I am proudly supporting DONALD J TRUMP for president. I am also supporting Republican representatives down the entire ballot in this year’s November election.
For decades the American Jewish community has supported liberal Democrats in overwhelming majority numbers. Lately, we are seeing a pronounced erosion of that support as a growing minority of Jewish voters has begun a noticeable migration to supporting Donald Trump and Republicans. Is this an anomaly? A trend? An ideological adjustment? More importantly, is such a move warranted?
For over 5 years we have all been told, in very stark terms, that Trump is a “racist”, “homophobic”, “misogynist”, “Islamophobic”, anti-Semite, a white supremacist who is fomenting hate among our population. At first, some might accept this narrative as more and more people around us continued to pronounce such descriptions in ever-increasing, emphatic tones. But a number of facts bothered me. First among them was; Trump has been a very public figure his entire life and we’ve heard nothing of these vile attitudes he harbors until he announced his candidacy for president as a Republican. In fact, every time I wanted to confirm one of these allegations against the president, I ran into contrary facts that led me to the exact opposite direction. To date, I couldn’t find a single instance of hateful or racist actions. Historically he has close relationships with prominent black and Jewish people all across his life path. Women hold some of the highest positions in his business organizations and people of all races are well represented. None of this made sense to me.
In reality, Trump has been the most pro-Jewish and pro-Israel president in American history. His support for Israel and actions against antisemitism has become historic. After decades of promises, it was President Trump who moved the US embassy to Jerusalem. It was President Trump who successfully negotiated at least two peace treaties with Arab countries. It’s well worth noting that the last such agreement with any Arab country happened over 25 years ago. Trump did two in one month and we are told there are more coming. It was President Trump who prayed at the Western Wall. Unlike President Obama and VP Biden, President Trump never threatened Israel with punishment for defending themselves. One of President Trump’s most trusted advisors is Jared Kushner (his son-in-law) who happens to be a religious Jew along with the president’s daughter Ivanka and his grandchildren. The idea of this president being antisemitic is so absurd one would have to be lost in some bizarro ideological fog to see such a thing.
Having lived in a socialist country, I am well aware of the tactics such people use to besmirch a person who doesn’t tote the line. It seems clear to me that today’s leftist Democrats, propped up and assisted by their supporters in the mainstream media have used the socialist, well-known, tactic of accusing one’s enemy of what they themselves are actually doing in order to bully and force a position on the people. More importantly, it’s a position that people would not support otherwise. I know how attractive leftist promises can make things sound but I can assure you the results they deliver are nothing less than misery. President Trump has delivered fewer military entanglements, superior economic results, and unwavering support for Israel and Jewish people everywhere.
A good recent example of this is:
On September 16th, 2020 a Republican-proposed amendment to help combat antisemitism passed despite more than 70% of House Democrats voting against it. I want to say this again; 70% of Democrat representatives in the US House of Representatives voted against legislation that will help combat antisemitism. Fortunately, Republicans stood up for American Jews to pass the amendment. What is the reason for not supporting legislation whose only purpose is to reduce antisemitism? There was nothing else controversial about this legislation and the bill passed into law but only because Republicans proposed it, unanimously supported it and President Trump signed it.
Conversely, Democrats are subverting Israel and Jewish issues at every turn. This started at the very beginning of the Obama/Biden administration and continues today. In his book in 2015 former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren documents the rapid dissolution of the historically close U.S.-Israel alliance under President Barack Obama and Vice President Biden. Oren recounts being threatened and intimidated at multiple junctures by Obama and his senior officials, marking many firsts in a relationship that has long been the cornerstone of American foreign policy. This culminated in the US intentionally allowing a denunciation of Israel at the UN after the Trump election but before Obama left office in 2016, something America has never allowed before.
Today’s Democrats have taken Obama/Biden policy against Israel and Jews to a whole new level and are now embracing openly antisemitic members of Congress and members of the Nation of Islam (an openly antisemitic organization) and catering to their demands. Many Jewish people have dismissed the obvious antisemitism permeating today’s Democrat party by accepting the thin distinction of anti-Israel as not meaning antisemitic. This might be acceptable if the party didn’t, in large part, embrace antisemitic organizations and members. This may be accurate if criticism of Israel was similarly inflicted on other countries with far more egregious infractions. Yet it’s not, the Democrat party and its members seem to reserve all their consternation for Israel and Jews despite Israel being the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. The only country where being gay, female, etc. is fully accepted and allowed in law. Since we don’t see such criticism from today’s Democrats aimed at places like Iran, Syria, Jordan, etc., why? What is the only difference? Israel is a Jewish state and all disgust is reserved for it and the Jewish people. Jewish friends everywhere should be very concerned about where today’s Democrat party is headed.
I urge my fellow Jewish Americans and all Americans to set aside your distaste for President Trump’s bellicose style and look at the facts yourselves. President Trump has earned our vote, he has earned a second term and WE have earned the prosperity and peace he ushers in.
Alex Leykin is a Jewish-American Refugee from the Soviet Union
