I said the shema, as I held my ballot. Before you vote consider this
A vote is a very private matter. Its sacred. You would never ask a fellow employee how much they got paid. There are some things we keep to ourselves. That is our right as American Citizens. I don’t have to do this. I will probably get a lot of you know what for this. I don’t make my feelings public, but Hineni. But there are some things that cannot be left unsaid.
Every single time Biden and Harris call for Israel’s cease fire, and not for Hamas to surrender, is a very subtle continued promotion of antisemitism. Read that again. Every time Israel is blamed, people have more fuel to hate us. It’s a dig. I am a New Yorker, I know a dig when I see one. It is palpable to me. It is like being stabbed in the heart. Don’t you feel that? Does anyone else pick up on that? If you do, how can you support it?
I have come to some personal conclusions. As I have written before my family( for the most part) are die hard Democrats. My mother (OBM) would be horrified to hear how I voted. A good portion of my friends and family would think I betrayed them. But who is really betraying who here? Lets unpack this.
I have had many conversations, ad nauseum I may add, with my liberal friends. They think I went to the dark side. But in actuality, I came to the light. What is the light you may ask? The light my friends, is seeing things the way they really are. The rose colored glasses are off.
” But what about this issue and that issue, Laurel?” There is only one for me now.
Being a Democrat when I grew up was something to be proud of. We fought for Civil Rights. We always did the ethical thing. That’s who we Jews are. But they are no longer that party. The problem is, they (liberal Jews and others) still think Dems are the good guys. Its not the party I grew up with. Maybe its habit, or conditioning. We are all only for our team or are we? Lets face it, myself included have despised the other side for a long time with good reason. I hated them.
But then I had these questions.
Here are a few questions I’d like to ask you, that I have asked some of my Democratic friends when they challenge me:
What has this administration done to prevent antisemitism on campus? Why aren’t those colleges in question punished, defunded ?
No one could answer. They said things like” yes that’s terrible” but no one could defend that Harris would change it. Because she doesn’t intend to.
What has been done to stop terrorist sponsored groups like SJP on campus. The dismissal of Shai Davidai? Again no answer.
Did anyone try to stop us after 9/11 with ridiculous requirements to defend ourselves or respond to the attack? The response was ” No”. So why is it ok to demand this of Israel? No one could answer.
To my friends that say, “This is America, lets work on our issues.” If you are Jewish this is our issue and if you are not, it is still is our issue. They (Islamic Republic) are coming for the West also.
How about the sexual violence against Israeli’s? Anyone in Hollywood? Obama, Michelle, Oprah? Or the violent so called peaceful protests, where Jewish businesses and individuals are attacked? When first amendment rights become hate speech, again, silence. Not one person can respond to me. I hear ” Her husband is Jewish.” I ask my friend ” what does that mean? He eats bagels? ”
Or the people that say “I have nothing against Jews, it’s the Zionists I hate.” Sorry to inform you, we are one and the same. Here I am. Hineni.
No one had an answer. Not one person. What I got were blank stares.
My final question, would you have the chutzpah to step outside your comfort zone despite what other people think? Are you willing to question everything you formerly believed? Isn’t that also a very Jewish thing? Question everything. I did.
The saying goes something like this, “If you have two Jews, you have three opinions.”
Israel is in my veins, the Jewish people are in my veins. My blood is blue and white. If I have learned anything since Oct 7 it is that.
To conclude, for those that say ” how could you?” Any thinking adult knows that politics, is politics. People say things, there is the scare factor. As an independent I can clearly see that both sides say exactly the same thing about each other. ” If ____ gets in we are screwed.”
And nothing says antisemitism like that leak that just happened. Giving a traitor a security clearance.
But ask those questions, and if you cant answer them, well there is your answer. I am not defending my vote, because I am clear in my choice. A clear person, has no need for that. A lot of us vote for people we would never be friends with. I said to one friend.” Am I required to like her because I’ve always voted Democrat?” I don’t personally like either of them. I did the unthinkable, and I am not sorry. We say things like if you vote this way you are stupid” But what I realized, is that people have their reasons. We need to respect each other in our right to process. So, I am asking you the reader, were you able to answer those questions?
My dear Christian friend Marie, told me the other day,” put your hand on that ballot and pray. ” So I did.
“Shema Yisrael, Adonoi eloheinu, Adonoi Ehad.” It was the most powerful time I ever voted. It literally went through me as I said the prayer, and I felt clear. Now it is in Hashem’s hands.