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October 2, 2022
Key Takeaways:
- At the first-ever White House Rosh HaShanah reception, President Biden reiterated his commitment to Jewish and American values.
- Jews don't fare well under fascism, and the worst form of antisemitism is government-sponsored antisemitism, so the good news is that only 17% of Jewish voters identify as Republican. The bad news is that even 17% identify with a fascist, antisemitic party.
- New polling shows strong support for reentering the JCPOA among American voters, complementing recent polling showing even stronger support among Jewish American voters, particularly Jewish Democrats.
- Recent provocations by Iran are why getting back into the JCPOA is not only smart politics, but smart policy.
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Mazel Tov to Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) on his election to succeed outgoing Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) as chair of the House Foreign Affairs Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee.
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Hi Steve,
Last week, the President and Dr. Biden hosted the first-ever White House Rosh HaShanah reception. To see and hear from the First Lady, the Second Gentleman, and President Biden spoke was to remember and witness what it means to have good and decent people leading our country.
President Biden acknowledged the presence of Rabbi Michael Beals of Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that "I probably went to shul more than many of you did. You all think I’m kidding. He can tell you I’m not."
Quoting the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Biden said that "the most important lesson of the High Holidays is that nothing — nothing — is broken beyond repair...It’s never too late to change and to be better."
Biden reminded us that he decided to run for president after watching marchers in Charlottesville "carrying torches, Nazi flags; and chanting the same exact antisemitic bile that was chanted on the streets of Berlin and Germany in the early ‘30s [and] the comment made by a former leader was, 'There are good people on both sides.'" Biden added that failure to call out hatred is complicity, and silence is complicity.
And for those who might think we are not up to the task, Biden quoted the Talmud: “It is not required that you complete the work, neither may you refrain from it.”
Biden closed by announcing that "I can’t think of anyone better who embodies the sacred spirit of this season than the special guest we have here today," and for a moment, I thought I'd finally get to meet Sandy Koufax. But instead, the special guest turned out to be Itzhak Perlman. "He plays from the heart. As the rabbis tell us, 'What comes from the heart enters the heart.' And you’re about to experience it."
Perlman performed a moving rendition of "Avinu Malkeinu." After listening in respectful silence for a few minutes, many of us spontaneously began singing as he played. In the White House. During the Days of Awe. Only in America. But only if we keep it this way.
Can Jews support fascism? Jewish voters remain firm supporters of the Democratic Party, but if 17% of Jewish voters identify as Republican, then yes, Jews can support fascism. You would think that the Holocaust would have hammered home the dangers of fascism, but Anshel Pfeffer writes that "some Jews appear to believe that a more effective lesson of the Holocaust should be that Jews need to support a fascism that doesn’t target them, just other minorities. Especially minorities who may be harmful to Jews as well."
The worst form of antisemitism is government-sponsored or condoned antisemitism. Jews who vote Republican are not only ignoring the lessons of history and Martin Niemöller, but the mainstreaming of antisemitism in today's GOP. Republican ideology breeds antisemitism. No Democrat could win the nomination for president or any statewide office with Donald Trump's record of antisemitism, but it's commonplace within the GOP. Don't let Republicans use comments from one or two Democrats to distract us from the reality that Democrats in Congress overwhelmingly support Israel and oppose antisemitism.
Support for reentering the JCPOA remains smart politics. Despite Iranian intransigence, the door to reentering the JCPOA remains open. Recent polling shows that 59% of all Americans, "including 73 percent of Democrats, 61 percent of Independents and 41 percent of Republicans—would support returning to the deal rather than staying out and risking Iran developing a nuclear weapon." Among Jewish Democrats, the percentage supporting return to the JCPOA jumps to 88%.
On September 28, the White House said that it "will continue to pursue sanctions and other means to disrupt Iran’s destabilizing activities across the Middle East region." The State Department reiterated on September 26 that none of Iran's recent provocations "changes our determination to see to it that Iran is permanently and verifiably barred from obtaining a nuclear weapon...
"[E]very single challenge we face with the Iranian Government would become more difficult, in some ways more intractable, if Iran were in the possession of a nuclear weapon. We think about that not only in terms of Iran’s ballistic missile program, not only in terms of its support for terrorist groups and proxies, not only in terms of its support in malign activity in cyberspace, but also for the types of human rights abuses that we’re talking about now. Every single challenge we face would become more difficult if Iran were to be in possession of one." That's why returning to the JCPOA is smart policy.
Democrats chose Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) to chair the House Foreign Affairs Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee. Cicilline replaces outgoing Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), who is retiring to lead the American Jewish Committee. Cicilline is a good friend of Israel with solid progressive credentials.
Last Week's Newsletter.
ICYMI. Lapid says the magic words.
Tweet of the Week. Every Batman actor should have to audition with this scene.
Video Clip of the Week. For Yom Kippur: Jonah Reactions.
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