Ani Ma’amin: My 13 Principles of Faith before the Election

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This has been a very difficult time for American Jews, because of the war in Israel and impact it has had here in our home country. We have just gone through the high holiday period, where we prayed for a good year — a better year than the one that passed — for ourselves, our families and loved ones, the Jewish people, the people of Israel, and all peoples. I found that I couldn’t concentrate well on my prayers, because of all the tumult in the world. But I found that it helped me to articulate, focus, and be guided by a set of principles that I have — and continue to — believe in.

1. I believe that I am an average person. I am not an influencer, a public person, a pundit, or a politician. I’m not wealthy. I don’t have a profile on social media, but I have something to say and I hope you read this.  It really doesn’t matter who I am, please just read what I am sharing, and give it some thought.
2. I believe that nobody is perfect. Once a person acknowledges that they don’t know everything and can admit their failings, they can do better.  They will change their behavior and, as needed, seek out good ideas and advice from others whoever they are. That is one lesson of Yom Kippur.
3. I believe that we could be better listeners. Our attention spans are getting shorter. We are influenced by sound bites, entertainment, and headlines. We need more precision, honesty, and substance in our communication.  And to avoid labels that dismiss and demean speakers and end conversations. These improve thoughtfulness and problem solving.
4. I believe that one of the beauties of Judaism across all of its branches is that it is not monolithic. We are not bound to a charismatic individual religious personage. We do not respond with knee-jerk reactions, we approach things thoughtfully, and we consider many facets of an issue, sometimes maddeningly so. We all received the Torah and, to some degree, we each write our own interpretation of it.
5. I believe in the American Dream and the melting pot. I love the Statue of Liberty and what it represents. America has been made stronger by diverse voices, positive international relations, multi-faceted experiences, hard work, and acceptance of “others.” America is better off when all of its people are contributing to the common good.
6. I believe that justice, mercy, and lovingkindness are universal and everlasting values in Judaism. It is what God asks of us, as the prophet Micah says.  These qualities ought to be universal, from the top of the social, political, and economic ladders to the bottom – both in those who display them and those who are on the receiving end. The pressures of modern life do not excuse us from demonstrating our humanity.
7. I believe it is an imperative to take care of our common home, earth. We read in Parshat Bereisheet (Genesis Chapter 2) that God gave the earth to humans “l’ovdah u’lshomrah,” to serve and conserve it. We have an obligation to be stewards for our home.  It is the only home we will have and there a lot of us that it has to sustain.
8. I believe that dehumanizing others is a terrible sin. It is too easy in our short-attention-spanned world to put people in buckets, and to dismissively call the people who are not like us “them” or worse. One essential lesson of the Holocaust is that when groups of people dehumanize other groups of people who are different from them, it increases the likelihood of ignorance, intolerance, abuse, racism, sexism, violence, and murder.
9. I believe that America has never not been great, even when times have been rough. This is especially the case for Jews. In the 2000-year diaspora of Jewish history, there has been no better home for Jews than the United States.  It wasn’t always welcoming or easy, but there was an opportunity that didn’t always exist elsewhere to become a lasting part of society. The immigrant experience of Jews in the United States show the fruits of hard work and opportunity.
10. I believe that there are no easy solutions for the situation in Israel. There exists much pain in the Jewish world since October 7, from the murders and ongoing war in Israel and its consequences.  As a result of this suffering, we are searching for answers and solutions. We wish there were easy answers, and maybe even believe there are, but that probably overlooks unintended consequences and gets in the way of doing what actually needs to be done.
11. I believe that elected officials are and should be public servants. Anyone who puts their own interests above ours has no business being a public servant and is not worthy of our vote. True public servants are accountable to the entire population and take that accountability seriously. Throughout history, when Jews have yielded to individual leaders for their protection and well-being, from Pharaoh through modern times, it has never worked out well for the Jewish people.
12. I believe that the United States and its leaders will always support Israel. There may be disagreements on policy and methods, but Israel will always be able to count on the U.S. because it will always be in the U.S.’s interests to have a strong Israel as an ally in the Middle East.  Israel will survive and thrive no matter who is elected president of the United States in November.
13. I believe that rising intolerance, antisemitism, and white nationalism in the United States pose an existential threat to the Jewish life in America as we have enjoyed for the past many decades. The seeds are being sown and until people with platforms – politicians, business leaders, media personalities – stand up across the political spectrum to persistently and unequivocally declare that these behaviors are not OK, and to dissociate themselves from groups who advocate these practices, these threats will continue to grow.

If I had written this five years ago, these principles would have been the same, except for #13.

When I consider my beliefs, my vote for Kamala Harris for President is clear.  Her values align better with Jewish values, her policies will continue the long history of enriching the Jewish experience (and the experience of all people wherever they have come from), and she will seek solutions to the problems that we face instead of making empty promises, sowing discord, and blaming others.

If you have a core set of beliefs, and you haven’t voted yet, it might be helpful to examine your own choices through that lens (or you can use mine).   Our votes make a difference, and we need to look inside ourselves to make our decisions and then exercise this right free from intimidation, without barriers, and proudly, wherever we live in this great country.  And no matter what the outcome, all Jews should be offended by Donald Trump’s suggestion that any Jews, who have a core set of principles and follow them and choose someone other than him, need to have their heads examined.

Donald Trump has never displayed a real affinity for Jewish values and taken no steps to suppress the growth of dehumanization, antisemitism and white supremacism; he values the support of the extreme right wing too much.  Anyone who votes for Donald Trump, or his supporters for any elected office, is enabling the growth of these dangerous factions. They need to be reined in now before it is too late. I believe that voters who, despite everything, hold their noses and declare support for Donald Trump only because of his pronouncements on Israel or because they think he would only be able to serve four years are are shortsighted and misguided. Clal Yisrael, world Jewry wherever they live, has much more to lose than gain by voting for Donald Trump in 2024.