Kamala Won’t Be Silent and Neither Should We

Last month my nephew sent me a meme. Two guys are casually talking, each with a beer in his hand. One guy says, “My party’s antisemites are tolerable – not at all like yours.”

Both funny and disturbing at the same time, this meme captures the bilateral, political weaponization of antisemitism. True to form, in his convention speech President Biden called out antisemitism on the right, failing to acknowledge the surging antisemitism on the left.

In recent years a radical wing of the Democratic Party has shown increasing tolerance for antisemitism, along with growing hostility toward Israel. While most Democrats, when asked, will condemn antisemitism and say they support Israel, they often fail to make the distinction between Israel and its terrorist enemies. 

One Democrat who never makes that mistake is New York Rep. Ritchie Torres who said, “I feel no need to be balanced between Israel and Hamas. One is a democratic ally of the U.S. The other is a genocidal terrorist organization.”

One Democrat who never makes that mistake is New York Rep. Ritchie Torres who said, “I feel no need to be balanced between Israel and Hamas. One is a democratic ally of the U.S. The other is a genocidal terrorist organization.”

Another is Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) who said, “I would be the last man standing to be absolutely there on the Israeli side with no conditions.”

How many other Democrats have spoken so unambiguously about their support for Israel? 

Indeed, it takes passion and conviction to counter antisemitism. During the congressional hearings, it was Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) outrage that led to the resignation of the presidents of Harvard and UPenn.

Yet Jewish people are too easily satisfied with the tepid, hollow support we often hear from some Democrats. We need to raise the bar regarding our expectations. Simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

We need to raise the bar regarding our expectations. Simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When Jewish students must decide whether to attend the most prestigious universities, or somewhere they will be safer, simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When synagogues and Holocaust museums are attacked by people shouting “Free Palestine,” simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

When protesters call for the genocide of Jews, simply condemning antisemitism is not enough.

Also not enough is President Biden’s support for Israel. His alliance that initially seemed steadfast has since wavered. With every criticism of Israel and threat to withhold weapons, Hamas is emboldened, less likely to release hostages and reach a ceasefire agreement. 

Harris has said that she won’t be silent when it comes to the suffering in Gaza. Her remarks often begin with, “Israel has a right to defend itself,” and end with ways that will make it more difficult for Israel to do so.

Netanyahu’s July visit to Congress revealed the anti-Israel sentiment that permeates some members of the Democratic Party. About half of Senate and House Democrats boycotted his speech. Revealing her disdain for the prime minister, Kamala Harris was also a no-show. Her refusal to have a public press conference with Netanyahu, and her steely demeanor toward him, was not encouraging.

Had she and the absent 125 Democrats attended, they would have seen four Israeli soldiers, black and white, Jewish and Muslim, a microcosm representing the diversity that is Israel. One soldier ran eight miles, not away from terror, but toward it, to save his fellow Israelis. Other soldiers, undaunted by their lost limbs and partial eyesight, went back to fight again. Their bravery in the face of danger is an inspiration. In contrast to the evil that is Hamas, these heroes represent the best of humanity, filling us with awe and hope.

In Gaza there is a fine line between Hamas terrorists and the rest of the population. There is no fine line, however, between the valiant soldiers in Congress that day in July, and the protesters outside Congress. While the soldiers selflessly serve their country, the protesters, mired in ignorance and self-righteousness, act like petulant children throwing a temper tantrum. With no thought about the impact, they block roads and highways. They accomplish nothing and are nothing but useful idiots to terrorists and tyrants.

In 1985, before President Reagan planned to lay a wreath at a cemetery where SS soldiers were buried, Elie Wiesel told Reagan, “That place, Mr. President, is not your place. Your place is with the victims.”

To Vice President Harris and all the sanctimonious Democrats who boycotted the speech, I would say, “Your place is not with the protesters who burn American flags and support Hamas. Your place is with our ally Israel, one of the strongest democracies in the world, a country that provides the U.S. with invaluable intelligence that keeps us safe. Your place is in that chamber where we paid tribute to heroes who made us pause and think about what good over evil really means.”

A country the size of New Jersey under attack on seven fronts, a country that suffered such horrendous brutality, a country that still has so many held hostage, a country that continually has rockets raining down on it, a country that has gotten smaller in the north as Hezbollah has made it inhabitable, does not need more piling on. 

If she won’t be silent, then let’s see Harris speak resoundingly about the Oct. 7 massacre. Let her speak with fury over the pictures Hamas released of bloody, beaten women and teenage girls tied up and still held hostage. Let her show anger for the 12 Israeli children killed while playing soccer. There is so much that she should not be silent about, but her speech conveys passion primarily for the people of Gaza, a large percentage of whom are terrorists or terrorist supporters.

If Harris won’t be silent, then we should not be silent either. It is incumbent on all of us to call or email our representatives, senators, Biden and Harris, telling them they should consistently support Israel and speak out against antisemitism with conviction and frequency. Call again and again. Let’s stop the Democrats from taking the Jewish vote for granted. The pro-Hamas camp has been able to sway the Democrats. It is time for us to sway them back in the other direction.

It has been said that fighting antisemitism is like draining the ocean with an eye dropper. 

While it sounds like an impossible task, we should remember a famous line from Pirkei Avot. “You are not obligated to complete the mission of repairing the world, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

This line is often quoted by a governor from a must-win state whom the Democrats surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, did not select for vice presidential candidate: a man named Josh Shapiro.

May we always be mindful of this quote calling us to action. Let us seek ways to repair the world, and at this time, let us embark on a mission to reinforce the Democratic Party’s support for Israel.

Marjorie Davis lives in Providence, R.I. She graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in Computer Science, and is a Senior Database Specialist in a large, international technology company. She is a frequent writer on antisemitism and Israel.