This Authoritarian Moment, the Jewish Response

In my 2021 book analyzing Donald Trump’s first term, I wrote “Not only were there different policy options and directions, but the cultural artifacts of politics changed because of how this president dramatically challenged the existing norms of political behavior and action.”

As Jews, we have experienced at various stages in our epic history authoritarian leadership. Even within more recent times, our people encountered such dominant and destructive figures as Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Putin, and Peron. Later, in this essay, we will return to the particular implications for Jews in connection with the rise of authoritarian rule, and more directly, the “Trump Effect”.

Donald Trump’s political footprint has been transformative. As a result of his policies and his distinctive leadership style, he has reintroduced us to the world of authoritarianism. This president has been quite transparent in laying out not only his game plan but the process by which he intends to govern. On his first day in office, the White House released “President Trump’s America First Priorities” detailing his agenda and framing his governance model.

Over the course of history, political theorists from Plato to Hobbs, from Machiavelli to Carlyle have framed the principles and practices that define such types of leaders.

Posted below are some of the characteristics that frame this model:

• Centralization of power and the unregulated exercise of power
• Political repression: intimidating and threatening political opponents.
• The imposition of social controls
• Manipulation of information
• Threats toward and interference with the media and press

In studying Nicollo Machiavelli’s The Prince, one appreciates more fully how authoritarian rulers govern, as this 16^th Century philosopher lays out the six principles that stipulate how a leader conducts oneself:

• Fear vs. Love.
• Control Through Force
• Strategic Deception
• Adaptability and Foresight
• Virtue and Fortitude
• The End Justifies the Means

Today, we are experiencing the global growth of authoritarian regimes. In the late 1990’s, more countries were identified as “moving toward” democracy (72) as compared with becoming “authoritarian” (3), yet by 2021, according to the World Bank, a reverse pattern was unfolding, with 33 moving to the political right and only 15 trending “democratic”. Freedom House provides a deeper analysis of the impact of this threat to democracy.

Yet, there is a growing acceptance and even desire to embrace authoritarian regimes among voters living in democracies. A new Pew Study (2024) noted that 32% of Americans embrace such a notion, a markedly higher percentage since the 1930’s.  Sociologists identify a number of factors contributing to the rise of “authoritarian populism”:

As Charles Murray lays out in his 2012 book Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010, a decline in our collective emphasis on certain traditional virtues—hard work, marriage, and the like—has opened a gulf between college-schooled elites and high-schooled non elites. The resentment felt by one side of the divide is, unfortunately, often matched by the arrogance and condescension shown by the other, which merely accentuates the resentment.

 We are finding ourselves in a war over ideas and values. This is a conflict where liberal, rational and globalist perspectives are being challenged by the politics of resentment, a populism of rejectionism and grievance. In many ways, this is less about Republican vs. Democrat and far more a contest over beliefs and values.

The effect of this new attachment to and growth of authoritarianism has been laid out in a variety of recent publications, among them a 2017 assessment in the Washington Post.  In their recent Foreign Policy article, Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way lay out the Trump rise to power in 2016 and his authoritarian orientation predicting:

U.S. democracy will likely break down during the second Trump Presidency, in the sense, that it will cease to meet standard criteria for liberal democracy: full adult suffrage, free and fair elections, and broad protections of civil liberties.

 Authoritarianism and America’s Jews:

Minorities are often targeted by such regimes. This movement toward authoritarian rule, whether here in the United States or elsewhere, must be seen as particularly threatening to Jews, despite the suggestion that Jews can thrive under such regimes. Political analyst Michael Walzer argues the reverse, offering the following assessment:

No. Today’s authoritarian regimes are generally dangerous for Jews. Some, strangely, are antisemitic at home but pro-Israel abroad. But for Jews domestically, liberal democracy, with its commitment to pluralism and tolerance, is safer than almost any modern authoritarian regime.

Authoritarianism is both contrary to Judaism and violates the norms and practices of Americanism.

Throughout our history, we have experienced political leaders who target or threaten Jews, using them as pawns in terms of their own political goals. Jews have lived with rulers where our status was compromised or threatened.

 At a time when so many other constituencies are being negatively targeted and are encountering significant threats from this administration, there are Jews who today favorably perceive that this president’s pro-Israel policies and his actions directed toward America’s universities under the guise of fighting anti-Semitism reflect his support of Jews.

As I have written elsewhere,  “critics believe that the 47^th President is in fact skillfully using the Jewish community, seeking to pressure Jewish leaders and Israeli officials to do his bidding… Is it possible that some Jewish leaders are misreading the intentions of the White House, only to face a potentially disappointing outcome?”

Rather than adopting a pattern of political silence, this moment calls upon Americans, and not the least its Jews, to defend and protect this democracy.  The Jewish community will need to adopt a strategy that can best preserve this nation’s democratic norms and heritage.

• Speak out in defense of democracy, calling out those who seek to undo our democracy,
• Promote and build alliances and coalitions with other Americans that are designed to uphold and defend democratic practices,
• Employ the institutions of democracy in its defense, including the power of the judiciary, legislative recourse, and the freedoms of speech and assembly as stipulated in the Constitution,
• Encourage the creation of a national service program that would create opportunities for young Americans to build shared connections and mutual experiences bringing our citizens together in common purpose, and
• Commit to the civics education of all Americans, focusing on the the values, principles and practices that have shaped and define our nation.

The element of time demands that Americans in general and Jews in particular will need to respond. Left unchecked, authoritarianism as with a cancer will continue to expand and alter the fabric and character of this great democracy.