What are we focused on between now and Election Day?
Jewish Voters: A Determinative Force in the 2024 Elections
Jewish voters, who participate in elections at higher rates than almost any other community and tend to live in swing suburban congressional districts in critical battleground states, could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election—and have massive impact down the ballot, as well.Despite making up only 2% of the American population, our profound commitment to participatory democracy, our current feelings of immense vulnerability, our intrinsic Zionism and connection to Israel, and our long-held social justice orientation make us a crucial voting bloc.
The Republican Threat to the Jewish Community and Israel
We cannot sit back while Republicans exploit the current situation in Israel, and the corresponding explosion of antisemitism in America, to manipulate Jewish voters to believe they serve our community’s needs in any way. Donald Trump has activated and normalized every antisemitic trope in the book, from dangerous ideas about Jews and money, Jews and power, and Jews and loyalty to the United States. He has mocked Prime Minister Netanyahu, said “f*** him” for congratulating President Biden on his 2020 victory and he suggested that it was Netanyahu’s fault there has not been a peace deal with Palestinian leadership. Conversely, he has praised Mahmoud Abbas, saying he was “like a father,” “couldn’t have been nicer,” and claimed that Abbas “wanted to make a deal more than Netanyahu.” He has also implied that he plans on removing sanctions on Iran, which would threaten the security and existence of the State of Israel.
Beyond Trump’s, his VP pick, JD Vance, was one of only 15 Republican Senators to vote against a supplemental aid package for Israel just a few months ago, aid that Israel desperately needed to defend itself against Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran. Vance also refused to condemn Tucker Carlson––one of the Republican Party’s most prominent national voices, who appeared in a primetime speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in July––for inviting, and praising, a rabid antisemite and Holocaust denier on his podcast; in fact, just a few weeks later, Vance appeared on that very same podcast as Carlson’s guest.
This extreme, right-wing ticket has committed itself to a so-called “America First” agenda––a nod to the virulently antisemitic 1930s isolationism of Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh, which delayed for years the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, resulting in the extermination of two-thirds of Europe’s Jews.
The Republican Threat to Democracy and Project 2025
Republicans’ Project 2025 outlines an agenda that threatens religious pluralism and freedoms cherished by Jewish Americans, aiming to transform the U.S. into both a theocracy and an autocracy. Their aggressive efforts to undo reproductive rights and equal protections, and their staunch commitment to deporting millions of immigrants and refugees, starkly contrast with Jewish values of bodily autonomy, equality, justice, opportunity and asylum. Project 2025 would severely restrict access to reproductive care, endangering the lives of millions of American women. The document calls for the Department of Health to “maintain a biblically based, social science–reinforced definition of marriage and family,” and accordingly states that children should be brought up in strictly heterosexual households. It calls for the elimination of the Department of Education, diversity programs in the workforce, and regulations prohibiting discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation. And finally, it undermines democracy, the rule of law, the separation of power, and the separation of church and state. Project 2025 poses a danger not only to the Jewish community, but to all Americans and we must do our best to protect our sacred freedoms and democracy.
Ensuring the Democratic Party Rejects All Forms of Antisemitism
While the Democratic Party has long been the home of the overwhelming majority of American Jewish voters, rising antisemitism––often manifesting under cover of “anti-Zionism”––has caused concern among Jewish voters in must-win swing states like Pennsylvania––who cannot be taken for granted. The vulnerability that Jews are feeling in America and worldwide is increasing our communal need for unqualified condemnation of this form of hate, at the top of the ticket and anywhere on the ballot.
It is crucial to protect our community from a dangerous and extreme element within our own party. Jewish Democrats, and our allies in the Democratic Party, must hold every candidate accountable to fighting all forms of hate, including antisemitism and anti-Zionism, protecting the integrity of the progressive movement and the Democratic Party from the malignant and metastatic force of anti-Jewish bigotry. Jewish activists and voters have historically and consistently led in the fight to advance social justice, economic equality, and environmental stewardship, and we must continue to recognize the importance of standing with a party that truly embodies these principles.