PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — The disgusting advertisement jumps out at you from page 9 of The Jewish Journal covering south Florida: “If You’re Jewish WHY are you Still Voting Democrat?” The ad goes downhill from there.
A Jewish Orlando, Fla., woman posts on Facebook: “If you’re JEWISH and Haven’t Voted Yet: PLEASE STOP and THINK! How Can A JEWISH Person Vote For Hitler!”
Whose words should I heed? Which side should I take? Which viewpoint must I adopt to prove I am true to the Jewish people?
People tend to become overzealous when the stakes are high, and this presidential election is the harshest any of us can remember. Here are the dueling attitudes: If President Trump is re-elected, our democracy will perish. If Joe Biden is elected, Israel will perish.
It comes close to that, anyway, and it has reached the point where Jews are dictating to other Jews how to vote. They are also insulting the intelligence of their brethren. Neither the Democratic nor Republican parties are without fault, but most of us are using our best judgment.
My experience is that Republicans use this approach more extensively. An attack on House impeachment manager Adam Schiff by his Republican challenger prompted him to tweet, “The Republican Party’s willingness to traffic in bigotry and hate has caused lasting damage.”
Schiff, who is quoted by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, sums up what the GOP has generally done, and what Jews on each side of the political divide have been doing. It enrages me no end to contend with some folks who insist on displaying a dumb side. Some of them are Facebook and even personal friends, so I can affirm – to paraphrase Trump – that there are finicky Jewish people on both sides.
The Jewish Journal advertisement, produced by a New York group, creates more fiction than facts as it accuses Democrats of “turning our American cities into 3 rd world war zones” “and de-funding the police and military.”
Granted, mayors and governors probably could have done more to control violence during the George Floyd protests, but Trump would have applied a scorched-earth approach to demonstrations. Gun violence is rampant so long as Republicans refuse to impose gun control. Biden and other Democrats repeatedly declare that they have no intention of de-funding police.
American attorney Abraham Katsman, writing in The Jerusalem Post, goes so far as to read all of our minds about Trump: “He triggers your contempt, disdain, scorn…Hold your nose…vote for Trump anyway…You might grudgingly concede that this presidency has been, by and large, a success.”
A success for whom? I often feel sickened by Trump’s actions, but Katsman misreads the attitudes of most Americans. In my case, despite my personal feelings, I want good government. With more and more Americans, they fear dying from coronavirus and wonder what else he might do to threaten if not our lives then at least our lifestyles and financial futures.
“Trump cut taxes and an astounding amount of red tape, stimulating immediate economic growth and record employment,” he adds. “About two-thirds of that (oil and natural gas) energy is produced through fracking. Biden advocates banning or severely curtailing fracking.”
Those tax reductions mostly benefited the wealthy, and any “record employment” does not seem to be a reality in Philadelphia, where I live, even before Covid-19 emerged. Fracking is criticized for poisoning our waterways.
Katsman, who is counsel for Republicans Overseas Israel, stresses that Trump has proven a reliable ally for Israel. True, the president deserves credit for supporting the normalization pact reached between Israel and two Arab nations, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Other steps, such as moving the embassy to Jerusalem, are helpful but may not produce significant changes. Trump’s pull-out from the Iran nuclear deal could have grave consequences since it reopens an opportunity for Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal.
Then on Facebook there are various pro-Trump proclamations, such as: “Trump is the only one who has the courage to protect America from the radical left and its assault on our very way of life…His opponent and his controllers think America is innately bad, and that our entire system of life must be changed.”
Or: “Bruce has been brainwashed. Facts of what Trump has done are of no interest to him.” Plus: “When you vote against your own interest because of an inability to break from tradition.”
Really, what is the radical left? An assault on whose way of life? I know many Trump critics who do not think “America is innately bad.” America is far from a more perfect union, as the Constitution states, and it can stand improvement. Lots of it. The beauty of our society is that our founders supplied us with the political tools to do better.
Trump’s accomplishments do interest me. As I wrote above, he participated in the agreement between Israel and the two Arab nations.
And, coming out of suburban Philadelphia: “You suicidal Jews need to put your hate aside. If you are a capitalist and a Jew (or Christian), Trump has proven to be your man.” This guy is usually friendlier.
Jews, not to mention all Americans, are literally “suicidal” if they expect Trump to eliminate the pandemic. I wrote to this poster that, no matter what his religion, he is being insensitive to Jews, or worse.
The Orlando woman is technically correct questioning “How Can A JEWISH Person Vote For Hitler!” If he was still alive, what Jew would vote for him? Obviously, she is equating Trump with Hitler. It is debatable how much one can compare our president to modern history’s most reviled tyrant, Her declarative statement makes one feel disloyal to their brethren for even pondering a vote for Trump.
The majority of Jews do not need to be pressured to vote for Biden over Trump. Like many Americans, they are long past convincing that Trump is a horrific president. Her post is heavy-handed and insulting to Jews. It will not prod anyone to turn to Trump, but it is still as offensive as it is unnecessary. She usually isn’t this way.
In his latest weekly newsletter, Steven Richard Sheffey proclaims that “Biden will be better for Israel than Trump.” Maybe, but he is dismissive of Trump by contending that he played “an undefined role in formalizing informal relations that have existed for years between Israel and two Gulf states.”
These formal agreements are not chopped liver, and there are signs that the president contributed something substantial to the proceedings.
Sheffey’s arguments in his Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update, which could also be titled “Trump Can Do Nothing Right,” are usually persuasive. Yet he is preaching to the choir since the vast majority of Jews – and all Americans – have concluded long ago that Trump must be kicked out of the White House, and he does it with sledgehammer force.
Oh, how Steve’s beat-it-to-death approach can drive me to vote the other way.
He is slightly mistaken when he questions “whether the Democratic Party’s future lies with four freshman Democrats elected in 2018 or the other 58 freshman Democrats. If we looked at the record, we’d see that Democrats remain overwhelmingly supportive of Israel.”
He is likely referring to the four representatives who are known as “The Squad’ that unite in pressing for progressive legislation. To risk quibbling, Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Boston is not, like at least two Squad members, anti-Israel. She said that she will be a pro-Israel congresswoman because many of the constituents in her Boston-area district are Jewish.
So, Steve, if you still try to drive me away by pushing the Democrats so hard, it is too late. I voted on Sunday. For Biden.
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Bruce Ticker is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Trump is an avowed racist…including a virulent anti-Semite! He was taught by his nazi leaning father fred to tolerate Jews because especially in New York it’s Good Business! He cares less about his beloved daughter becoming a Jew…it was a good business move……I doubt he’s ever gone to a Passover Dinner at his daughters in-laws house!
He has definitely been good for Israel…WHY I don’t have a clue…unless he thought it would get him donations & the Jewish vote???…he was much better for Israel than the U.S….however he’s also been good for Saudi Arabia & Russia!
He’s total failure as a president…his vaunted tax cut was literally a little nothing for the middle class and Billions for the top 3% including himself! …need I get into what he’s done to the rest of the world?….His imminent demise should be celebrated by all!
NOTE: As an Angelino I must say Great Job with this San Diego Publication…I enjoy it a lot!
I do not agree with many of the things you said.
First of all, as far as the lady in Orlando asking how a Jewish person can vote for Hitler, it seems, on the other hand, my opinion is that 70% of American Jews would vote for the real Hitler were he a Democrat. They would explain away everything he said and say he really didn’t mean it. The incredible thing is that Jews have always loved Pres. Roosevelt, who we later found out was a huge anti-semite, even refusing to bomb the railroad tracks to Auschwitz.
I absolutely agree with the Jewish Journal that the Democrats have turned the county into a war zone. Do you think it is a coincidence that 90% of this violence happened in Democratic cities and states such as Portland and Seattle. What do you mean by saying Democratic mayors and governors “probably” could have done more to control the violence ? And, you blame Trump for threatening our lifestyles and futures ??
How can you say that Trump’s pulling us out of the Iranian nuclear deal could have grave consequences when it has been proven many times by UN Inspectors, Israel, the US, and others that Iran has been trying to develop a nuclear arsenal despite that incredibly flawed Obama agreement.
Time to take off your blinders. The Democratic Party has become too far leftist for my liking. I do not support leftists, Marxists and anti-semites such as AOC and Ilhan Omar, etc., etc. And, you call Trump racist while conveniently ignoring these facts. This time I am voting straight Republican.