Maryland Voters Can Put A Jewish Ally in Congress

Another spike in antisemitism is underway in the United States. Unfortunately, it’s coming from the top. In statements made yesterday to the Israeli-American Council, ostensibly about the need to counter antisemitism and without irony, former President Donald Trump made it clear that he would blame the Jews if he were to lose the presidential election this coming November.

As the generally accepted definition of antisemitism, organized by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) states, “Antisemitism frequently charges Jews with conspiring to harm humanity, and it is often used to blame Jews for ‘why things go wrong.’”

This is our American political environment in 2024. Yet unfortunately, this is not an isolated event and is part of a longer term trend on the political right to normalize antisemitic speech.

For example, when a vote came before my home state of Maryland’s General Assembly in 2020 to “Prohibit… a person from placing or inscribing an item or a symbol, including an actual or depicted noose or swastika… with the intent to threaten or intimidate any person or group of persons…” it passed, but not unanimously. In fact, four members of the General Assembly’s 141 Delegates voted against it, including one that’s now running as the Republican candidate for Congress in Maryland’s 6th Congressional District: Neil Parrott.

Nazi Swastikas have no place in American society. This is not a very hard concept to support. Yet instead of taking a moral and legal stand against the use of these hate symbols, Parrott and the other three naysayers gave it oxygen. And with skyrocketing antisemitism in the United States reaching levels not seen since before World War Two, now more than ever, we need all of our country’s leaders to take a strong stand against antisemitism. Parrott did not.

Even more disturbing, this was not an isolated incident, which is why I’m speaking out.

According to Jewish Insider, six years prior, in 2014, Parrott also voted against a state budget bill that had included an amendment condemning antisemitism as “an intolerable and ugly form of bigotry,” while denouncing academic boycotts of Israel. As the saying goes, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.

Jewish voters in this Congressional District should not be fooled.

I recently ran for Congress in this district. The district is the largest in the state with broad swaths of suburban and rural communities. It is also the most competitive congressional district in Maryland. It represents people from all walks of life and the politics of the district reflect, in many ways, the near parity between Democrats and Republicans nationally. This election matters and it is very tight.

Every vote in Congress has a profound impact, and from a Jewish perspective, it’s important to consider how Neil Parrott would vote on critical legislation like the bipartisan Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act (HR 603). The Act defines ‘’Holocaust education’” as educational activities that are specifically intended “to study the history of antisemitism, its deep historical roots, the use of conspiracy theories and propaganda that target the Jewish people, and the shape-shifting nature of antisemitism over time.”

American Jews are facing the most severe antisemitism crisis in a century. In Maryland’s Montgomery County, where I and roughly 100,000 Jews live, antisemitism is skyrocketing at our schools, in our public spaces, and online. And the most common symbol used to try to intimidate Jews? The swastika!

If Neil Parrott can’t bring himself to vote against the use of Nazi swastikas intended to intimidate our fellow Americans, how can we expect him to support legislation that educates Americans on the horrific meaning behind that symbol? He clearly doesn’t get it. So in short, we can’t trust him.

That’s why, especially during election season, we American Jews must carefully scrutinize our candidates to ensure that they are prepared to defend the Jewish community during this time of rising hate. For, if we’ve learned one lesson from the past century, it’s that when our leaders remain silent in the face of antisemitism, hate flourishes.

Now I understand and will not obscure the fact that antisemitism exists on the left as well; that must also be confronted. But at this moment, with clear choices before us in our elections, it’s critical to examine the records of those seeking to represent us. Also on the ballot, there is another excellent candidate, April McClain Delaney, who has consistently stood up against antisemitism and hatred, has garnered the support of key pro-Israel organizations like AIPAC and the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI), and doesn’t waver in the face of clear bigotry.

And unlike Parrott, McClain Delaney, a Democrat, is not trying to placate the most extreme voices in her party at the expense of Jewish safety. She’s someone whose support for the HEAL Act I could expect without hesitation. And I also have no concerns about her blocking military aid to Israel, unlike House Republicans who shamefully blocked it during one of the most devastating wars in Israel’s history earlier this year. A Democratic majority in the House, with her in it, would never play such games with Israel’s security.

Regrettably, the Republican party continues to nominate both at the top of its ticket and down-ballot for Congress, people who exacerbate the antisemitism plaguing our communities. American Jews deserve elected leaders who will stand up for our community’s safety and security, not look away from it.

Fortunately, Maryland’s 6th has a candidate who will do just that, and her name is April McClain Delaney.