Civil Rights of Women or the Civil Rights of Jews

Never in a million years did I think Americans would have to choose between women’s rights and the civil rights of Jews.

As a liberal minded, feminist Jew, I have always supported the civil rights of a woman’s ability to control her own body, to the point that back when I was in my twenties I volunteered to escort women into abortion clinics.  

In my younger years I attended countless pro choice rallies in both Chicago and Washington DC.  I also did what I could as a rape victim advocate to insure that sexual assault survivors always knew they had choices if they became pregnant.  I never pressured anyone.  I just supplied factual information and resources for what ever the survivor decided to do.

As the years progressed I learned the Halacha (Jewish Laws) regarding abortion.  I was relieved to learn that Jewish Law supported my feminist values; that a woman’s life came before that of a fetus (emotionally, psychologically and or physically).  If any of these were in jeopardy a female (adult or child) had a right to have an abortion.  No one decided for the woman, the decision was totally up to her. 

As someone who has spent just under forty years advocating for the civil rights of those who have been sexually victimized, I am sickened by what the Republican Party has turned into.

What shocks me most is that many individuals in orthodox circles are supporting a candidate to become President of the United States who has an Anti Social Personality Disorder (ASPD) and is serial sexual predator.  Their support is reminiscent to years ago when I was involved  with The Awareness Center (Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Assault), when many rabbonim from within all movements of Judaism protected sex offenders over that of the individuals who were sexually victimized.

Someone with the same personality traits as the Republican Presidential candidate is often diagnosed with ASPD.  Individuals with Anti Social Personality Disorder are characterized as individuals who have a persistent pattern of disregard for and violation of others’ rights.  This type of behavior begins in childhood or early adolescence. Individuals with ASPD often manipulate others for personal gain, they lack the ability empathize with others, and seldom feel any sense of remorse for their actions.  Many cult leaders, terrorists, serial rapists and murderers are diagnosed with having ASPD.

I personally could never vote for Donald Trump.

Then there’s the issues with the current Democratic Party.  As someone who has been a life long Zionist, the views of the Democratic Party has become extremely antisemitic.  The hatred of Zionist has been growing to a magnitude of that of Nazi Germany.  This is not something that occurred overnight, yet momentum over the last ten years has been humongous.  

The Jew Hate coming from the Democratic Party became obvious with both the Woman’s March that occurred on January 21, 2017, when Jewish women were shunned; and within the #MeToo Movement.  It also is seen with their hatred of Israel, which is the only Jewish state globally.

As someone who’s been involved in the anti rape movement since 1985, I’m appalled at what happened to both the feminist and survivor’s movement.  Neither movements were ever supposed to be about religion or exclusion.  Originally both groups were about individuals from different backgrounds joining forces to advocate for each other.  

We also have to pay attention to the fact that many founders of both movements were Jews. How can any group of people turn their backs on their founders and their messages?

How can any Jew vote for either the Republican or Democratic candidate?  Both have shown their own biases against Israel and Jews globally.