I tend to be among those who think that the situation would be no different. You're right; the Iran war almost certainly would not have happened, but I think that we would have seen more restrictions in armaments sales to Israel, etc. We'd also still have Hasan Piker, Mamdani, and yes, even "As a Jew" Jews like Brad Lander. Hating Israel (and by extension, most Jews) is now required if your are going to avoid being primaried.
I agree. The problem is bigger than any one election. The battle for the Democratic Party was always going to be fought from within. The question is whether enough Democrats are willing to confront extremism before it becomes the party’s identity.
If this was my first issue with them I’d be willing to listen. They have been ratcheting up their dangerous rhetoric, vote pushing, and genuinely anti Israel candidates for years now. Actively opposing antisemitism legislation and support for the iron dome? Every liberal Jewish Zionist I personally know is horrified. Clearly they still have a base but they are making catastrophic mistakes
Yes, in the short term it would be a wash between Harris and Trump regarding antisemitism and antiZionism.
Trump is a hard win for white supremacists and billionaires.
For literally everything else, and in the long term for Jews, Trump is an unmitigated disaster.
That is the headline. That is what the shockingly large number of Jewish avid Trump supporters are utterly ignoring, and apparently you are too. Pretending diarrhea and measles are the worst thing that happened is not responsible.
The Squad's rise to stardom? Can you name one actual policy they changed? Yet you equate them to what Trump has done.
Harris giving in to IRGC manipulations? What does that even mean? Obama got a better deal than Trump, but without evidence you are amplifying claims that Harris would give things away. Would she have given Iran control of the Straits of Hormuz, spending $100B and most of our advanced munitions stockpile in the process?
Did you actually read this or only the parts you wanted to? I was very clear from the beginning that I do not think Trump has been good for anyone or anything and that I actively campaigned against him - for a decade in fact.
Sorry, I did not mean to lecture. I have dealt with many, many Jews who are convinced that Trump can do no wrong. I should not have lumped you in with them.
And I am sensitive to minimization or false equivalencies of historically extreme widespread behavior vs. garden-variety stupidity on a small scale.
Having said that, you criticized Democrats, or amplified others' criticisms for the vast majority of the piece, while limiting criticism of Trump to a short, muted list in one paragraph.
"Not good for anyone" as you say above, is not a condemnation that galvanizes people to do the hard work. Trump is destroying decades-old alliances. Violating the Constitution on major questions like citizenship, war and voting. Blatantly ignoring court orders. Weaponizing the DOJ. Actively suppressing votes. Destroying the East Wing and building triumphal arches for himself. Horribly mismanaging a war while refusing to take action required to achieve the stated goals. Humiliating Israel. Appeasing Putin. I could go on and on and on. From you, one muted paragraph.
You are obviously free to write whatever you want. But if a person who had never heard of Trump or Harris read your piece, I think they would get the impression that Trump and Harris are equally dangerous to the US, to the world, and to Jews. In my opinion, that is absolutely not the impression we all need to give if we want things to change in our country.
And you did not address the questionable accusations you repeated about Democrats.
So I am sorry for the lecture. We are on the same team, with the same goals. I just see the danger of understating the problem of Trump and Republicans, and overstating problems with Democrats.
The reason I am so much harder on the Democrats is because I worked for them and bled for them my whole life and I am horrified to see what they have become. I take for granted that my audience knows my views. This was specifically about one issue and I probably should have framed the title differently, perhaps “would there still be this rise of extremism on the left.” I know exactly what the right is, believe me
Fair enough, this is the first time I have read you. But hopefully there will be many more people reading you for the first time. Many of them will not be well informed. I hope you keep this in mind when presenting both sides as you do here.
I agree with you, especially about this: “For literally everything else, and in the long term for Jews, Trump is an unmitigated disaster.”
I believe Paige agrees with that too. I also think Harris losing the election made the DSA feel like they are more relevant. As Paige pointed out extremism met with extremism. Meanwhile those not on the ends of the horseshoe are screwed. I hate it here.
100% agree with your article. I figure the descent might have been a bit slower but as your poll mentioned: no stopping this train
I tend to be among those who think that the situation would be no different. You're right; the Iran war almost certainly would not have happened, but I think that we would have seen more restrictions in armaments sales to Israel, etc. We'd also still have Hasan Piker, Mamdani, and yes, even "As a Jew" Jews like Brad Lander. Hating Israel (and by extension, most Jews) is now required if your are going to avoid being primaried.
I agree. The problem is bigger than any one election. The battle for the Democratic Party was always going to be fought from within. The question is whether enough Democrats are willing to confront extremism before it becomes the party’s identity.
I think considering no one is running to condemn Hasan Piker in a Mao costume at the College Dems conference, they already have.
You’re saying they have already won?
I believe they are rapidly taking over the party, yes. But I pray it can be reversed
https://jstreetdotorg.substack.com/p/why-j-street-u-went-to-college-democrats
If this was my first issue with them I’d be willing to listen. They have been ratcheting up their dangerous rhetoric, vote pushing, and genuinely anti Israel candidates for years now. Actively opposing antisemitism legislation and support for the iron dome? Every liberal Jewish Zionist I personally know is horrified. Clearly they still have a base but they are making catastrophic mistakes
Yes, in the short term it would be a wash between Harris and Trump regarding antisemitism and antiZionism.
Trump is a hard win for white supremacists and billionaires.
For literally everything else, and in the long term for Jews, Trump is an unmitigated disaster.
That is the headline. That is what the shockingly large number of Jewish avid Trump supporters are utterly ignoring, and apparently you are too. Pretending diarrhea and measles are the worst thing that happened is not responsible.
The Squad's rise to stardom? Can you name one actual policy they changed? Yet you equate them to what Trump has done.
Harris giving in to IRGC manipulations? What does that even mean? Obama got a better deal than Trump, but without evidence you are amplifying claims that Harris would give things away. Would she have given Iran control of the Straits of Hormuz, spending $100B and most of our advanced munitions stockpile in the process?
Did you actually read this or only the parts you wanted to? I was very clear from the beginning that I do not think Trump has been good for anyone or anything and that I actively campaigned against him - for a decade in fact.
You don’t need to lecture me.
Sorry, I did not mean to lecture. I have dealt with many, many Jews who are convinced that Trump can do no wrong. I should not have lumped you in with them.
And I am sensitive to minimization or false equivalencies of historically extreme widespread behavior vs. garden-variety stupidity on a small scale.
Having said that, you criticized Democrats, or amplified others' criticisms for the vast majority of the piece, while limiting criticism of Trump to a short, muted list in one paragraph.
"Not good for anyone" as you say above, is not a condemnation that galvanizes people to do the hard work. Trump is destroying decades-old alliances. Violating the Constitution on major questions like citizenship, war and voting. Blatantly ignoring court orders. Weaponizing the DOJ. Actively suppressing votes. Destroying the East Wing and building triumphal arches for himself. Horribly mismanaging a war while refusing to take action required to achieve the stated goals. Humiliating Israel. Appeasing Putin. I could go on and on and on. From you, one muted paragraph.
You are obviously free to write whatever you want. But if a person who had never heard of Trump or Harris read your piece, I think they would get the impression that Trump and Harris are equally dangerous to the US, to the world, and to Jews. In my opinion, that is absolutely not the impression we all need to give if we want things to change in our country.
And you did not address the questionable accusations you repeated about Democrats.
So I am sorry for the lecture. We are on the same team, with the same goals. I just see the danger of understating the problem of Trump and Republicans, and overstating problems with Democrats.
The reason I am so much harder on the Democrats is because I worked for them and bled for them my whole life and I am horrified to see what they have become. I take for granted that my audience knows my views. This was specifically about one issue and I probably should have framed the title differently, perhaps “would there still be this rise of extremism on the left.” I know exactly what the right is, believe me
Fair enough, this is the first time I have read you. But hopefully there will be many more people reading you for the first time. Many of them will not be well informed. I hope you keep this in mind when presenting both sides as you do here.
I agree with you, especially about this: “For literally everything else, and in the long term for Jews, Trump is an unmitigated disaster.”
I believe Paige agrees with that too. I also think Harris losing the election made the DSA feel like they are more relevant. As Paige pointed out extremism met with extremism. Meanwhile those not on the ends of the horseshoe are screwed. I hate it here.
Yeah I regret not giving this post a better title! ;)