Trumping Zionism

Jews in the United States have traditionally sided with liberal candidates. As an often persecuted minority, they supported others who fought for equality, standing side by side with such luminaries as Martin Luther King. Since Jews are always told to remember that they, too, were foreigners in Egypt, they have helped waves of immigrant groups of all types. Emma Goldman and many other Jewish women were important in the feminist movement, advocating for birth control, women’s suffrage, and more; it is no coincidence that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of the two first and most famous women Supreme Court judges.

Who could have imagined that today many Jews and Israelis have expressed support for a racist, xenophobic and misogynist candidate? Donald Trump is the antithesis of virtually everything that Jews have ever stood for.

Typically warping the truth, the Trump campaign has tried to present their candidate as supportive of Muslims, despite having advocated a radical and racist policy of deporting and refusing entry to people coming from Arab countries. At the same time, they are courting Jewish voters and blaming the Biden administration for the current wave of anti-Semitism, though it would doubtless be far worse were Trump in power: Trump has backed and been backed by xenophobic and anti-Semitic groups.

The simple truth is that the Biden administration was outspoken, brave, and extraordinarily supportive of Israel from the first news of the Hamas massacre in the south. He went out of his way both to demonstrate his horror at the attack, to express solidarity, and to recognize Israel’s right to defend itself as well as provide more aid and military support than any previous U.S. president. He has been a staunch supporter of Israel and an important ally since his first days in politics, under the premiership of Golda Meir. Given the terrible death and destruction since the outbreak of the war ad the complexity of the current situation, he has continued to back Israel and its government, even in the face of harsh criticism of its management domestically and foreign.

Why, then, are Jews and Israelis expressing support for Trump? It is difficult to fathom. Trump will bring instability, division, and most likely violence — as he did under his term beginning in 2016. This will mean internal strife, weakening of foreign ties, and economic troubles: markets do not like unpredictability. On the domestic front, his incitement and hostility to so many of the country’s inhabitants will bring havoc at best, strife at worst.

Perhaps some Jews and Israelis think that Trump will be a bulwark against Palestinian demands. Those that do, haven’t read Trump’s “Deal of the Century” plan, a garbled and log-winded outline for an utterly unviable two-state solution. Perhaps they imagine that Trump will fight anti-Semitism? That is extremely unlikely, given his threats to Jews and his vitriolic speeches against anyone different from him. A leader who attacks one minority is most likely to turn against another.

Donald Trump will be a disaster for America, and Israel needs the U.S. to be strong. Trump’s foreign policy will be as confused and dangerous as it was in his first term, meeting and flirting with Kim Jong Un and praising Vladimir Putin. Largely leaning in the American tradition of opposing “entangling alliances”, he certainly can not be trusted to stand by any allies.

Kamala Harris has been pursuing a line of stability and adherence to democratic values that have served Jews everywhere. Allowing Trump to capture Jewish or Israeli votes will be allowing disinformation and ignorance to trump Zionism as well as a common concern for democratic and liberal values.