Survival of Jews at stake in this election

OPINION:

A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.

It’s no exaggeration to say that this election could determine the fate of Jews in the United States and Israel — together, 82% of the world’s Jewish population.

We live in a recurring nightmare. Once again, Jews confront an implacable foe dedicated to their destruction. The genocidal maniacs are supported by a diverse band of useful idiots, mostly in the Democratic Party.

Israel has been at war for most of its existence. Since the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, marking the greatest one-day Jewish death toll since the Holocaust, the war keeps getting hotter — the fight against terrorism in the Gaza Strip, rockets from Lebanon and Iran and escalating demands for a Palestinian state, coupled with Palestinian demands for the annihilation of the Jewish state.

In the United States, the position of Jews has never been more precarious. A cover story in the April issue of The Atlantic proclaimed, “The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending.”

That’s a classic understatement. Combat helmets and flak jackets would make ideal bar- and bat-mitzvah gifts in preparation for what’s coming.

Antisemitic incidents were up 140% last year over 2022. Even in a down economy, they’re the one thing that’s never in short supply.

Ivy League campuses have become no-go zones for Jews.

At congressional hearings in December, when asked if calls for genocide violated Harvard’s code of conduct, then-President Claudine Gay said it would “depend on the context.” Would whether a Ku Klux Klan rally in Harvard Square violate the school’s code of conduct depend on the context?

After claiming solidarity with Israel last October, President Biden has become an unofficial member of the anti-Zionist wing of his party.

He has slow-walked aid to Israel approved by Congress and refused to veto U.N. resolutions calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Even though there are no potential peace partners among the Palestinians, Mr. Biden continues to advocate the mythical two-state solution.

Since coming to office, Mr. Biden has showered Iran with riches, primarily by easing sanctions on oil exports. Under President Donald Trump, Iran’s oil production was down to 200,000 to 300,000 barrels daily. Under Mr. Biden, it’s now over 2 million barrels a day. Hamas and Hezbollah are grateful.

Vice President Kamala Harris is known as the most pro-Palestinian member of this administration.

Speaking in 2015 at a Los Angeles mosque, Ms. Harris, who was then California’s attorney general, said we must find the courage to never say “radical Islamic terrorism.” See no jihad. Speak no jihad.

The Democratic presidential nominee boycotted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent speech to a joint session of Congress, as did half the Democrats in Congress.

Besides telling pro-Hamas demonstrators in Washington “I see you. I hear you” as they burned American flags and assaulted police, Ms. Harris advises that the war in Gaza “is not a binary issue.” Was the rape, torture and murder of 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 also not a binary issue?

Before a rally this past Thursday in Michigan, Ms. Harris met with the co-founders of the anti-Israel Uncommitted National Movement, which asked her to consider an arms embargo against the Jewish state. She said she was “open to the request.”

When it came to a running mate, Ms. Harris ignored the obvious choice — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the popular governor of a swing state, who is Jewish — to pick weirdly “woke” Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, a state no Democrat has lost since 1972.

Progressive Democrats in the House were elated. CNN senior political commentator Van Jones said “anti-Jewish bias” may have played a part in the selection of Mr. Walz and warned that “antisemitism has gotten marbled into this party.”

Jews need to understand that the noose is tightening, and — yes — it can happen here.

They might consider the Republican ticket of former President Donald Trump (famous for the Abraham Accords) and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, who said, “If you beat up a Jew and don’t face consequences, the attacks will continue and get worse.”

The long-dormant Jewish survival instinct may finally have awakened. A Siena poll released last Tuesday showed Mr. Trump slightly ahead of Ms. Harris among New York’s Jewish voters.

Let’s hope the trend continues.

By the time Jews are standing in the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto, it will be too late to learn who their friends are.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the worldwide struggle we’re in is “a clash between barbarism and civilization.”

Here, Jews are the proverbial miner’s canary. After us, they’ll come for you.

• Don Feder is a columnist with The Washington Times.