Why Pittsburgh’s Jews Should Back Kamala Harris

Three years ago, my family and I moved to the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh—back to the tight-knit, diverse Jewish community where my wife grew up. Our children are flourishing at Community Day School and we’ve found a spiritual home at Temple Sinai. It’s a community full of love and support, but also one marked by pain.

We arrived in the shadow of the Tree of Life massacre. This tragedy shook Jews across the world, but here, the trauma feels especially raw, as if it happened yesterday. We’ve come to share in the deep sorrow—and the incredible resilience—that binds this community together. While we are grateful for the extra security—law enforcement patrols, guards at our synagogues and schools—our sense of safety has been profoundly changed.

As Squirrel Hill heals, we need a President of the United States we can count on to stand with us, celebrating all our community has to offer while keeping us safe. That is why I am voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and urge you to join me.

With our country facing another generation-defining election, I am reminded of Vice President Harris’s words last year on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, as she and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff welcomed Jewish community leaders to their home: our solemn task of repairing the world “is a fight for something, not against something. It’s a fight for enlightenment. It’s a fight for justice, fairness and kindness, knowledge.”

I am often struck by how closely Harris’s policies reflect core Jewish values—tzedek (justice), rachamim (compassion), and arevut (communal responsibility). She embodies these values by protecting marginalized communities, addressing inequality, and championing policies to help families thrive.  Her goals are deeply rooted in the same values that we, as Jews, strive to live out each day.

But Harris also understands that for Jews to contribute fully to the fabric of American life, we need to live in safety and dignity. Harris has consistently stood with us. As District Attorney of San Francisco, she created a hate crimes unit and worked with the Jewish community to support victims and survivors.  As Vice President, she and Emhoff, spearheaded the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism – a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive plan to combat antisemitism.  The Biden-Harris administration supported increased funding for security grants for synagogues to protect themselves, but which Republicans have sought to diminish in recent budgets.  Her support for common-sense gun laws speaks directly to us and countless other communities marked by shootings.

This commitment to our safety extends beyond our borders, to protecting Jews in Israel and around the world. Harris has demonstrated unwavering support for Israel’s security– including by securing $14 billion in aid for Israel, joining numerous calls with Israeli leadership since October 7th, and spotlighting Hamas’ brutal sexual violence.  Harris’s consistent, principled support for Israel and for multilateral diplomacy ensures long-term stability for for us all.

All too often, however, we are reminded of the prejudice that threatens our safety at home and abroad.  Just this week, Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally featured tropes about Jews being cheap.  And Trump himself has proclaimed that if he loses his presidential bid, the “Jewish people would have a lot to do with it.”  To say nothing of his reported praise for Nazi generals.

These words are a warning.  Though he claims to support Israel, to support Jewish communities, that support is not based on lasting values.  It is transactional.  Just as Vladimir Putin quickly abandoned Israel after October 7th, Trump will cast Israel aside as soon as it is politically expedient to do so. Trump’s admiration for authoritarians like Putin and Viktor Orbán—both known for exploiting antisemitism—do not make us safer abroad. And amplifying the voices of white nationalists will not make us safer at home.

Trump’s dangerous rhetoric could easily and understandably intimidate us.

Let it motivate us instead.

In Pennsylvania, we have the responsibility of voting in a state that may decide the election. And with that comes the opportunity to make this country and our world safer for Jews and all marginalized communities– so that we may each bring the best of ourselves to the task of tackling our nation’s challenges and creating a just, fair, and kind future; a future worthy of our children.

This election, let us demand a sincere partner in that work.

Let us elect Kamala Harris for President of the United States.