The forces of democracy must unite

It seems like ages ago in news cycle time, but we had a national discussion about anti-Semitism 10 days ago, and we never got an answer. What the heck do Trump and Netanyahu think about big increases in anti-Semitic and other racist hate crimes since the election in the U.S.? When originally asked, Trump told us once again that he has a Jewish daughter married to his chief advisor Jared Kushner, and that proves he loves Jews. (But why does Trump never mention son’s Eric’s wife and their jewel-embedded chuppah–would some of his supporters worry that there are too many Jews in the Trump family?).

After failed to address the rise in anti-Semitic and racist crimes in a second press conference, he was forced to spit out a rehearsed sentence or two about how anti-Semitism is horrible. But will he bring it up again? Was that a one-time token statement to appease critics? We, and the anti-Semites, are waiting to find out.

But we have to wonder if Trump is in fact strong enough to tamp down the hate he and alt-Right strategist Steve Bannon have unleashed? Trump has found limits to his ability to pivot toward tolerance. Remember during the general campaign when Trump wooed Latino leaders by saying he was going to soften his views on deportation? Sarah Palin came out and basically said, ‘No, you’re not.’ When confronted with the reality that his base, from Palin on rightwards, was more attached to deportation than him, Trump reversed course. He reversed direction, dropped attempts to soften his policy, and enraged Latino leaders who had stuck their necks out thinking Trump had made a commitment to them.

Trump’s single statement last week denouncing anti-Semitism will not put the genie back in the bottle. This too-little-too-late statement came after years of inflaming racism (birtherism), releasing anti-Semitic campaign ads, tweeting anti-Semitic images, retweeting white supremacist posts, and refusing for months to take a stand against hate crimes. His statement will have no practical effect if he doesn’t repeat it strongly and often, back it up with policies supporting targeted groups and increased enforcement, and integrate a stance against anti-Semitism with condemnation of other forms of bigotry that similarly inhabit the inflamed brains of white supremacists.

But still, as I had written before the Trump-Netanyahu joint press conference, my eyes were on Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel. Do you remember what Bibi said after Trump boasted of his Jewish family? Bibi completely punted. He ignored the question and repeated the main message of his visit–of all his visits–that Israel and the U.S. are best friends.

Granted, Netanyahu was in an uncomfortable position on a podium with his host. Netanyahu receives some of the best intelligence in the world and has always been keenly attuned to the dynamics of American society; he certainly knows that the rise in hate crimes in the U.S. is the direct result of Trump’s ugly rhetoric and dog-whistle appeals to racists, bigots, and white supremacists. And Netanyahu also knows that his strongest American supporters, like Kushner and casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson, have not challenged growing anti-Semitism.

For that matter, how can Kushner, Adelson, and other Jews sit so closely to Bannon and other alt-Right ideologues?  Bannon is proud of having built Breitbart into the platform for the alt-Right, the movement that starts with the Tea Party and just keeps going rightward to include KKK and Nazi supporters. It is a big tent that includes those calling for separation of races, expulsions, subjugations, even killings.  It is hard to understand how any patriotic American can tolerate Bannon as the president’s strategic advisor. But how can Jews like Kushner, Adelson, and others sit in the Trump coalition alongside alt-Right leaders?  What is their accommodation, their “deal” that allows them to work together? Are they trading support for a strong Israel for silence about anti-Semitism? And if so, what is their end-game if hate-crimes continue to escalate and make life untenable for American Jews?

It was literally within this strange political configuration that Netanyahu stood while being asked about the rise of anti-Semitism in the U.S.  Bibi’s silence was louder than Kushner’s or Trump’s: His failure to address the issue declared an abdication of his moral and political responsibility as the leader of the only Jewish state in 2000 years to speak out against anti-Semites anywhere on Earth.

Apparently Bibi has learned not to stoke controversy around anti-Semitism in the diaspora. Recall the firestorm over his notorious comments to French Jews, encouraging them to respond to anti-Semitism in France by moving to Israel.  

However, there is a bigger story here that transcends Israeli policies and Netanyahu’s silence.

The situation for American democracy is critical. White supremacists are plotting strategy in the White House. Polls show a third of the U.S. electorate is largely brainwashed into believing White House lies and propaganda.  And the Economist’s recent annual review and grading of world democracies dropped one of the world’s 20 “full” democratic countries to “flawed democracy” status due to Trump’s undermining of the legitimacy of democratic institutions.  

The future is looking bleak. With their new control over the appointments of judges, the Republican party plans to continue their decades-long effort to undermine minorities’ voting rights (despite the fact they are under court order and ongoing monitoring for prior voting rights violations). Already, because of Republican gerry-mandering, analysts say Democrat’s must get 7% more support than Republicans just to achieve electoral parity. After the 2020 census, the Republicans are aiming to pursue even more severe gerry-mandering. And there is little hope now for enfranchising millions of low-income non-whites who are ex-felons or happen to live in D.C.

In addition to formal voter suppression, Trump’s campaign explicitly told us that their central strategy in the election’s home stretch boiled down to “voter suppression”: Leveraging the Russian/Wikileaks hacked email releases, Trump’s smear campaign played on the distrust of Clinton to persuade lukewarm Clinton voters in key voting blocs (women, blacks) to stay home rather than make the effort to go to polling stations, wait on line, and vote. Through their analytics arm, Cambridge Analytica, the Trump campaign identified specific user profiles on Facebook for paid and targeted advertising (i.e., propaganda) to undermine enthusiasm for Clinton.

Success in Republican’s ongoing formal voter suppression efforts will soon make it all-but-impossible for free and fair elections to be held in the U.S. This is how a “flawed” democracy devolves to authoritarian rule.

The rise of hate and anti-Semitism unifies Trump’s core supporters and justifies voter suppression. To fight the rise in hate and the complex undermining of American democracy, we need Netanyahu and other world leaders to help focus world attention on Trump’s right hand man–the acclaimed leader of the largely white supremacist and anti-Semitic alt-Right, Steve Bannon. Netanyahu must take a critical stand: The inclusion of Bannon (and his fellow ex-Breitbart staffers) in the administration crosses a moral and political Red Line.

At this time, the world’s 19 democracies must overcome their narrow self-protective tendencies.  It will serve none of us in the end if these democracies protect their own interests from the Trump-Bannon axis by shouting hostilities in return (Mexico), staying neutral (Canada), or pandering to the egotistical cyberbully (Israel).  The remaining full democracies must understand that this has become a global struggle.  The forces of hate in the U.S., Europe, and Russia are aligning. We must too.

Mark Feinberg, Ph.D.  is Research Professor at Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University.