Jews rose up from disenfranchisement but never forgot where they came from. It took a betrayal of epic proportions to separate them from the liberal movement and the world may never be the same again.
Any Jew who has anything to eat should be down on their knees to their ancestors for sweating it out and making it possible for their lives today. Any Jew who is pro-
Palestinian , pro- Hamas, pro UN, ICC, ICJ, UNRWA etc- needs to spend a day with a Jew hatred filled Gazan family, stop the liberal nonsense into which they have luxuriously self- wrapt themselves, and get with the program. Accept that you are hated and stop trying to pass yourself off as a”good Jew” so that you will not be attacked. It’s your ancestral duty to make sure that your fellow Jews survive no matter what you may or may not think about Netanyahu’s government. This is a time of war. Not just for Israel but for the continuance of Western civilisation. And if you REALLY care about the Palestinians and their improved future, you will support Israel. Because if you don’t, you won’t be around much longer to pontificate your liberal views about anything.
"Jews who turn against their fellow Jews should learn a lesson from history - misplaced loyalty doesn't end well
One of the most shocking observations of our post-October 7 world is that a small but very vocal minority of Jews have chosen to act as defenders for the murderers and kidnappers of our people.
Groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace encourage further attacks on Israel by justifying and defending Palestinian terrorists and vilifying supporters of Israel..."
Yes, and those are exactly the self hating Jews to whom I was referring- besides the other liberal Jews who have absolutely no idea what is going on, and listen instead to the noxious 24/7 disinformation that Western Media chooses to feed them.
I too am a Jew that could no longer remain liberal or a Democrat following the eye opening awakening after October 7, 2023. I agree with your essay on most points, but don’t agree that Biden is or has been any friend of Israel.
I am a non-Jew who feels the same way. I was a lifelong Dem but voted for the venal Donal Trump on election day so the world would be safe from the same savagery that led to the Holocaust. Never Again is Now. I will never get over people tearing down posters of those precious Bibas babies. Never. Never.
I couldn't vote for Trump: he did well by Israel last administration, but I don't trust him. 1) He has no real ideology; it's all about what makes him look good or puts money in his pocket; 2) He seems at times to be so pro-Putin, and Putin is no friend to Israel; 3) He likes to hang with white supremacists / neo-Nazis from time to time and you know how the last person to talk to him, affects him. I dearly hope he proves me wrong.
He enabled October 7 by undoing the sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China and unfreezing bank accounts, which together enabled over $100 billion to flow to Iran and ultimately to Hamas. The Trump administration had crippled the Iranian economy and left it starved of cash. The Biden Administration was desperate to appease Iran and revive the JCPOA. So,not a friend of Israel. Friends don’t fund the sworn enemies of friends.
Great piece. My parents were these old school liberal Jews, and so was I. This year has changed me in ways I never imagined. Thank you for putting this out there.
This should not have come as a surprise: there was antisemitism for decades in the Democratic Party Left, especially its ties to Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan that went to the very top of the leadership:
BLM founder Patrice Cullors-Kahn gave a commencement speech at UCLA where she called for the destruction of Israel.
It took Oct 7 for people to see what had actually been in front of them all along.
That said, there are Democrats like RFK Jr, Congressman Ritchie Torres, Senator John Fetterman and President Bill Clinton that have courageously stood up for Israel even in the most hostile forums. They may or may not win the battle for the Democratic Party.
Only at present, the louder, antisemitic voices in the Democratic Party drown them out and leave the Republican Party under President Trump as the strongest, most consistent supporter of Israel and the Jewish community.
It was only until 2019 that antisemitism was added to the list of Title VI Civil Rights Violations: thank you, President Trump!
A recent article here in Future of Jewish outlined Carter's anti-semitism (since we're reviewing politicians), and today I heard on a blog that Carter supported the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and supported Khomeini (who of course turned around and screwed him over via the hostages, which cost Carter a second term). If it's true, what's up with that? I know the Shah hadn't always been the greatest guy, but he was an ally and he was rapidly becoming quite progressive. How could Carter support the likes of Khomeini, a radical terrorist barbarian? That's a mystery to me.
Carter ran on a "human rights foreign policy". His first year he celebrated New Year's Eve in Teheran with the Shah but after criticized him for human rights abuses and hamstrung the Shah's attempts to use his loyal Imperial Guard to quell the protests.
Many prominent Democrats shifted their support to Reagan in 1980 because of Carter's foreign policy failures, chief among them the loss of Iran:
Understandable. I've simply become one of those people who views everything through a lens that filters out anyone and anything that isn't supportive of Israel. I could not bring myself to "mourn" him - although I did enjoy the fact that the Capitol was hosting a traditional, quiet event.
What matters is that the Clintons, and others, spoke up.
It's a lost cause to expect the hysterical anti-Israel crowd to listen and reason, when it claims there were no atrocities on Oct 7, blames all civilian deaths in Israel and Gaza on the IDF and claims Jews entered "Palestine" only after 1948.
Overwhelming force is the best language in this case. That's why I welcome President Trump's "all hell to pay if the hostages are not released" message. No one in the Middle East will have misunderstood that message spelled out in the clearest, most fluent, Arabic dialect.
great article, but in America, not as many Jewish Democrats have left the Democrats as one would think. Many of those who still support the Democrats fully bought into the lies that Trump is "Hitler." Surprisingly too many think that. Soon, very soon, I expect they will fully realize that the opposite is true: Trump and his team are the most pro-Israel, pro-Jewish administration ever to come into power and that will be evident very quickly.
If they didn’t realize it during Trump’s first term, I expect they’re still not going to get it during the next four years. The indoctrination is deeply embedded, and/or “Jewish” issues are not a high enough priority for many.
Not so sure, David. Many I have spoken with truly believed the media that Trump was an antisemite and 'Hitler." In the next few months, they will realize with that, and many other issues, how much they were lied to by Dems and the media. You and I know all about the outrageous lies, but half the country did not. Were YOU shocked at Biden's debate performance? No. Neither was I; but every Democrat I know was completely shocked--because they never paid attention to Conservative media and believed the mainstream media's coverups. So much more is going to come out (including the final nails it the Biden Corruption scandals, and the corruption of our universities and the United Nations) and Trump will prove himself as the Jews' best friend. Sure, some will go into complete denial, but others will see the truth. Remains to be seen, but I can't believe that all Liberals will go into denial--just look how many are converting publicly to Republican already. I think it will be quite an avalanche in the month/year ahead. I hope so, anyway.
I’m not so sure lifetime liberal Democrats are leaving the party “in droves.” Some have indeed left, to be sure. But by polling and my own anecdotal personal experience, most remain unable to bring themselves to vote Republican, despite the glaring reality of contemporary political, social and cultural developments.
Many are leaving… but many others are trying to fight to bring back the liberal party they supported… and understand that the far right is also antisemitic, just sticking to more traditional forms. I think what most of us have learned… painfully … is that we can’t trust any party, any politician… only ourselves and Israel. We have learned how easy it is to infiltrate and destroy from within Western civilization. It only took the Islamists some 25 years to make a complete mockery of western “open” society filed with useful idiots who are just looking for an excuse to let all their deep-seated hatred of Jews and Jewish community out in the open (and that includes the self hating Jews like Ilana Glazer and the other Hollywood grandstanders). The irony of course is that by buying the new Islamist brand of antisemetism, the so called “liberals” are betraying every value they once claimed to hold, sacrificing every actual liberal cause they claimed to care about. To the point that they are no longer “liberal”. So us liberals didn’t leave the liberal party… we still hold the same values. The “liberals” left us. The Republicans on the other hand… yes, for now, they are not letting their anti-Semitic freak flags fly - for the most part … but they still support many of the same policies that led Jews to support the Democrats. The difference now, and I’ll speak for myself, is that for my whole life, I felt so comfortable in America, that I could support causes that didn’t necessarily benefit me. Like the author wrote, I never forgot where my family came from and our history. And now I can no longer do so. Jews around the world face an existential threat, we can only really count on ourselves, but we need allies… and I’ll take whatever allies I can find.
While it is surely true that some number of the “far right” are indeed antisemitic, the difference is that on the right, their numbers are puny, and they have no respectability and no political power.
Where on the left their numbers are large (especially among the young, and among the academic elites), and they have both political respectability and power.
I agree with you at this time. My basic premise remains the same however… that no “side” can be trusted. It’s a matter of finding the best allies possible at this time. Right now, the Republicans are far more likely to be our allies… while the Democrats and the overall left) have lost their minds in their quest for ideological purity and performative “liberality” and virtue signaling.
I do like your essay and I'm very sorry for the passing of your Law Professor. Concerning the Democrats, when the hatred toward Israel in those encampments at the best universities, we're allowed in our country, after the horrific, evil attack of October 7, and nothing was done to stop it, at that moment.......I stop being a democrat ......
I hope that what the Liberal Party in Canada's attitude toward Jews does not become the Democratic Party 's attitude here. That attitude is clearly present among the Left like the Squad and NGOs in America but it is not yet the mainstream in the Democratic establishment. The signs for the future are not good but there's still a chance to stop it before it's too late
I used to be one of those bleeding hearts for "Palestine". 10/7 and the barbaric response to it changed my view of Israel forever. Am Yisrael Chai! And I'm an Irish American Catholic. We aren't backward idiots like the Irish in Ireland or the Pope. I pray for those precious Bibas babies every single day.
It does hurt to see Irish hostility towards Israel.
My children have this love for Japan because they enjoy anime.
Me? I have a lingering fondness for Ireland. I enjoy Irish folk music.
One of the most hysterical trends on Twitter was people mocking the "evil Jew" memes that show lists of Jews in politics and media with a corresponding "evil Irish" list that shows a similar list of Irish.
“Not yet the mainstream in the Democratic Establishment?” Only 45 House Democrats voted in favor of a Republican-sponsored bill this week which sanctions the corrupt, antisemitic International Criminal Court (ICC). Every Republican voted in favor.
It is unfortunate that the bill didn't get more Democratic support in the House. I would have voted to sanction the ICC but I still don't see this bill as reflecting the party mainstream's attitude toward Jews and fighting antisemitism in THIS country. The Democratic establishment's attitude toward Jews in America is still light years more positive than the Canadian Liberals' attitude toward Jews in that country. But the trendline is indeed troubling.
Amen! Many of us Liberals have lost our way. I voted for Kamala Harris hoping she'd be fair towards Israel, but have realized that I was glad for Israel, that Trump won. Now, we'll have to see if his support carries through, despite many of us not voting for him. He has not been the most honest person in that office. I pray!
But Trump did prove to be a sincere ally of Israel in his first administration, unlike the Biden admin that were intimidated by the Progressives and flip flopped after October 7th. If you're expecting to see changes overnight, that's not happening realistically. Trump has a heck of a mess to clean up.
Anti-Semitism is G-d's way of saying to Jews: "Wake up. You're different. You always were. You're not the same as your neighbors. You never were. Come back to me and the mission."
I also felt betrayed by both institutions and individuals. It’s time to wake up. The golden age of the American Jew was not a significant amount of time, historically speaking. It’s back to business as usual. Thank G-D we have Israel as a refuge.
I voted for Trump but as a conservative Democrat am politically homeless, or as my wife puts it, a political nomad. I would leave the Democrat party but for Democrats like Senator Jon Fetterman and Congressman Richie Torres, both outspoken staunch supporters of Israel.
Name one Republican who is more supportive of Israel than Torres or Fetterman. Some might be equally supportive, but none moreso. I agree the Democratic party is riddled with some anti-semites. Republican party has a few also, though not as many as the Democrats, and not as vocal. You fool yourself thinking all Republicans are as supportive of Israel as are Fetterman or Torres.
I didn’t say any are necessarily more supportive than either of those two.
But even if you assume each of those two are 20% (hell, 100% even) more supportive than any single Republican, so what? Neither is particularly high ranking in the Dem Party.
And that doesn’t change the numbers game.
Nor the fact that many in the Donkey party are actively anti-Israel. Meaning negative numbers.
The math is very simple. You fool only yourself when you imply otherwise.
I agree there are segments of the Democratic Party that are actively anti-Israel, more so than in the Republican Party, though using the term "many" implies they are in the majority. They are not. The Democratic Party has harmed itself by allowing rabidly anti-Israel representatives to infiltrate the party, like any infection, if it spreads it will cause many Democrats such as myself to eventually leave the party, rather than vote as an Independent and not along party lines. To the Republicans credit, rabidly anti-Israel representatives have not found Republicans to be receptive to their virulent hatred and animosity towards Israel.
Just a small correction: “many” implies a substantial number - I.e. 25%-55%. It does not imply a majority, although it implies the *possibility* of a majority.
“Most” implies a clear majority - i.e 60% - 85%.
I agree that it’s likely not a majority. Likely in the range of 25%-40%, though much lower among older Dems, much higher among younger Dems.
I don't trust the polls, certainly not any poll connecting itself with Harvard, even if only by title. I serve as a poll worker in a blue state in a blue county, and the polls in my county showed Biden winning. Though Biden won the vote in my state, the actually voting tallies from the machines, which must be publicly posted when the voting closes, showed Trump winning handily. As for the distinction between "many" and "most," you are correct in the definition, but not in describing "many" Democrats as siding with hamas. I suspect you could only name five or so, with two of those no longer serving in Congress.
And if you actually like both the rhetoric and the policy of Democrats 2024, then by all means stay there.
If you are good with Schumer on the Senate floor telling Israeli citizens to change their leader or else expect no longer to have U.S. support, stay where you are.
[I include a link from a leftist website, lest you accuse me of presenting right-wing bias…]
Foreign election interference is an unfathomably bad threat to democracy - except when done openly by a Dem politician on the Senate floor, I guess…
“First they came for the trade unionists…”
The GOP also supported Israel for those 75 years, and now does so much more strongly.
This is no longer your father’s Democrat Party. It ain’t the mid-90s any more. Democrats no longer believe in free speech and no longer believe in equality of opportunity - values critical to a prosperous, free society and IMO the well-being of Jews.
Great piece; it all needed to be said. I changed as of October 7 and in the months thereafter. I no longer take it for granted that I am safe here in the states. We have bought a gun: classes, shooting practice, a license, a safe, the whole deal. I no longer give to any group before checking out their stance on Israel first; a lot of places no longer get my money. I no longer feel an allegiance with the Democratic Party. Although many classical liberal causes are still in line with my general thinking, the woke left strikes me as obnoxiously absurd. Some classically liberal causes I have drifted away from. For example, while I used to be in favor of reparations for black Americans, I now look at our past and think: get your acts together, stop whining, organize, and make something of yourselves.
Would that you were correct that Jews were leaving the Dem party in droves.
Sadly, most of my Jewish friends and family still have their head buried in the sand, and comfort themselves they are doing the right thing because “Orange Man Bad” and “there are anti-Semites on the right, too” (despite the fact that their numbers in the right are tiny compared to what exists on the left AND that they have not had power or respectability on the right for more than 50 years now).
Well, I at least grok why you might not be ready to embrace “the alternative” (though once you do, you will find that it’s not so bad, and mostly is quite good…)
But the aftermath of Oct 7th (“We hold Israel responsible for all unfolding violence in the region”; “calling for the genocide of Jews might not be considered bullying or harassment, ‘depending on the context’”; Biden Admin immediately, then later repeatedly, calling for a ceasefire; ICC issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant; …) SHOULD indeed have you swearing off the Dem Party.
The Dem party is now the party of antisemitism and anti-semite appeasers. That is simply a fact.
I’m not really religious myself, but this Jewish aphorism indeed applies:
I have read several accounts of Liberal and Communist Jews being betrayed by their "comrades" for being Jewish. This, despite the hard work and endless loyalty given to these political causes. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that Jews should switch automatically to conservative politics or politicians. But I think it's high time that Jews began to think for themselves and stop seeing the concept of "tikun olam" (repairing the world) in political terms. Tikun olam means following the directives given in Torah. And from what I've studied in Torah so far, most of these directives are both compassionate and sensible. Torah encourages entrepreneurship and charity as well. It forbids deviant sexual behavior to preserve the spiritual/psychological health of the tribe; ensure its growth and preserve the traditional family which has proven to be the optimum survival unit for humans. Torah treats all human beings - from the women of our enemies to the stranger in need - with decency. It demands that we treat animals decently as well. But Torah is tough in terms of dealing with our enemies. It forbids them from living in Eretz Yisroel and it further forbids any leader from giving away any part of Eretz Yisroel to "make peace" or for any other reason. If more Jews started to base their morality on Torah instead of the philosophical and political ideologies developed largely by atheists or those who follow religions that seek world domination, I think we' Jews would be in a better place today. And maybe, so would the world.
Any Jew who has anything to eat should be down on their knees to their ancestors for sweating it out and making it possible for their lives today. Any Jew who is pro-
Palestinian , pro- Hamas, pro UN, ICC, ICJ, UNRWA etc- needs to spend a day with a Jew hatred filled Gazan family, stop the liberal nonsense into which they have luxuriously self- wrapt themselves, and get with the program. Accept that you are hated and stop trying to pass yourself off as a”good Jew” so that you will not be attacked. It’s your ancestral duty to make sure that your fellow Jews survive no matter what you may or may not think about Netanyahu’s government. This is a time of war. Not just for Israel but for the continuance of Western civilisation. And if you REALLY care about the Palestinians and their improved future, you will support Israel. Because if you don’t, you won’t be around much longer to pontificate your liberal views about anything.
Well said:
https://substack.com/@thinktorah/p-151338295
"Jews who turn against their fellow Jews should learn a lesson from history - misplaced loyalty doesn't end well
One of the most shocking observations of our post-October 7 world is that a small but very vocal minority of Jews have chosen to act as defenders for the murderers and kidnappers of our people.
Groups such as IfNotNow and Jewish Voices for Peace encourage further attacks on Israel by justifying and defending Palestinian terrorists and vilifying supporters of Israel..."
Yes, and those are exactly the self hating Jews to whom I was referring- besides the other liberal Jews who have absolutely no idea what is going on, and listen instead to the noxious 24/7 disinformation that Western Media chooses to feed them.
I too am a Jew that could no longer remain liberal or a Democrat following the eye opening awakening after October 7, 2023. I agree with your essay on most points, but don’t agree that Biden is or has been any friend of Israel.
I am a non-Jew who feels the same way. I was a lifelong Dem but voted for the venal Donal Trump on election day so the world would be safe from the same savagery that led to the Holocaust. Never Again is Now. I will never get over people tearing down posters of those precious Bibas babies. Never. Never.
"In the end, we will forget the words of our enemies but we will always remember the silence of our friends" Martin Luther King Jr
God Bless You!
I couldn't vote for Trump: he did well by Israel last administration, but I don't trust him. 1) He has no real ideology; it's all about what makes him look good or puts money in his pocket; 2) He seems at times to be so pro-Putin, and Putin is no friend to Israel; 3) He likes to hang with white supremacists / neo-Nazis from time to time and you know how the last person to talk to him, affects him. I dearly hope he proves me wrong.
He enabled October 7 by undoing the sanctions on Iranian oil sales to China and unfreezing bank accounts, which together enabled over $100 billion to flow to Iran and ultimately to Hamas. The Trump administration had crippled the Iranian economy and left it starved of cash. The Biden Administration was desperate to appease Iran and revive the JCPOA. So,not a friend of Israel. Friends don’t fund the sworn enemies of friends.
Did you not see Tony Blinken’s recent admission of the pressure he/Biden immediately put on Israel after October 7th?
Your memory is faulty.
Or more likely, the MSM you consumed did not cover the reality:
https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-admin-deletes-tweet-instructing-israel-to-stand-down-amid-hamas-terror/
https://nypost.com/2023/10/09/blinken-gets-blowback-for-now-deleted-sunday-post-promoting-cease-fire-in-israel/
Great piece. My parents were these old school liberal Jews, and so was I. This year has changed me in ways I never imagined. Thank you for putting this out there.
^^^^This.
This should not have come as a surprise: there was antisemitism for decades in the Democratic Party Left, especially its ties to Malcolm X and Louis Farrakhan that went to the very top of the leadership:
https://nypost.com/2020/07/18/louis-farrakhans-ties-to-politicians-celebrities-run-deep/
BLM founder Patrice Cullors-Kahn gave a commencement speech at UCLA where she called for the destruction of Israel.
It took Oct 7 for people to see what had actually been in front of them all along.
That said, there are Democrats like RFK Jr, Congressman Ritchie Torres, Senator John Fetterman and President Bill Clinton that have courageously stood up for Israel even in the most hostile forums. They may or may not win the battle for the Democratic Party.
Only at present, the louder, antisemitic voices in the Democratic Party drown them out and leave the Republican Party under President Trump as the strongest, most consistent supporter of Israel and the Jewish community.
It was only until 2019 that antisemitism was added to the list of Title VI Civil Rights Violations: thank you, President Trump!
https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-anti-semitism/
A recent article here in Future of Jewish outlined Carter's anti-semitism (since we're reviewing politicians), and today I heard on a blog that Carter supported the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and supported Khomeini (who of course turned around and screwed him over via the hostages, which cost Carter a second term). If it's true, what's up with that? I know the Shah hadn't always been the greatest guy, but he was an ally and he was rapidly becoming quite progressive. How could Carter support the likes of Khomeini, a radical terrorist barbarian? That's a mystery to me.
Carter ran on a "human rights foreign policy". His first year he celebrated New Year's Eve in Teheran with the Shah but after criticized him for human rights abuses and hamstrung the Shah's attempts to use his loyal Imperial Guard to quell the protests.
Many prominent Democrats shifted their support to Reagan in 1980 because of Carter's foreign policy failures, chief among them the loss of Iran:
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2025/01/03/democrats_rewrite_history_to_praise_jimmy_carter_1082272.html
https://substack.com/home/post/p-153779247
Personally, I forgive Carter’s failing on Iran, and as President I do think he was a friend of Israel.
It’s his post-presidency that revealed him to be anti-Israel and in practice an anti-semite.
Understandable. I've simply become one of those people who views everything through a lens that filters out anyone and anything that isn't supportive of Israel. I could not bring myself to "mourn" him - although I did enjoy the fact that the Capitol was hosting a traditional, quiet event.
You get no argument from me whatsoever on not mourning him.
I’m just saying that in terms of intentions, I don’t hold his Presidency against him (his presidency was incompetent, not evil).
But it is his post-presidency where I judge his intentions re: Israel harshly, and so like you could not bring myself to “mourn” him.
Even as my general understanding is that on all things *not* Israel he had a positive, even worthwhile, post-presidency.
Hell, unlike you I could even handle him not being explicitly pro-Israel.
But the massive anti-Israel vitriol and asymmetric illogic is far too much for anything but disdain.
What matters is that the Clintons, and others, spoke up.
It's a lost cause to expect the hysterical anti-Israel crowd to listen and reason, when it claims there were no atrocities on Oct 7, blames all civilian deaths in Israel and Gaza on the IDF and claims Jews entered "Palestine" only after 1948.
Overwhelming force is the best language in this case. That's why I welcome President Trump's "all hell to pay if the hostages are not released" message. No one in the Middle East will have misunderstood that message spelled out in the clearest, most fluent, Arabic dialect.
great article, but in America, not as many Jewish Democrats have left the Democrats as one would think. Many of those who still support the Democrats fully bought into the lies that Trump is "Hitler." Surprisingly too many think that. Soon, very soon, I expect they will fully realize that the opposite is true: Trump and his team are the most pro-Israel, pro-Jewish administration ever to come into power and that will be evident very quickly.
from your pen to G-d’s eyes
"A conservative is a liberal who was mugged" and a Republican Jew is a Jew who has experienced Left antisemites.
https://www.jexitusa.org/
If they didn’t realize it during Trump’s first term, I expect they’re still not going to get it during the next four years. The indoctrination is deeply embedded, and/or “Jewish” issues are not a high enough priority for many.
Not so sure, David. Many I have spoken with truly believed the media that Trump was an antisemite and 'Hitler." In the next few months, they will realize with that, and many other issues, how much they were lied to by Dems and the media. You and I know all about the outrageous lies, but half the country did not. Were YOU shocked at Biden's debate performance? No. Neither was I; but every Democrat I know was completely shocked--because they never paid attention to Conservative media and believed the mainstream media's coverups. So much more is going to come out (including the final nails it the Biden Corruption scandals, and the corruption of our universities and the United Nations) and Trump will prove himself as the Jews' best friend. Sure, some will go into complete denial, but others will see the truth. Remains to be seen, but I can't believe that all Liberals will go into denial--just look how many are converting publicly to Republican already. I think it will be quite an avalanche in the month/year ahead. I hope so, anyway.
I think you are both correct.
I don’t think we get the majority to move, surely within the next 10-12 years, but I think a decent number are moving and will continue to.
Those that choose not to think for themselves, of course…
I think you are both correct.
I’m not so sure lifetime liberal Democrats are leaving the party “in droves.” Some have indeed left, to be sure. But by polling and my own anecdotal personal experience, most remain unable to bring themselves to vote Republican, despite the glaring reality of contemporary political, social and cultural developments.
Many are leaving… but many others are trying to fight to bring back the liberal party they supported… and understand that the far right is also antisemitic, just sticking to more traditional forms. I think what most of us have learned… painfully … is that we can’t trust any party, any politician… only ourselves and Israel. We have learned how easy it is to infiltrate and destroy from within Western civilization. It only took the Islamists some 25 years to make a complete mockery of western “open” society filed with useful idiots who are just looking for an excuse to let all their deep-seated hatred of Jews and Jewish community out in the open (and that includes the self hating Jews like Ilana Glazer and the other Hollywood grandstanders). The irony of course is that by buying the new Islamist brand of antisemetism, the so called “liberals” are betraying every value they once claimed to hold, sacrificing every actual liberal cause they claimed to care about. To the point that they are no longer “liberal”. So us liberals didn’t leave the liberal party… we still hold the same values. The “liberals” left us. The Republicans on the other hand… yes, for now, they are not letting their anti-Semitic freak flags fly - for the most part … but they still support many of the same policies that led Jews to support the Democrats. The difference now, and I’ll speak for myself, is that for my whole life, I felt so comfortable in America, that I could support causes that didn’t necessarily benefit me. Like the author wrote, I never forgot where my family came from and our history. And now I can no longer do so. Jews around the world face an existential threat, we can only really count on ourselves, but we need allies… and I’ll take whatever allies I can find.
While it is surely true that some number of the “far right” are indeed antisemitic, the difference is that on the right, their numbers are puny, and they have no respectability and no political power.
Where on the left their numbers are large (especially among the young, and among the academic elites), and they have both political respectability and power.
I agree with you at this time. My basic premise remains the same however… that no “side” can be trusted. It’s a matter of finding the best allies possible at this time. Right now, the Republicans are far more likely to be our allies… while the Democrats and the overall left) have lost their minds in their quest for ideological purity and performative “liberality” and virtue signaling.
Correct analysis.
Very well put!
I do like your essay and I'm very sorry for the passing of your Law Professor. Concerning the Democrats, when the hatred toward Israel in those encampments at the best universities, we're allowed in our country, after the horrific, evil attack of October 7, and nothing was done to stop it, at that moment.......I stop being a democrat ......
I hope that what the Liberal Party in Canada's attitude toward Jews does not become the Democratic Party 's attitude here. That attitude is clearly present among the Left like the Squad and NGOs in America but it is not yet the mainstream in the Democratic establishment. The signs for the future are not good but there's still a chance to stop it before it's too late
I used to be one of those bleeding hearts for "Palestine". 10/7 and the barbaric response to it changed my view of Israel forever. Am Yisrael Chai! And I'm an Irish American Catholic. We aren't backward idiots like the Irish in Ireland or the Pope. I pray for those precious Bibas babies every single day.
It does hurt to see Irish hostility towards Israel.
My children have this love for Japan because they enjoy anime.
Me? I have a lingering fondness for Ireland. I enjoy Irish folk music.
One of the most hysterical trends on Twitter was people mocking the "evil Jew" memes that show lists of Jews in politics and media with a corresponding "evil Irish" list that shows a similar list of Irish.
Even the Irish seem to find it hysterical.
“Not yet the mainstream in the Democratic Establishment?” Only 45 House Democrats voted in favor of a Republican-sponsored bill this week which sanctions the corrupt, antisemitic International Criminal Court (ICC). Every Republican voted in favor.
It is unfortunate that the bill didn't get more Democratic support in the House. I would have voted to sanction the ICC but I still don't see this bill as reflecting the party mainstream's attitude toward Jews and fighting antisemitism in THIS country. The Democratic establishment's attitude toward Jews in America is still light years more positive than the Canadian Liberals' attitude toward Jews in that country. But the trendline is indeed troubling.
That’s because Canada is full of Muslims now, thanks to Trudeau.
The Liberal Party may be gone in the next election and none too soon.
Given that said party is no longer “liberal”, merely leftist, a fate well-deserved…
78% of Democrats want to end military aid to Israel.
Amen! Many of us Liberals have lost our way. I voted for Kamala Harris hoping she'd be fair towards Israel, but have realized that I was glad for Israel, that Trump won. Now, we'll have to see if his support carries through, despite many of us not voting for him. He has not been the most honest person in that office. I pray!
But Trump did prove to be a sincere ally of Israel in his first administration, unlike the Biden admin that were intimidated by the Progressives and flip flopped after October 7th. If you're expecting to see changes overnight, that's not happening realistically. Trump has a heck of a mess to clean up.
Ditto
Anti-Semitism is G-d's way of saying to Jews: "Wake up. You're different. You always were. You're not the same as your neighbors. You never were. Come back to me and the mission."
Amen.
I also felt betrayed by both institutions and individuals. It’s time to wake up. The golden age of the American Jew was not a significant amount of time, historically speaking. It’s back to business as usual. Thank G-D we have Israel as a refuge.
I voted for Trump but as a conservative Democrat am politically homeless, or as my wife puts it, a political nomad. I would leave the Democrat party but for Democrats like Senator Jon Fetterman and Congressman Richie Torres, both outspoken staunch supporters of Israel.
So your party still has a few Israel supporters. Great.
Schumer made it very clear he is no longer one of them.
More importantly, your party is now the home of antisemitism and (even worse, imo) antisemite appeasers.
Name one Republican who is more supportive of Israel than Torres or Fetterman. Some might be equally supportive, but none moreso. I agree the Democratic party is riddled with some anti-semites. Republican party has a few also, though not as many as the Democrats, and not as vocal. You fool yourself thinking all Republicans are as supportive of Israel as are Fetterman or Torres.
I didn’t say any are necessarily more supportive than either of those two.
But even if you assume each of those two are 20% (hell, 100% even) more supportive than any single Republican, so what? Neither is particularly high ranking in the Dem Party.
And that doesn’t change the numbers game.
Nor the fact that many in the Donkey party are actively anti-Israel. Meaning negative numbers.
The math is very simple. You fool only yourself when you imply otherwise.
I agree there are segments of the Democratic Party that are actively anti-Israel, more so than in the Republican Party, though using the term "many" implies they are in the majority. They are not. The Democratic Party has harmed itself by allowing rabidly anti-Israel representatives to infiltrate the party, like any infection, if it spreads it will cause many Democrats such as myself to eventually leave the party, rather than vote as an Independent and not along party lines. To the Republicans credit, rabidly anti-Israel representatives have not found Republicans to be receptive to their virulent hatred and animosity towards Israel.
Just a small correction: “many” implies a substantial number - I.e. 25%-55%. It does not imply a majority, although it implies the *possibility* of a majority.
“Most” implies a clear majority - i.e 60% - 85%.
I agree that it’s likely not a majority. Likely in the range of 25%-40%, though much lower among older Dems, much higher among younger Dems.
As the Harvard-Harris polls demonstrate:
https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/HHP_Oct23_KeyResults.pdf
https://harvardharrispoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/HHP_Dec23_KeyResults.pdf
About half of 18-24 year olds back Hamas rather than Israel. Which means MOST Dem 18-24 year olds feel this way.
So it is indeed a majority of younger Dems, and quite likely a large majority. Which bodes quite ill for the future.
I don't trust the polls, certainly not any poll connecting itself with Harvard, even if only by title. I serve as a poll worker in a blue state in a blue county, and the polls in my county showed Biden winning. Though Biden won the vote in my state, the actually voting tallies from the machines, which must be publicly posted when the voting closes, showed Trump winning handily. As for the distinction between "many" and "most," you are correct in the definition, but not in describing "many" Democrats as siding with hamas. I suspect you could only name five or so, with two of those no longer serving in Congress.
You do you.
And if you actually like both the rhetoric and the policy of Democrats 2024, then by all means stay there.
If you are good with Schumer on the Senate floor telling Israeli citizens to change their leader or else expect no longer to have U.S. support, stay where you are.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/14/chuck-schumer-israel-speech
[I include a link from a leftist website, lest you accuse me of presenting right-wing bias…]
Foreign election interference is an unfathomably bad threat to democracy - except when done openly by a Dem politician on the Senate floor, I guess…
“First they came for the trade unionists…”
The GOP also supported Israel for those 75 years, and now does so much more strongly.
This is no longer your father’s Democrat Party. It ain’t the mid-90s any more. Democrats no longer believe in free speech and no longer believe in equality of opportunity - values critical to a prosperous, free society and IMO the well-being of Jews.
They do believe in anti-Jewish quotas, though.
But as I said, you do you.
Adam, I assume this means that you voted for Pres. Trump? Good for all of us.
Bad assumption. (See his response to my comment)
Great piece; it all needed to be said. I changed as of October 7 and in the months thereafter. I no longer take it for granted that I am safe here in the states. We have bought a gun: classes, shooting practice, a license, a safe, the whole deal. I no longer give to any group before checking out their stance on Israel first; a lot of places no longer get my money. I no longer feel an allegiance with the Democratic Party. Although many classical liberal causes are still in line with my general thinking, the woke left strikes me as obnoxiously absurd. Some classically liberal causes I have drifted away from. For example, while I used to be in favor of reparations for black Americans, I now look at our past and think: get your acts together, stop whining, organize, and make something of yourselves.
Would that you were correct that Jews were leaving the Dem party in droves.
Sadly, most of my Jewish friends and family still have their head buried in the sand, and comfort themselves they are doing the right thing because “Orange Man Bad” and “there are anti-Semites on the right, too” (despite the fact that their numbers in the right are tiny compared to what exists on the left AND that they have not had power or respectability on the right for more than 50 years now).
Well, I at least grok why you might not be ready to embrace “the alternative” (though once you do, you will find that it’s not so bad, and mostly is quite good…)
But the aftermath of Oct 7th (“We hold Israel responsible for all unfolding violence in the region”; “calling for the genocide of Jews might not be considered bullying or harassment, ‘depending on the context’”; Biden Admin immediately, then later repeatedly, calling for a ceasefire; ICC issuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant; …) SHOULD indeed have you swearing off the Dem Party.
The Dem party is now the party of antisemitism and anti-semite appeasers. That is simply a fact.
I’m not really religious myself, but this Jewish aphorism indeed applies:
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?…”
I have read several accounts of Liberal and Communist Jews being betrayed by their "comrades" for being Jewish. This, despite the hard work and endless loyalty given to these political causes. Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that Jews should switch automatically to conservative politics or politicians. But I think it's high time that Jews began to think for themselves and stop seeing the concept of "tikun olam" (repairing the world) in political terms. Tikun olam means following the directives given in Torah. And from what I've studied in Torah so far, most of these directives are both compassionate and sensible. Torah encourages entrepreneurship and charity as well. It forbids deviant sexual behavior to preserve the spiritual/psychological health of the tribe; ensure its growth and preserve the traditional family which has proven to be the optimum survival unit for humans. Torah treats all human beings - from the women of our enemies to the stranger in need - with decency. It demands that we treat animals decently as well. But Torah is tough in terms of dealing with our enemies. It forbids them from living in Eretz Yisroel and it further forbids any leader from giving away any part of Eretz Yisroel to "make peace" or for any other reason. If more Jews started to base their morality on Torah instead of the philosophical and political ideologies developed largely by atheists or those who follow religions that seek world domination, I think we' Jews would be in a better place today. And maybe, so would the world.