No political camp is going to end the Jewish condition. Every coalition contains the logic by which Jews can be useful, suspect, defended, and discarded in rapid succession.
Brenden, excellent article. My takeaway is slightly different: people — and especially Jews — should vote based on policy, policy, policy, not personality or blind party loyalty. I’ve never believed in attaching myself permanently to one party. I look at the world as it is, I look at who best represents my values and protects my people at that moment, and that’s how I vote.
Too many Jews treat political affiliation like identity. That’s a mistake because parties change, circumstances change, and ideologies change. The Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party of decades ago — just as history reminds us that parties can radically evolve over time. Blind loyalty in politics is foolish. In real estate they say location, location, location. In politics, it should be policy, policy, policy.
Love this, and I think we should all be chanting “policy, policy, policy” from now on whenever we encounter Jews showing blind loyalty to a coalition.
That’s exactly the discipline I’m trying to point toward: not treating politics as identity, but as strategy. Parties change, coalitions change, threats change. The question has to be: what actually protects Jewish life, dignity, and continuity in this moment?
Basically right or just, but firstly, which "party" is/will/can ever be electable in the sense that it pursues a consistently or at least predominantly rational, reasonable, and objective policy..?
And secondly, which "voters" would predominantly vote for such "parties"? The "voter" would first have to be predominantly willing, able, and capable of wanting and supporting rational, reasonable, and objective policies.
But they are either dumbed down or willingly allow themselves to be dumbed down by "television" "newspapers", "parties" and so on.
The problem lies in the fact that "democracy" is confused with or equated to the "majority" principle. "Whoever provides a majority is right". So all parties chase after "majorities" that are determined by the stupidity of the "people."
The very least that can be done to achieve a reality that respects human rights and promotes rational behaviour would be for so-called "majorities" to be acknowledged at most as a kind of reflection of (current) public "opinion" and an indication of what "the people" currently "think" (or whatever else one might call it).
Instead, however, social stability, human and civil rights, freedom of trade, and freedom of opinion—all of which should be inviolable—are constantly threatened by "elections" and "decisions" made by "majorities."
Free, unbiased thought and speech, which is the very foundation for well-considered action, are also constantly under threat.
This (mis)understood "democracy" as a "tyranny of the majority" is profoundly undemocratic and self-destructs as long as fundamental human, civil, and human rights are continually jeopardized by "majorities" or Mamdummys and their wives.
Instead, so fundamental human, civil, and human rights are constantly undermined by "majorities." As long as this (self-)endangerment is not eliminated and contained, so-called "democracy" remains perpetually threatened by the fact that those who most "skillfully" pander to the "majority" ("populists") will be the most "successful."
This threat does not "only" affect Jews, but all people who are deemed not to conform to or belong to "the majority."
As long as this threat to and self-destruction of (pseudo-)"democracy" is not addressed and eliminated, there can be no talk of genuine democracy, freedom, or reason. And "parties" and "The People" will behave accordingly.
I agree with the concern about democracy becoming vulnerable to populism, but I’d push back on the idea that “majorities” are the core problem.
To me, the deeper issue is upstream: the systems that form public opinion have changed dramatically over the last two decades, while our institutions, media, and political frameworks still behave as if we live in the old world.
Our information systems are corrupted and brittle. The very basis of how people come to “know” things has fractured. That makes us less capable of dialogue, less able to metabolize complexity, and much more vulnerable to false certainty.
So yes, majority rule can become dangerous. But the root problem is the machinery producing public opinion. And when that machinery breaks, minorities like Jews often feel the danger first.
Heartworker, fair point — and I agree that uninformed voters manipulated by media and ideology are a major problem. But that wasn’t really the group I was talking about.
I’m talking about people who are informed enough to know better and still vote out of blind loyalty or personal hatred of a politician’s personality. I know many people whose entire political philosophy begins and ends with “I hate Trump,” yet when you ask them which actual policies harmed them, they often can’t name one.
That kind of tribal voting is incredibly dangerous. Parties change, policies change, and the world changes. Voting should be based on real-world outcomes and policy, not emotional attachment to a party label or hatred of a personality. And frankly, when I still see groups like “Jews for Democrats” or blind loyalty in either direction, I think it’s deeply irrational.
The political situation in the UK is changing dramatically: new parties rising rapidly and old ones more or less extinct. It’s scary. It’s confusing. There is no party that I wish to vote for, and I’ve always said that I have to vote, as women died for my right to do so… but what point, when it’s either wasted on a party which has no chance of winning, or deciding between the lesser of several evils, most of which have dandelion rooted antisemitism embedded in them? The situation in Scotland is particularly difficult - I’d hazard a guess that the Westminster view is the one which other folk know about, if they know about or take interest in things over here. Scotland - and Wales, which for the first time in 100 years is no longer Labour - are very different places to England, vote wise: I can even begin to understand why the UK is so frequently referred to as “England”(even in England), a thing that reduces me to red misted anger… yet I get an inkling of the ‘why’ behind it; it’s because Westminster politics are the only ones broadcast. It certainly gives one a feeling of being an afterthought… I’m a great grandchild of mid 19th century Russian Jewish immigrants, who travelled round till they eventually settled in Manchester(in the area where the Yom Kippur murders last year took place… I had a mental vision of my grandmother as a young girl walking round the area, going to school, synagogue, just living her life. She, by pure chance, ended up marrying and living in Glasgow, which is how I came to be born and grew up a Scot. Not a drop of Scottish blood, yet .im a proud old Scot… and a proud old Jew
Alex, I understand exactly why you feel politically homeless right now. Looking at Britain today — especially the immigration issue, the rise in antisemitism, the intimidation on the streets, and the complete unwillingness of many mainstream parties to confront uncomfortable realities honestly — I honestly think if I lived there, I would probably vote for Nigel Farage and the Reform UK.
Not because any party is perfect, but because at least they are willing to openly address issues many others seem terrified to even discuss, especially mass immigration, social fragmentation, Islamist extremism, and the cultural breakdown contributing to so much of the antisemitism Jews are increasingly facing across Britain and Europe.
And honestly, your comment about being both proudly Jewish and proudly Scottish despite having no Scottish blood is beautiful in its own way. Identity is not only blood. It is memory, loyalty, culture, belonging, shared experience, and the place where your family built its life and future.
You sound like someone carrying both Jewish history and Scottish history inside you at the same time, and that’s something worth holding onto, especially in confused and unstable times like these.
Thank you for such a lovely reply… you really made me feel comforted and also brought a tear to my eye with what you said about me being proudly Scottish and proudly Jewish(my mother - with whom I had a very difficult relationship, ending in my choice to estrange myself, as .id already had one breakdown, and was headed for another… she died in a house fire two years later, back in 2011 - once said to me, with huge indignance, “YOU’RE not SCOTTISH!”.
I was so taken aback I was speechless… my husband was furious and zoomed off into the kitchen so as not to say anything. That was back in the 90s, when we lived in Edinburgh. Two transplanted Glaswegians… he wasn’t Jewish - a self described “lapsed Presbyterian” who was the one person who loved me unconditionally. It’s his tenth yahrzeit next week; I miss him even more than ever. Just me and Blixa cat now.
apologies for rambling - I tend to say either nothing, or blether on - and thank you, again. I’m going to write your comment in my notebook where I keep such things which help or touch me or comfort me.
Alex, thank you so much for your incredibly kind words. Honestly, your response touched me deeply too.
And I completely understand complicated family and identity backgrounds. My mother was Italian and converted to Judaism. My father was Jewish. My wife, Katherine, is also Scottish and British. So I understand very much this idea of carrying different histories, cultures, and emotional worlds inside yourself at once.
What changed me profoundly after October 7th was that I lost something I never thought I would lose: my sense of patriotism toward the West. I always felt deeply connected to both the United States and Canada and considered them my homes. But October 7th and the aftermath made me realize how quickly societies can turn, how fragile acceptance can become, and how conditional belonging sometimes really is.
And difficult as it is to admit emotionally, I increasingly believe the only true homeland where Jews ultimately know they are among their own people is Israel.
Anyway, forgive me — I ramble too. My own strange plan is probably to spend the remainder of my life living in India, which is another very long story altogether.
It was genuinely a pleasure meeting you through this conversation. Thank you again for your warmth and honesty. And yes — keep fighting the good fight too. Stay well, Alex, and give Blixa cat a little scratch behind the ears from me.
You are correct. It was a mental process, leaving the Dem Party (or more precisely, acknowledging that it left me), but I did it. There are a LOT of us - some went independent, for now, as I did, some went right to Republicans. And, it’s not just Jews walking away from this deranged, extremist Party.
Too dangerous to give the Dems power unless they jettison the Islamo-Nazi-Third Worldists.
Ruth, I hear you completely. My own voting history is a mixed bag as well — I voted for Barack Obama twice and later voted for Donald Trump. I’ve never viewed politics as tribal loyalty. Parties change, circumstances change, and sometimes they leave you before you leave them.
That’s exactly why I keep saying it should always be policy, policy, policy — not party identity. Too many people stay loyal to labels long after those labels no longer represent them.
Thank you for this excellent article. The metaphor of tenancy is a good one. Despite my family being in this country for over one hundred years, I’ve been feeling like a guest here since 10/7. This is still a country of laws, and there are many individuals working to ensure that our civil rights are protected (they have not been protected on many campuses and K-12 schools), but we are a small and vulnerable minority and might always be guests (tenants) here. That’s why there are signs at Ben Gurion airport that say “Welcome Home”.
I think you're pointing to a real distinction: tenancy does not mean we do not belong here, but it does name the contingency many Jews have felt since 10/7.
America can be home, and still feel less secure than we thought. Israel can be home in a different, deeper civilizational sense. and your point about the “Welcome Home” signs at Ben Gurion says a lot. Grateful you read it so closely.
In the diaspora, one of our worst enemies is the liberal Jew, who in my opinion is a traitor to us all. As a people, we have always disagreed, however as a minority, to turn on one another, is only assisting our enemies. Jews who raise Jewish children without the love of our history, ancestry, customs, Israel, and one another, will be the diasporas’ unraveling and saddens me deeply. I was not raised religious, but love for my heritage, customs, history and people have been treasures that continue to enrich my and my children’s lives enormously.
I hear the pain in this, especially around Jewish continuity. I’m hesitant to call liberal Jews “traitors,” because I think that kind of language can flatten a much more complicated reality. But I do agree with the deeper concern: Jews who sever themselves from Jewish peoplehood, history, Israel, and shared responsibility often do not become the ones who carry Jewish continuity forward.
That is not a new phenomenon. Jewish history has always included people who distance themselves, assimilate, or turn against the collective in order to survive, belong, or feel morally clean. But continuity ultimately rests with the Jews who keep choosing the people, even when it is costly, complicated, and uncomfortable.
What you say is true. The ones who side with terrorists or attachments like Bernie Sanders and Jon Stewart, Mandy Patinkin and JFP make me cringe when they call themselves Jews and lend spread lies about Israel and our history.
The leader of the increasing replacement for the Labour Party here, the Greens, is a self hating Jew: and that party is even more antisemitic than Labour. It’s getting huge support, especially from younger voters
As a Diaspora Jew, I know that I will be a tenant anywhere except in the Land of Israel. Landlords change, policies change - none of that makes a difference in who we are. The existence of independent Israel is the only protection we have. No need to be a coward and “read” the room to make yourself feel better. There is only one objective truth of a false historical blood libel, spoken or not.
Nope. Diaspora’s Jews are not even tenants. Tenants have rights. Tenants have a lease. Tenants have legal protections. Diaspora Jews think they have these but they don’t because when called upon to be honored it’s questionable as to whether they will be enforced.
Diaspora Jews are guests. Sometimes welcome guests…as long as they remain polite and in the background. These days more often unwelcome guests…like the Sidney at the Omega house pledge event in Animal House…shunted to the side with no real chance of admittance.
It’s always been that way even in the golden age in America when it was hidden because it was politically incorrect. We were fooled by the politeness. Took it as acceptance. But now we know different. We are guests being shown the door, sometimes politely more often not.
Meanwhile in NYC I just read that anti Zionist, pro Mandami Dem "Jew" Brad Landers has a "sizable lead" over moderate Dan Goldman in that heavily Jewish congressional district. That obnoxious, loud mouth scumbag will turn out to be the top "As a Jew "for Palestine and Moslems in Congress after Sanders becomes senile. Part of the enemy is us.
You bet! WE are our own enemies . Between Tikkun Olam and TDS --"Jews" who have consistently embraced socialism --do not allow Jews to speak with ONE voice.
How many American jews who only vote D are indifferent to whether Israel continues to exist? Is that an unfair question to pose to someone constantly bashing Israel? Let me use an analogy of sorts: can you be friends with someone who is truly racist towards blacks? If the answer is no ( as it shpuld be in my opinion) I then ask what about a jew hater or someone who would defund israel ( but then I repeat myself: apologies to Tucker and the Jewish senators who side w Tucker on this matter?)
The question is whether the strong liberal Zionists (I know plenty) who vote Democrat are going to wake up and see what has happened. To this point the drift away from bipartisan Israel support that began under Obama has been explained away with cognitive dissonance. The fact that 40 Democrats voted to stop selling bull dozens to Israel is something that can't be explained away.
Jews who embrace the left do so because they believe their Judaism to be irrelevant. I think left of center Zionists are now beginning to see a very difficult reality, that their chosen party is openly dangerous to Israel. Non Zionist Jews of the left don't care about the Jewish people and somehow imagine that they are safe. Its not so much that "the right" supports the Jews as that more and more people who hold traditionally liberal mainstream American views are being pushed to vote right. At this point anyone who gets up and says Israel has a right to exist will be denounced as a "Zio". So normal voters are increasingly voting conservative. Jews do need to be aware of their Jewisness at all times even as they care about other things as well. But too many aren't.
Very good article. It lays out exactly what Prof. Ruth Wisse wrote in her book "Jews and Power". As the eternal minority in the Diaspora, we are subject to the shifting conditions whether they be liberal democracies, theocracies, or autocratic governments. I would recommend reading her book to get an even deeper understanding of Mr. Strauss' summary.
However I find fault with"In 2025, the Trump Administration froze the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, the one that helps pay for guards and barriers outside synagogues and Jewish schools. Later that year, the FBI cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, ending a long institutional relationship with one of the country’s central Jewish anti-hate organizations. And Tel Aviv University’s 2026 antisemitism report warned that Hitler admiration and Holocaust denial had reached currents of the Republican coalition deeply enough to qualify as an existential concern.".
#one:
This was not specific to Jewish institutions. It affected a wide range of FEMA and other federal grants. Jewish groups were prominently impacted because they are major users of NSGP amid rising antisemitic threats.
The administration framed it as a review to ensure funds matched Trump's policy goals (e.g., efficiency via DOGE efforts, eliminating certain ideological programs).
Response and ResolutionBipartisan lawmakers (nearly 80 House members, including Jewish Democrats like Josh Gottheimer and Republicans) urged reversal, citing heightened hate crimes and the program's life-saving role.
The ADL is useless. A DNC lackey that became Far Left.
Did you know or forget how he's confronted and threatened antisemitic universities? Did you forget his war with Iran? Or his close relationship to Israel?
Yes, there are "Groypers" --they are not "pro-Trump". They are a problem in themselves. Some are the "America ONLY" crowd.
But the Dems have become truly anti-Israel and have done NOTHING to fight antisemitism. Even Dershowitz in his mid-80s realizes this. He became a Republican now (as I did awhile back because I realized the truth earlier).
So it's NOT as "even" as you seem to imply.
You don't mention Evangelists who support Jews for their religious beliefs --so yes you'd see us as being "used" there? Perhaps--but as a Republican I lost ALL my Liberal/Leftist former friends--AND family!
Frighteningly prescient. This sense of homelessness has become more acute as I struggle with no longer having a political home in the land of my birth.
Yes, the Eternal ‘Other’: A cold avaricious logic in and by the countries we find ourselves in, which becomes Theft of our property, and then may include murder when our usefulness is complete. This may seem strange to the Liberal and Christian-minded non-Jews who befriend us. But the Fascist elements in these communities, although they do not have the upper hand yet thank goodness, are cultivated precisely for these acts of theft and murder. The whole (attempted) process, by Elements who have openly called themselves the re-formed Nazi Party here in Europe, has been monitored here in Europe once again. Our documentary monitoring is with you. And thus we dwell alone once again, in the country where we can be sovereign. Am Israel Chai.
Brenden, excellent article. My takeaway is slightly different: people — and especially Jews — should vote based on policy, policy, policy, not personality or blind party loyalty. I’ve never believed in attaching myself permanently to one party. I look at the world as it is, I look at who best represents my values and protects my people at that moment, and that’s how I vote.
Too many Jews treat political affiliation like identity. That’s a mistake because parties change, circumstances change, and ideologies change. The Democratic Party of today is not the Democratic Party of decades ago — just as history reminds us that parties can radically evolve over time. Blind loyalty in politics is foolish. In real estate they say location, location, location. In politics, it should be policy, policy, policy.
Love this, and I think we should all be chanting “policy, policy, policy” from now on whenever we encounter Jews showing blind loyalty to a coalition.
That’s exactly the discipline I’m trying to point toward: not treating politics as identity, but as strategy. Parties change, coalitions change, threats change. The question has to be: what actually protects Jewish life, dignity, and continuity in this moment?
Basically right or just, but firstly, which "party" is/will/can ever be electable in the sense that it pursues a consistently or at least predominantly rational, reasonable, and objective policy..?
And secondly, which "voters" would predominantly vote for such "parties"? The "voter" would first have to be predominantly willing, able, and capable of wanting and supporting rational, reasonable, and objective policies.
But they are either dumbed down or willingly allow themselves to be dumbed down by "television" "newspapers", "parties" and so on.
The problem lies in the fact that "democracy" is confused with or equated to the "majority" principle. "Whoever provides a majority is right". So all parties chase after "majorities" that are determined by the stupidity of the "people."
The very least that can be done to achieve a reality that respects human rights and promotes rational behaviour would be for so-called "majorities" to be acknowledged at most as a kind of reflection of (current) public "opinion" and an indication of what "the people" currently "think" (or whatever else one might call it).
Instead, however, social stability, human and civil rights, freedom of trade, and freedom of opinion—all of which should be inviolable—are constantly threatened by "elections" and "decisions" made by "majorities."
Free, unbiased thought and speech, which is the very foundation for well-considered action, are also constantly under threat.
This (mis)understood "democracy" as a "tyranny of the majority" is profoundly undemocratic and self-destructs as long as fundamental human, civil, and human rights are continually jeopardized by "majorities" or Mamdummys and their wives.
Instead, so fundamental human, civil, and human rights are constantly undermined by "majorities." As long as this (self-)endangerment is not eliminated and contained, so-called "democracy" remains perpetually threatened by the fact that those who most "skillfully" pander to the "majority" ("populists") will be the most "successful."
This threat does not "only" affect Jews, but all people who are deemed not to conform to or belong to "the majority."
As long as this threat to and self-destruction of (pseudo-)"democracy" is not addressed and eliminated, there can be no talk of genuine democracy, freedom, or reason. And "parties" and "The People" will behave accordingly.
I agree with the concern about democracy becoming vulnerable to populism, but I’d push back on the idea that “majorities” are the core problem.
To me, the deeper issue is upstream: the systems that form public opinion have changed dramatically over the last two decades, while our institutions, media, and political frameworks still behave as if we live in the old world.
Our information systems are corrupted and brittle. The very basis of how people come to “know” things has fractured. That makes us less capable of dialogue, less able to metabolize complexity, and much more vulnerable to false certainty.
So yes, majority rule can become dangerous. But the root problem is the machinery producing public opinion. And when that machinery breaks, minorities like Jews often feel the danger first.
Heartworker, fair point — and I agree that uninformed voters manipulated by media and ideology are a major problem. But that wasn’t really the group I was talking about.
I’m talking about people who are informed enough to know better and still vote out of blind loyalty or personal hatred of a politician’s personality. I know many people whose entire political philosophy begins and ends with “I hate Trump,” yet when you ask them which actual policies harmed them, they often can’t name one.
That kind of tribal voting is incredibly dangerous. Parties change, policies change, and the world changes. Voting should be based on real-world outcomes and policy, not emotional attachment to a party label or hatred of a personality. And frankly, when I still see groups like “Jews for Democrats” or blind loyalty in either direction, I think it’s deeply irrational.
The political situation in the UK is changing dramatically: new parties rising rapidly and old ones more or less extinct. It’s scary. It’s confusing. There is no party that I wish to vote for, and I’ve always said that I have to vote, as women died for my right to do so… but what point, when it’s either wasted on a party which has no chance of winning, or deciding between the lesser of several evils, most of which have dandelion rooted antisemitism embedded in them? The situation in Scotland is particularly difficult - I’d hazard a guess that the Westminster view is the one which other folk know about, if they know about or take interest in things over here. Scotland - and Wales, which for the first time in 100 years is no longer Labour - are very different places to England, vote wise: I can even begin to understand why the UK is so frequently referred to as “England”(even in England), a thing that reduces me to red misted anger… yet I get an inkling of the ‘why’ behind it; it’s because Westminster politics are the only ones broadcast. It certainly gives one a feeling of being an afterthought… I’m a great grandchild of mid 19th century Russian Jewish immigrants, who travelled round till they eventually settled in Manchester(in the area where the Yom Kippur murders last year took place… I had a mental vision of my grandmother as a young girl walking round the area, going to school, synagogue, just living her life. She, by pure chance, ended up marrying and living in Glasgow, which is how I came to be born and grew up a Scot. Not a drop of Scottish blood, yet .im a proud old Scot… and a proud old Jew
Alex, I understand exactly why you feel politically homeless right now. Looking at Britain today — especially the immigration issue, the rise in antisemitism, the intimidation on the streets, and the complete unwillingness of many mainstream parties to confront uncomfortable realities honestly — I honestly think if I lived there, I would probably vote for Nigel Farage and the Reform UK.
Not because any party is perfect, but because at least they are willing to openly address issues many others seem terrified to even discuss, especially mass immigration, social fragmentation, Islamist extremism, and the cultural breakdown contributing to so much of the antisemitism Jews are increasingly facing across Britain and Europe.
And honestly, your comment about being both proudly Jewish and proudly Scottish despite having no Scottish blood is beautiful in its own way. Identity is not only blood. It is memory, loyalty, culture, belonging, shared experience, and the place where your family built its life and future.
You sound like someone carrying both Jewish history and Scottish history inside you at the same time, and that’s something worth holding onto, especially in confused and unstable times like these.
Thank you for such a lovely reply… you really made me feel comforted and also brought a tear to my eye with what you said about me being proudly Scottish and proudly Jewish(my mother - with whom I had a very difficult relationship, ending in my choice to estrange myself, as .id already had one breakdown, and was headed for another… she died in a house fire two years later, back in 2011 - once said to me, with huge indignance, “YOU’RE not SCOTTISH!”.
I was so taken aback I was speechless… my husband was furious and zoomed off into the kitchen so as not to say anything. That was back in the 90s, when we lived in Edinburgh. Two transplanted Glaswegians… he wasn’t Jewish - a self described “lapsed Presbyterian” who was the one person who loved me unconditionally. It’s his tenth yahrzeit next week; I miss him even more than ever. Just me and Blixa cat now.
apologies for rambling - I tend to say either nothing, or blether on - and thank you, again. I’m going to write your comment in my notebook where I keep such things which help or touch me or comfort me.
Alex, thank you so much for your incredibly kind words. Honestly, your response touched me deeply too.
And I completely understand complicated family and identity backgrounds. My mother was Italian and converted to Judaism. My father was Jewish. My wife, Katherine, is also Scottish and British. So I understand very much this idea of carrying different histories, cultures, and emotional worlds inside yourself at once.
What changed me profoundly after October 7th was that I lost something I never thought I would lose: my sense of patriotism toward the West. I always felt deeply connected to both the United States and Canada and considered them my homes. But October 7th and the aftermath made me realize how quickly societies can turn, how fragile acceptance can become, and how conditional belonging sometimes really is.
And difficult as it is to admit emotionally, I increasingly believe the only true homeland where Jews ultimately know they are among their own people is Israel.
Anyway, forgive me — I ramble too. My own strange plan is probably to spend the remainder of my life living in India, which is another very long story altogether.
It was genuinely a pleasure meeting you through this conversation. Thank you again for your warmth and honesty. And yes — keep fighting the good fight too. Stay well, Alex, and give Blixa cat a little scratch behind the ears from me.
Well said!
You are correct. It was a mental process, leaving the Dem Party (or more precisely, acknowledging that it left me), but I did it. There are a LOT of us - some went independent, for now, as I did, some went right to Republicans. And, it’s not just Jews walking away from this deranged, extremist Party.
Too dangerous to give the Dems power unless they jettison the Islamo-Nazi-Third Worldists.
Ruth, I hear you completely. My own voting history is a mixed bag as well — I voted for Barack Obama twice and later voted for Donald Trump. I’ve never viewed politics as tribal loyalty. Parties change, circumstances change, and sometimes they leave you before you leave them.
That’s exactly why I keep saying it should always be policy, policy, policy — not party identity. Too many people stay loyal to labels long after those labels no longer represent them.
I couldn't say it better.
So again, we’re seen as ‘tenants’ in our political parties. Unreliable. No point in courting our support. There’s not enough of us anyway.
Thank you for this excellent article. The metaphor of tenancy is a good one. Despite my family being in this country for over one hundred years, I’ve been feeling like a guest here since 10/7. This is still a country of laws, and there are many individuals working to ensure that our civil rights are protected (they have not been protected on many campuses and K-12 schools), but we are a small and vulnerable minority and might always be guests (tenants) here. That’s why there are signs at Ben Gurion airport that say “Welcome Home”.
I think you're pointing to a real distinction: tenancy does not mean we do not belong here, but it does name the contingency many Jews have felt since 10/7.
America can be home, and still feel less secure than we thought. Israel can be home in a different, deeper civilizational sense. and your point about the “Welcome Home” signs at Ben Gurion says a lot. Grateful you read it so closely.
In the diaspora, one of our worst enemies is the liberal Jew, who in my opinion is a traitor to us all. As a people, we have always disagreed, however as a minority, to turn on one another, is only assisting our enemies. Jews who raise Jewish children without the love of our history, ancestry, customs, Israel, and one another, will be the diasporas’ unraveling and saddens me deeply. I was not raised religious, but love for my heritage, customs, history and people have been treasures that continue to enrich my and my children’s lives enormously.
I hear the pain in this, especially around Jewish continuity. I’m hesitant to call liberal Jews “traitors,” because I think that kind of language can flatten a much more complicated reality. But I do agree with the deeper concern: Jews who sever themselves from Jewish peoplehood, history, Israel, and shared responsibility often do not become the ones who carry Jewish continuity forward.
That is not a new phenomenon. Jewish history has always included people who distance themselves, assimilate, or turn against the collective in order to survive, belong, or feel morally clean. But continuity ultimately rests with the Jews who keep choosing the people, even when it is costly, complicated, and uncomfortable.
What you say is true. The ones who side with terrorists or attachments like Bernie Sanders and Jon Stewart, Mandy Patinkin and JFP make me cringe when they call themselves Jews and lend spread lies about Israel and our history.
The leader of the increasing replacement for the Labour Party here, the Greens, is a self hating Jew: and that party is even more antisemitic than Labour. It’s getting huge support, especially from younger voters
the liberal Jew in Israel is causing even more damage. It isn't just libs in the diaspora.
A great way of explaining the "As a Jew" phenomenon.
As a Diaspora Jew, I know that I will be a tenant anywhere except in the Land of Israel. Landlords change, policies change - none of that makes a difference in who we are. The existence of independent Israel is the only protection we have. No need to be a coward and “read” the room to make yourself feel better. There is only one objective truth of a false historical blood libel, spoken or not.
…“to build a Jewish life that depends on it less.” Define building that life please.
posting a follow up essay that is my attempt at answering that question. Stay tuned!
Nope. Diaspora’s Jews are not even tenants. Tenants have rights. Tenants have a lease. Tenants have legal protections. Diaspora Jews think they have these but they don’t because when called upon to be honored it’s questionable as to whether they will be enforced.
Diaspora Jews are guests. Sometimes welcome guests…as long as they remain polite and in the background. These days more often unwelcome guests…like the Sidney at the Omega house pledge event in Animal House…shunted to the side with no real chance of admittance.
It’s always been that way even in the golden age in America when it was hidden because it was politically incorrect. We were fooled by the politeness. Took it as acceptance. But now we know different. We are guests being shown the door, sometimes politely more often not.
Meanwhile in NYC I just read that anti Zionist, pro Mandami Dem "Jew" Brad Landers has a "sizable lead" over moderate Dan Goldman in that heavily Jewish congressional district. That obnoxious, loud mouth scumbag will turn out to be the top "As a Jew "for Palestine and Moslems in Congress after Sanders becomes senile. Part of the enemy is us.
You bet! WE are our own enemies . Between Tikkun Olam and TDS --"Jews" who have consistently embraced socialism --do not allow Jews to speak with ONE voice.
How many American jews who only vote D are indifferent to whether Israel continues to exist? Is that an unfair question to pose to someone constantly bashing Israel? Let me use an analogy of sorts: can you be friends with someone who is truly racist towards blacks? If the answer is no ( as it shpuld be in my opinion) I then ask what about a jew hater or someone who would defund israel ( but then I repeat myself: apologies to Tucker and the Jewish senators who side w Tucker on this matter?)
The question is whether the strong liberal Zionists (I know plenty) who vote Democrat are going to wake up and see what has happened. To this point the drift away from bipartisan Israel support that began under Obama has been explained away with cognitive dissonance. The fact that 40 Democrats voted to stop selling bull dozens to Israel is something that can't be explained away.
Bravo!
Jews who embrace the left do so because they believe their Judaism to be irrelevant. I think left of center Zionists are now beginning to see a very difficult reality, that their chosen party is openly dangerous to Israel. Non Zionist Jews of the left don't care about the Jewish people and somehow imagine that they are safe. Its not so much that "the right" supports the Jews as that more and more people who hold traditionally liberal mainstream American views are being pushed to vote right. At this point anyone who gets up and says Israel has a right to exist will be denounced as a "Zio". So normal voters are increasingly voting conservative. Jews do need to be aware of their Jewisness at all times even as they care about other things as well. But too many aren't.
Exactly!
Very good article. It lays out exactly what Prof. Ruth Wisse wrote in her book "Jews and Power". As the eternal minority in the Diaspora, we are subject to the shifting conditions whether they be liberal democracies, theocracies, or autocratic governments. I would recommend reading her book to get an even deeper understanding of Mr. Strauss' summary.
I recommend reading pretty much everything Ruth writes
The title should be "Moderate Jewish Democrats face a new political reality as the Asajews, Marxists and Islamic radicals now run their party".
I agree with some of your concept and analogy.
However I find fault with"In 2025, the Trump Administration froze the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, the one that helps pay for guards and barriers outside synagogues and Jewish schools. Later that year, the FBI cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League, ending a long institutional relationship with one of the country’s central Jewish anti-hate organizations. And Tel Aviv University’s 2026 antisemitism report warned that Hitler admiration and Holocaust denial had reached currents of the Republican coalition deeply enough to qualify as an existential concern.".
#one:
This was not specific to Jewish institutions. It affected a wide range of FEMA and other federal grants. Jewish groups were prominently impacted because they are major users of NSGP amid rising antisemitic threats.
jewishinsider.com
The administration framed it as a review to ensure funds matched Trump's policy goals (e.g., efficiency via DOGE efforts, eliminating certain ideological programs).
splcenter.org
Courts quickly intervened in parts of the broader freeze, and it was partially rescinded, but implementation created delays and confusion.
nonprofitpro.com +1
Response and ResolutionBipartisan lawmakers (nearly 80 House members, including Jewish Democrats like Josh Gottheimer and Republicans) urged reversal, citing heightened hate crimes and the program's life-saving role.
jewishinsider.com +1
FEMA lifted the reimbursement pause by around May 2025, resuming reviews and payments for approved awards.
jewishinsider.com
#two:
The ADL is useless. A DNC lackey that became Far Left.
Did you know or forget how he's confronted and threatened antisemitic universities? Did you forget his war with Iran? Or his close relationship to Israel?
Yes, there are "Groypers" --they are not "pro-Trump". They are a problem in themselves. Some are the "America ONLY" crowd.
But the Dems have become truly anti-Israel and have done NOTHING to fight antisemitism. Even Dershowitz in his mid-80s realizes this. He became a Republican now (as I did awhile back because I realized the truth earlier).
So it's NOT as "even" as you seem to imply.
You don't mention Evangelists who support Jews for their religious beliefs --so yes you'd see us as being "used" there? Perhaps--but as a Republican I lost ALL my Liberal/Leftist former friends--AND family!
I have way more Christian friends nowadays.
Frighteningly prescient. This sense of homelessness has become more acute as I struggle with no longer having a political home in the land of my birth.
Yes, the Eternal ‘Other’: A cold avaricious logic in and by the countries we find ourselves in, which becomes Theft of our property, and then may include murder when our usefulness is complete. This may seem strange to the Liberal and Christian-minded non-Jews who befriend us. But the Fascist elements in these communities, although they do not have the upper hand yet thank goodness, are cultivated precisely for these acts of theft and murder. The whole (attempted) process, by Elements who have openly called themselves the re-formed Nazi Party here in Europe, has been monitored here in Europe once again. Our documentary monitoring is with you. And thus we dwell alone once again, in the country where we can be sovereign. Am Israel Chai.
Brilliant analysis. Thank you for writing it.