Kamala won’t be silent and neither should we

Last month my nephew sent me a meme. Two guys are casually talking, each with a beer in his hand. One guy says, “My party’s antisemites are tolerable – not at all like yours.”

Both funny and disturbing at the same time, this meme captures the bilateral, political weaponization of antisemitism. True to form, in his convention speech President Biden called out the antisemites on the right, and failed to acknowledge the surging antisemitism on the left.

As an Independent who aligns with Democrats on some issues and with Republicans on others, I can easily see antisemitism in both parties.

Highlighting the Democrats’ lack of support for Israel, the Republican Jewish Coalition pledged to donate 1,800 trees in honor of anyone who addresses the Democratic convention from the main stage and asks the crowd to cheer for the Jewish state, as they did at last month’s Republican convention.

There is no doubt that in recent years the Democratic party has shown increasing tolerance for antisemitism, along with growing hostility towards Israel. These trends are evident when you look at the legislation in the 118^th Congress. The vast majority of bills and resolutions condemning antisemitism and supporting Israel were introduced by Republicans. If you search, you will also find pieces of anti-Israel legislation initiated by Democrats.

While most Democrats, when asked, will condemn antisemitism and say they support Israel, they don’t do so as passionately as the Republicans. Democrats who fervently support Israel are few and far between.

One such Democrat is Rep. Ritchie Torres who said, “I feel no need to be balanced between Israel and Hamas. One is a Democratic ally of the US. The other is a genocidal terrorist organization oppressing both Israelis and Palestinians. Better to be right than to be balanced.”

Another is Democratic Senator John Fetterman who said, “I would be the last man standing to be absolutely there on the Israeli side with no conditions.”

How many other Democrats have spoken so unambiguously about their support for Israel? Most likely, if you have a Democratic Representative or Senator, you have not heard them speak like Torres and Fetterman or like most Republicans.

Indeed, it takes passion and conviction to counter antisemitism. During the congressional hearings, it was Republican Elyse Stefanik’s outrage that prompted her questioning leading to the resignation of the presidents of Harvard and UPenn.

Yet Jewish people are too easily satisfied with the tepid, hollow support from the Democratic party. We need to raise the bar regarding our expectations. Simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When Jewish students must decide whether to attend the most prestigious universities, or somewhere they will be safer, simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When synagogues and Holocaust museums are attacked by people shouting “Free Palestine”, simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When protestors call for the genocide of Jews, simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

Also not enough is President Biden’s support for Israel. His alliance that initially seemed steadfast has since wavered. It is likely that a President Harris will be even less friendly towards the Jewish state. With every criticism of Israel and threat to withhold weapons, Hamas is emboldened more, less likely to release hostages and to reach a ceasefire agreement. With friends like Biden and Harris, who needs enemies? Historian Bernard Lewis said, “America is harmless as an enemy but treacherous as a friend.”

Harris has said that she won’t be silent when it comes to the suffering in Gaza. We shouldn’t be silent about her lack of support for Israel. Her remarks often begin with, “Israel has a right to defend itself.”, and end with all of the ways she wants to make it difficult for Israel to do so. In fact, no one should ever utter the statement, “Israel has a right to defend itself.” Those words are as obvious as, “The sun is in the sky.”

Netanyahu’s July visit to Congress revealed the anti-Israel sentiment that permeates the Democratic party. About half of the Senate and House Democrats boycotted his speech. Revealing her disdain for the prime minister and her lack of commitment to Israel, Kamala Harris was also a no-show. It is doubtful that their actions would have been any different had a centrist or leftist Israeli prime minister spoken.

As President of the Senate, Harris should have attended the speech. By failing to sit behind the prime minister of the Jewish state, Harris showed that she does not have Israel’s back. She also refused to have a public press conference with the Israeli leader, and her steely demeanor towards him after their meeting spoke volumes.

Had she and the absent 125 Democrats attended, they would have seen the inspiring Israelis who accompanied Netanyahu to Congress. Noa Argamani, whose fear we could only imagine as we watched her carted away by Hamas on a motorbike, was there. How wonderful it was to see her safe. Also, attending were four soldiers, black and white, Jewish and Muslim, a microcosm representing the diversity that is Israel. One soldier ran eight miles, not away from terror, but towards it, to save his fellow Israelis. Other soldiers, undaunted by their lost limbs and partial eyesight, went back to fight again. Their bravery in the face of danger is an inspiration. In contrast to the evil that is Hamas, these heroes represent the best of humanity, filling us with awe and hope.

In Gaza there is a fine line between Hamas terrorists and the rest of the population. In fact, many civilians held kidnapped people in their homes, cheered the kidnapping of the people when they were brought into Gaza, and participated in the brutal October massacre.

There is no fine line, however, between the valiant soldiers in Congress that day in July, and the protestors outside Congress. While the soldiers selflessly serve their country, the protestors, mired in ignorance and self-righteousness, act like petulant children throwing a temper tantrum. With no thought about the impact, they block roads and highways. They accomplish nothing and are nothing but useful idiots to terrorists and tyrants.

It is noteworthy that many of the anti-Israel protests are in fact also anti-American protests, as the anarchists include, “Death to America” in their hateful chants. This is not surprising as there is an intrinsic link between Israel and America. Louis D. Brandeis recognized that the 200-year-old American ideals of democracy and social justice are in fact 2,000-year-old Jewish ideals.

In 1985, before President Reagan planned to lay a wreath at a cemetery where SS soldiers were buried, Elie Wiesel told Reagan, “That place, Mr. President, is not your place. Your place is with the victims.”

To Vice President Harris and all of the sanctimonious Democrats who boycotted the speech, I would say, “Your place is not with the protestors who burn American flags and support Hamas. Your place is with our ally Israel, one of the strongest democracies in the world, a country that provides the US with invaluable intelligence that keeps us safe. Your place is in that chamber where we paid tribute to heroes who made us pause and think about what good over evil really means.”

Harris’ perfunctory statements of support for Israel are typically followed by criticism. A country the size of New Jersey under attack on seven fronts, a country that suffered such horrendous brutality, a country that still has so many held hostage, a country that continually has rockets raining down on it, a country that has gotten smaller in the north as Hezbollah has made it inhabitable, does not need Harris piling on.

If Kamala won’t be silent, then let her speak resoundingly about the Oct. 7 massacre. Let her speak with fury over the pictures Hamas released of bloody, beaten women and teenage girls tied up and still held hostage. Let her show anger for the 12 Israeli children killed while playing soccer. There is so much that she should not be silent about, but her speech conveys passion primarily for the people of Gaza, most of whom are terrorists or terrorist supporters.

If Harris won’t be silent, then we should not be silent either. It is incumbent on all of us to call or email our representative, senators, Biden, and Harris, telling them they should consistently support Israel and speak out against antisemitism with the conviction and frequency of a Republican. Call again and again. Let’s stop the Democrats from taking the Jewish vote for granted. The pro-Hamas camp has been able to sway the Democrats. It is time for us to sway them back in the other direction.

It has been said that fighting antisemitism is like draining the ocean with an eye dropper.

While it sounds like an impossible task, we should remember a famous line from Pirkei Avot. “You are not obligated to complete the mission of repairing the world, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

This line is often quoted by a governor from a must-win state whom the Democrats surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, did not select for vice president, a man named Josh Shapiro.

May we always be mindful of this quote calling us to action. Let us seek ways to repair the world, and at this time, let us embark on a mission to repair the Democratic party.