The United States has been a nation that respected norms and upheld the law. Donald Trump has repeatedly violated our norms and ignored the law.  He lacks respect for our national institutions and our democratic process.  

We have come together out of a deep concern that Trump will abuse his office to undermine the election and stay in power. 

In June 2015, Trump rode down a gilded escalator in Trump Tower to announce his candidacy, and the nation has been watching ever since. We’ve watched with special concern because as Jews, we’ve struggled for thousands of years against authoritarian regimes. In Donald Trump, we’ve heard an unwelcome echo of voices from the past: a man who is blinded by greed, bereft of morality, and tainted by racism. We understand that to preserve our freedoms, we need to unite with other defenders of democracy to stop him. 

Some of Trump’s Jewish supporters fixate on something he has showcased to win their votes, and that is his Israel policy.  But what about Trump’s endorsement of the anti-Semitic KKK marchers in Charlottesville, as “fine people”? What about his call in the first debate for the violent,  armed  Proud Boys to “stand by”? As Jews, we take pride in our priceless contributions to science, medicine, and the rule of law, all of which Trump has attacked and upon which he has heaped contempt. We and our fellow Americans are suffering as a result. By undermining science and its ethical application, Trump is responsible for a large part of the 200,000 COVID-19 fatalities so far. Dr. Fauci has said that number may double by Inauguration Day in January. Our people cannot tolerate this any longer.

The belief that democracy matters is one of our values. Learn more.

All Jews want a strong and safe Israel and peace in the Middle East. We are included in this group! We pray and hope the new agreements between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain are strong and enduring and lead to similar deals with additional Arab states. Biden has praised this development and we should be encouraged by this and Biden’s other views and policies toward Israel and the Middle East.

However, we do anticipate some increased tension between Biden and the Christian Zionist movement, the most active group supporting Israeli settlements and expansion. On August 13, 2020, The Times of Israel reported,

Netanyahu’s acrimonious relationship with Biden’s old boss, former president Barack Obama, is well documented. But some experts say a Biden win would be welcomed across Israel’s political and military establishment — not just by Netanyahu’s rivals on the left. Biden has long been a vocal supporter of the Jewish state, saying in a 2015 speech that the US must uphold its “sacred promise to protect the homeland of the Jewish people.” (Read more)

The belief that Israel matters is one of our values. Learn more.

Further Reading:

• “Trump, Republicans are fooling you about Democrats and Israel” by Dr. Samuel Edelman in the South Florida Sun Sentinel (external link).

• See Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein’s statement in “‘All Of This Will Harm Us’: Leading Israeli Modern Orthodox Rabbi Condemns Trump” in VosIzNeias (external link).

Black Lives Matter is a movement that is working to make sure that Black lives matter no less than any other lives. For the Jews, Black lives have always mattered. It is one of our proudest credentials that we were in the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. Two Jewish boys, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner gave their lives for the cause; and the iconic picture of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marching arm in arm with Martin Luther King Jr. makes us proud.

Not all victims of police brutality and the two-tiered justice system are Black, but all Blacks in the United States are victims of these realities. When we remember the Holocaust, we count eleven million people who were murdered by the Nazis, of which six million were Jews. Holocaust deniers and other groups use this number to “minimize” the Holocaust. Elie Wissel explained it best, “Not all victims were Jews, but all Jews were victims.” This is the same situation with the Black community in America.

The BLM movement was founded in 2013 in response to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the Trayvon Martin murder. The Black Lives Matter Network emerged from the movement and now is an umbrella organization with 16 chapters. There is another group named Movement for Black Lives and a Black Lives Matter Foundation that has nothing to do with either group or their goals.

While some of their members harbor anti-Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes, the updated and much expanded M4BL 2020 platform – its preamble, 13 platform issues, “demands,” linked resources, and federal, state and local legislative agenda – constituting hundreds of pages, omits Israel. Meanwhile BLM’s 14 Guiding Principles (page 7) and its 2020 goals and focus – indeed, its entire website – makes no mention of Israel, and neither does its platform or its 2020 legislative agenda.

There is historic friction between The Nation of Islam and the Jewish community. This tension needs to be examined and mediated, but their involvement should not negate the meaning and goals of the movement. Colin Kaepernick was an early messenger attempting to warn us that something was terribly wrong in America. Instead of listening, the country allowed his fiercest critics to define what he was doing.

Blacks and Jews have had a long and close working relationship in the struggle for Civil Rights. Each group should examine and honor this history and work together for the future.

The belief that social justice matters is one of our values. Learn more.

Trump has silenced the scientists who have spoken the truth to the country, he has disregarded the experts who have tried to prepare us for the pandemic storm. Instead, he has tried to peddle the country a false hope of miracle cures in his own morally bankrupt style.

Now, because of the Woodward tapes, we know Trump knew how deadly the virus was from the beginning. How could he have concealed this from the country? Trump’s COVID-19 response is, by every metric, a historic failure. Trump’s personal shortcoming as a decent human being prevented him from properly leading the USA’s response to the coronavirus. He declared himself a “wartime president.” We say he deserted his post which makes him guilty of a serious crime. The Woodward tapes prove that he knew the seriousness of the pandemic early on, but denied and lied to the American public and failed to use his executive power to protect the country.

Trump didn’t cause the virus, but his immoral response bears responsibility for over 200,000 deaths, economic hardship, family separation, and furthering the national divide by dismissing the need to wear face masks—the simple action that would have helped control the spread. To enhance the national suffering, he encouraged his heavily armed supporters to “liberate” certain states where he sought to enhance his re-election odds. Trump and his enabler, Attorney General Barr, attempted to deprive citizens of health care and food assistance by cruelly manipulating laws, all while denying they were doing just that. Trump has divided the country, politicized medicine, and tried selling the country hope instead of providing solid responses to the predictable yet available path we now find ourselves. Thinking ahead, would you take an improperly tested vaccine? Looking back, when was the last time you hugged your grandchildren? The pandemic didn’t have to come to this.

• Read “Trump’s Closing Message to Seniors: I Don’t Care If You Die” in New York Magazine (September 2020).

Taxes

Yes, your taxes will probably go up if the Democrats take the Presidency and both houses of Congress. If you are concerned about the effect on your estate, then you already have a team of accountants and lawyers that will help you figure out how to protect what you have earned for your family. This group always works faster than the government, and this will be no exception.

The real question is: will this be a country where your children and grandchildren will enjoy the same freedoms as you have up to now? If our democracy dies, what kind of country will they inherit?

No one likes paying taxes, but unless we want to live in a country where the rich only get richer and the poor generally get poorer, we need a tax system that helps our government ameliorate social and economic problems. Biden’s tax plan is responsible and sustainable; Trump’s tax plan is largely just a government handout for himself and his supporters.

Further Reading:

• “Why Biden Is Better Than Trump for the Economy” by Nouriel Roubini in Project Syndicate (September 2020).

  
  

Stock Market

The stock market does better under Democrats than Republicans. Don’t take our word for it, ask your financial advisors. Since 1933, Democratic presidents have on average seen higher stock market returns than Republican ones. Let us remember that every depression and recession in the 20th and 21st centuries began during a Republican administration was cleaned up by the Democrats when they came into office.

Further Reading:

• ”Democratic presidents are better for the stock market and economy” from Business Insider (August 2020).

• “Stocks perform better when a Democrat is in the White House. History proves it” from CNN Business (September 2020).

  
  

Social Security

Trump says he is protecting social security, but his call to end the payroll tax is a direct attack on the survival of the system. This is an underhanded, typically cowardly way to attack this benefit that many families rely on. Cutting the payroll tax is cutting social security for that is how we as a nation pay for Social Security and Medicare. Reducing or abating payroll taxes is a direct threat to social security.

According to the President & CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare:

Ever since President Franklin D. Roosevelt's son, Rep. James Roosevelt, Sr., founded our organization to protect Social Security and Medicare in 1982, we have not endorsed presidential candidates, focusing instead on congressional races. Until now. For the first time in 38 years, we are throwing our weight behind Joe Biden for President of the United States. As an organization rooted in the social insurance policies of FDR's New Deal — and after observing relentless attacks on lifeline programs like Social Security and Medicare — we could not in good conscience remain neutral this year. (Read More)

Further Reading:

• “Here’s what a Biden presidential win may mean for your Social Security benefits” from CNBC (September 2020).

  
  

Jews Defending American Values recognizes the number of Christian voices that have spoken up against Donald Trump and in support of Joe Biden as President of the United States.

Some Christian voices have spoken up against “Christian nationalism” as being an insincere expression of Christian faith and values:

Though the president’s message is muddled at best, we must be clear: There is no room in our country for hate or violence inspired by racism and white supremacy. But denouncing violent white nationalism is not enough. We must explore its root causes, including Christian nationalism. Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry, authors of the recent book, Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States, define Christian nationalism as “a cultural framework that idealizes and advocates a fusion of Christianity with American civic life.”

Christians from across the theological and ideological spectrum are coming together to raise awareness about Christian nationalism. They are distinguishing their faith from the “Christian” in Christian nationalism, which is more about nativism, white supremacy and authoritarianism than religion, according to research conducted by Perry and Whitehead. Signers of the Christians Against Christian Nationalism statement affirm, among other principles, that “patriotism does not require us to minimize our religious convictions.” We can love our country and still question our history and our political leaders, particularly when we feel called to do so by our faith.

in “To Dismantle White Supremacy, Examine Christian Nationalism” from Good Faith Media (October 2020).

Beyond politics, Christian nationalism has real-world consequences: one study showed that “the second leading predictor of whether someone would engage in precautionary measures [to prevent the spread of coronavirus], such as social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands.” (Read more).

Meanwhile, Roman Catholic voices have advocated for Joe Biden, himself a Roman Catholic, as the candidate most compatible with Catholic doctrine.

As much as some of my well-intended fellow Catholics will hate to hear this, it is crystal clear to me that the right thing to do is vote for Joe Biden. I believe it will be impossible to tackle these other issues with a president who is working overtime to sow division and hatred in this county through insults, intimidation, fear and blatant racism. This venomous “us against them” mentality is trickling down, seeping into our churches and poisoning our pulpits. To a culture of life, vipers are deadly.

from Jeannie Gaffigan, “My loved ones told me ‘real’ Catholics vote for Trump. Here’s my response.” in America (October 2020).