A love for Israel is in my blood. My grandparents made aliyah in 1950. My grandfather was a halutz (pioneer) who helped build the kibbutz where my aunt and uncle were born. My mom made aliyah in the 1980s. They all ended up moving back to the States, but I still have so much family in Israel, and a piece of my heart will always be there.
Even though I am angry at the Netanyahu government in ways that go beyond even my anger with US President Donald Trump and his administration, that family history will always matter to me.
I know, if you’re reading this, that we probably don’t see eye to eye on events in Gaza and the West Bank. There’s a good chance I blame the Israeli government more than you do. But I also know that if you normally vote for Democrats in US elections, we probably agree on most other things.
Beginning in the 1890s, my family immigrated to the US from the Pale of Settlement through HIAS. It is our Jewish responsibility to protect and help the immigrant – not just because of our history. It is intrinsic to Jewish teaching. “Ha lachma anya”: Let all who are hungry come and eat, let all who are needy come and celebrate Passover with us.
Our tradition raises us to ensure everyone feels safe, has a roof over their head, shoes on their feet, and food in their belly. And if someone else won’t do it, it’s on us to make it happen.
I understand how much it hurts to hear a Democrat speak negatively about Israel. But no matter how much we care about Israel, this is bigger than that.
Republicans are hell-bent on abusing, abducting, and in many cases killing immigrants. ICE is shooting them in the street. Others have been starved in detention centers or denied medical treatment. Many, including the refugees, are legal immigrants. The vast majority aren’t criminals at all.
Protecting and caring for the immigrant is a foundational Jewish value.
And it’s more than that. Tikkun olam literally means repairing the world, the main concept that informs all of my work.
A couple of years ago, IKAR Rabbi Sharon Brous gave a sermon on tikkun olam. She explained that it’s not about making the world look whole again. Rather, we must make sure every moment of destruction remains part of our history. We can’t undo what has been done, but we can work to help it scar over and heal. Think of it like the Japanese art of kintsugi – the art of visible mending.
Why make the wound bigger when we can start healing it now?
We can’t predict how much more suffering Republicans will inflict upon immigrants and refugees. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface – they will continue to dehumanize and marginalize people of color as well as members of the queer and disabled communities. The climate crisis will get worse while people throughout the country are forced to choose whether to feed their families or pay rent.
This cannot continue
If that’s not enough, consider pikuach nefesh – a foundational principle of Jewish law that puts health and safety above all. We are required not to fast on Yom Kippur if we’re chronically ill and urged to use a car on Shabbat if a life is in danger. Our tradition tells us that combating human suffering comes before everything else.
Over the past two years, we have seen Trump and his Republican House and Senate majorities take pleasure in that human suffering.
Allowing this to continue, simply because we don’t like how someone speaks about Israel, contradicts our Jewish values.
This isn’t just about Michigan. It’s about Colorado and New York too. It’s about this election and future elections. It’s about our duty to take power away from those who are set on destroying everything that we as Jews are raised to protect.
For me, the choice is clear.
We must do all we can to stop the damage Republicans are unified in inflicting. And we do this by voting for Democrats, even when we might not like everything they say.
In my own newsletter, I end all my posts with this phrase: Our votes are our voices, and those voices are our superpower, but ONLY when we use them.
The writer is a Jewish American content creator who shares wins for democracy without discounting the present dangers. She grew up in a family of activists and highlights victories within the Democratic Party from a nuanced viewpoint. She writes the newsletter The Daily Elm.