All politics are local, goes the famous axiom. What affects us most personally closely shapes how we vote. While American Jews live in every state in the nation, the tragedy in Pittsburgh, in which 11 worshippers were killed in the Tree of Life Synagogue by an anti-Semite just days before the midterm elections, was surely close to our hearts.
Jewish-American voters are by no means monolithic in partisanship or orthodoxy. But we spoke in a clear, loud voice that a change in direction was needed. As a matter of fact, exit polls show that the violence in America and the growing divisions and intolerance that spawn it was on the minds of most voters — Jewish and non-Jewish — as they entered their polling places this past Tuesday.
Pittsburgh is one of many hate crimes in recent months. It was not the only one that led to mass violence against a minority, or that took Jewish lives. Over two successive days in October, two Orthodox Jewish men were assaulted in my home city of New York. Pittsburgh was not even the only lethal hate crime committed in the United States that very Saturday. Yet Pittsburgh stands out in the national psyche.
Pittsburgh was a climactic event that proved definitively that anti-Semitism is not an empty threat. The majority of anti-Semitic hate crimes in the news have been nonviolent, or at least nonlethal. Nazi-inspired graffiti, the defacement of gravestones, and the false JCC bomb threats were all frightening harbingers of the dark forces coursing through America’s veins.
And just last month, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who already had a record of anti-Semitic speech, publicly compared Jews to termites. In past years, these incidents, taken individually, could be written off as anomalies. But in the context of Pittsburgh, none of these instances can be ignored.
This moment brought all other recent American anti-Semitism into focus. Not only is anti-Semitism not dead, it is thriving. Multiple candidates in the midterms were openly white supremacist and anti-Semitic. Arthur Jones, an avowed Holocaust denier and neo-Nazi, became an official Congressional candidate in Illinois and won 25 percent of the vote; Russell Walker, a North Carolina state candidate who espouses white supremacy and said Jews descend from Satan, won 37 percent of his electorate. Leslie Cockburn, an unsuccessful Congressional candidate from Virginia, is the author of an anti-Semitic book portraying Israel as the cause of America’s internal problems.
Still other campaigns used anti-Semitic imagery to target their Jewish opponents. Most notably, Ed Charamut, a Connecticut state candidate, released a widely-condemned anti-Semitic depiction of his opponent in the days following Pittsburgh.
These and other anti-Semitic candidates were defeated at the polls this year. But voters should not let their guard down; these candidates are moving into the mainstream. They are now within the perimeter of what is considered acceptable political expression. Complacency is not the answer, vigilance is.
Prior to this year, many Americans, including Jews, thought anti-Semitism to be in decline. Jews have made remarkable strides in this country over the decades, and until recently, anti-Semitism was significantly less dangerous than it once was.
For a mass casualty attack against Jews to take place in 2018 suggests that we are regressing as a nation — a sentiment deeply concerning not only to Jews, but to other minorities, and indeed to any citizens who believe in American democracy. The conclusion, then, is that something needs to change.
At a press conference last Wednesday, President Trump deflected a question about anti-Semitic attacks by citing the progress he has made for the State of Israel. And yes, Israel is important to Jews, but a stronger Israel can’t lift up Jewish-Americans; only America can do that. Indeed, Jewish-Americans cannot build a stronger Israel if we feel threatened at home. Partnership with Israel is not a substitute for protecting America’s Jewish communities. No foreign policy act can replace the work that must be done to address the division gnawing at America’s consciousness and the hate tainting its soul.
I call on all our leaders, no matter their party or religion, to address hate at its source. Do not put the blame solely across the aisle. Do not expect a solution to come from abroad. And above all, don’t wait for another Pittsburgh to decide enough is enough.
Many new Members of Congress — from both parties — have expressed a desire to improve the tone and substance of political discourse in America. This is a needed first step to healing the nation and addressing the dark forces that vex our nation. Congress can show that it means business by holding a special joint session dedicated to promoting interfaith understanding and to celebrating the pluralism that is at the heart of our national creed.
This session should set an example for all Americans and the world by abolishing the partisan aisle and commingling Republicans and Democrats in the chamber.
To all those who won their elections last week: Congratulations. We are counting on you. The reuniting of America must be job one. Let’s get to work.
Jack Rosen is the president of the American Jewish Congress.
