reminding them in
a quieter voice. The angry tone of my written social media screeds doesn't seem
to be having the desired effect. If my words have had any impact at all it was to to alienate my faraway loved ones. They think I don’t understand them and what
is important to them. They’re right. I don’t understand why their people don’t
come before all other considerations. That is the wide chasm that divides us, a
divide that may prove too wide to bridge.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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