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Holocaust survivors make competing final arguments for Jewish voters

Posted on by Larry
Holocaust survivors make competing final arguments for Jewish voters

The divergent testimonies of two Holocaust survivors, both from New York, are indicative of the fragmenting views among Jewish voters following the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which has not only evoked painful memories of World War II, but also a new wave of anti-Semitism.

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A new advertisement of former President Donald Trump’s campaign efforts to push back against Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments calling the Republican candidate a “fascist.” It shows a Holocaust survivor saying the accusation shames his murdered relatives.

“Adolf Hitler invaded Poland when I was nine years old. He killed my parents and most of my family,” 94-year-old Jerry Wartski, an Auschwitz survivor and retired New York City real estate investor, said in the ad released last week.

‘I know more about Hitler than Kamala will ever know in a thousand lifetimes. For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I have ever heard in the 75 years I have lived in the United States,” Wartski added. “I know President Trump, and he would never say this. And Kamala Harris knows it. She owes my parents and everyone else murdered by Hitler an apology for repeating this lie.”

The Trump campaign released the ad after Democrats compared Trump to Hitler last week, pointing out a New York Times interview with Trump’s former chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, saying the former president’s actions fit the definition of a fascist. Another one report of the Atlantic Ocean Last week, Trump said he praised Hitler for having generals loyal to him, something the former president’s campaign has denied.

Harris did not directly call Trump “Hitler” but said she thinks Trump is a fascist and quoted Kelly.

Democrats found a new opportunity to appeal to Jewish voters after Trump gave a speech mega rally at Madison Square Garden it was convicted for racist comments and for harking back to a 1939 Nazi event at the arena. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) said Trump invoked and posted “Hilter’s white nationalism.” a video from a voter who is also a Holocaust survivor.

“When I heard that Donald Trump wanted to – I don’t know if he wanted to follow him, but that Kelly, who worked with him, said that (Trump) admired Hitler,” said 93-year-old Elizabeth Bellak, a survivor of the Holocaust. “So if he admired Hitler, who was a fascist, so what – does he want to do the same and be Hitler?” she asked.

Bellak said Trump doesn’t care about America and that all he cares about is “getting revenge on people who are against him.”

“For him to say he wants to take over the army and persecute the people who oppose him is something unbelievable. I just don’t want the old fears to repeat themselves here,” she said.

A large majority of the Jewish people have consistently voted for Democrats, but the war between Israel and Hamas highlights the divisions within the party over Israeli policy. Republicans believe the spike in anti-Semitism sparked by last year’s attack in Israel, which sparked widespread protests, will erode Jewish support for Harris.

The Republican Jewish Coalition has released a final ad It shows three Jewish women talking about Israel being attacked and the threat of rising anti-Semitism on college campuses. The organization is spending $15 million on advertising in battleground states this cycle, the most spent during an election in the group’s history.

One woman said she never liked Trump, but “at least he’ll keep us safe.” Across the table, another woman said she has never voted Republican in her life, but she is voting for Trump because Harris is “busy defending the team.”

“You don’t have to like Donald Trump, but Donald Trump will keep the Jewish community safe,” said Sam Markstein, national political director of the RJC. “There is this collective fear and anxiety, frankly, pervasive and palpable in the Jewish community like never before.

“So whether you’re a Republican who’s going to proudly vote for Donald Trump, or you’re a Jewish Democratic voter who’s never voted Republican in your life, we’re seeing an accelerated movement happening across the board. toward the Republican Party this year,” he said.

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A poll conducted by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, showed Harris leading Trump, 67% to 31%, among likely Jewish voters. Polls have been held for the Jewish Democratic Council of America found that Harris led Trump, 71% to 26%, among Jewish voters in seven battleground states.

Markstein argues that Harris’ embrace of “fascist” rhetoric is turning off voters, especially Jewish ones.

“This closing message is now this deranged madness that Trump is Hitler. I think they’re actually turning off many of the same undecided voters that they actually need to win over. I think it’s a big tactical mistake. “I think they’re going to get bored with this for some reason, and I think it’s going to backfire on them,” he said.

“It’s just morally wrong and reprehensible, and quite frankly it desensitizes us to real anti-Semitism, which is skyrocketing to unprecedented levels here at home,” he added.

Meanwhile, JDC PAC’s latest ad, titled “Our Choice,” features footage of the October 7, 2023 attacks with footage of the 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, along with other neo-Nazi protests.

“This is a difficult time for many Jewish Americans, a time filled with uncertainty,” the ad’s narrator says. “Our choice will impact our families and our democracy for years to come.”

The spot also addresses comments Trump made in mid-September in which he claimed that “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with” his loss if Harris were to win on Election Day.

“Donald Trump openly scapegoats Jews,” the narrator says, followed by comments from Harris in which she says, “That is anti-Semitism, and that is unacceptable.”

Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, who is Jewish, believes the Democrats’ latest message is effective and that “Donald Trump brought this on himself.”

“While I generally do not condone or think it is in any way helpful to Jews to throw around ‘Hilter this or Hitler that,’ the former president did this to himself by saying positive things about Hitler and the people who surrounded Hitler. Reinish said.

“No one took this off the air. This was detailed by former senior staff, many of whom are extremely senior military figures in charge of national defense and security,” he added, referring to Kelly’s comments from the New York Times story.

Harris has tried to connect with skeptical Jewish voters, using her Jewish husband in critical battlegrounds. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff gave a speech on Monday in Pittsburgh, miles from the synagogue where the worst attack on Jews in American history took place, claiming Trump would turn on Jews “on a dime.”

“Donald Trump demands loyalty, but he is loyal to nothing but himself,” Emhoff said. “If it were to advance his personal interests, Trump would turn his back on Israel and the Jewish people on a dime.”

Emhoff stated that he and Harris are committed to “eradicating” anti-Semitism, calling it an “epidemic of hate.”

“There is a fire in this country and we pour water on it or we pour gasoline on it,” he said.

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Although the majority of Jews live in states not considered traditional battlegrounds, such as California, New Jersey and New York, represent approximately 2% of the population of Pennsylvania and Arizona, which are hotly contested. Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina also have significant Jewish populations, large enough to influence elections.

“If he wins, Jewish voters will play a key role in a winning coalition for Donald Trump,” Markstein said.