(RNS) — For the sins which he has committed (a parody of the alphabetical Al Chet litany on Yom Kippur):
Abortion policy, desire to change, which includes
Bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade
Contempt for the Constitution, which means that a Trump administration would be a
Danger to democracy. Let us remember that he engaged in
Election denial in 2020, which inspired the throng to attack the U.S. Capitol, to threaten violence against Nancy Pelosi and to seek to hang Mike Pence.
Fascistic tendencies, as many of his former closest advisers and a significant number of generals have warned about.
Groveling to Vladimir Putin.
Hitlerian rhetoric, including a desire to have generals like Hitler had.
Insulting American cities as “cesspools” and “hellholes.”
Jew baiting, through innumerable remarks and the suggestion that if he loses, American Jews would be to blame.
Kennedy, Robert F. Jr., vaccine skeptic, possibility that he would have a role in a Trump administration.
Legal judgments against him.
Madison Square Garden rally, with its accompanying hatred.
No guardrails in this administration with the absence of former advisers who would have moderated his actions, and the Supreme Court ruling that the president has “absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his ‘conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority.’”
Opting to have dinner with Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist and antisemite, at Mar-a-Lago.
Promising to pursue and punish his enemies.
Questioning voting results, even weeks before Election Day.
Rounding up undocumented immigrants, as he has promised.
Sexual accusations against him.
Tyrant admiration.
Ukraine abandonment, potential.
Veterans, insulting.
Weaponizing opposition to opponents.
Xenophobia.
Yearnings for a pristine, white, Christian America — encouragement of.
Zeal for conspiracy theories.
* * * *
I address my words to my fellow Jews who are considering voting for Donald J. Trump.
I write these words with caution, and even with caring.
Some of you are my relatives, my friends and former congregants — people with whom I have prayed and studied over the years. Many of you are my Israeli friends and relatives, who probably would not vote in an American election but whose sympathies, nevertheless, trend toward Trump.
Some of my fellow Jews will be tempted to vote for Trump for economic reasons. We would differ on the priority that we might give economic factors, however differently perceived, in our personal electoral choices. (Given the huge presence of Jews in the middle class, VP Harris’ pro-middle class economic policies — putting home ownership within the grasp of many more Americans and aid for small businesses, would also be good for the Jews.) But, I accept that you will make your choice for those economic reasons. We simply see things differently.
Some of my fellow Jews will be tempted to vote for him because of the immigration issue. I understand there is deep frustration over this issue. We would probably differ on the potential solutions (more on this later). Even still, I accept that you will make your choice for this reason. We simply see things differently.
Many of you will be tempted to vote for him because you believe he is better for Israel. True, he moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and I thanked him for that from my former congregation’s pulpit. But, we cannot say a theoretical Trump administration would have handled the current crisis any better than the current administration. In fact, given Trump’s recklessness, there is every reason to believe he would have reacted to the current military crisis in a way that would have been destructive to the Jewish state and her neighbors.
All of these are open to debate.
But, above and beyond it all, this is what I invite you to consider.
In the immortal words of Sam Cooke: “Don’t know much about history …”
Many Jews who support Trump are committed Jews, connected Jews and passionate Jews.
Many Jews who support Trump claim to be learned Jews, as well.
Here is what it means to be a learned Jew — or, at the very least, an intellectually curious Jew (and human being, for that matter).
It means many kinds of textual knowledge, but it also means reading the texts of Jewish history.
Let us go back, in Jewish and world history, to the early and mid-193os in Germany.
Timothy Snyder is the world’s foremost authority on the history of fascism. In a recent essay, he reflects on what it would mean for a Trump administration to deport undocumented immigrants. The title of the essay is sufficiently suggestive: “Twelve Million Deportations.”
Here is Snyder:
Try to picture just one person unwillingly deported: the altered life, the use of force, the effect on those who participate, those who inform, or those who stand by. And now try to do it twice: imagine a second person. And now consider a country with twelve million such scenes. It is a different America, one in which violence is normal and everywhere, one in which we see it and are dulled to it, one in which we all change for the worse.
When you imagined the scene, did you remember the family? Forced deportations are directed against families. About twenty million people in this country are part of a family with mixed documentation status. That means that if the Trump-Vance plan were to proceed, twenty million families would be broken. In most of these cases, that means children losing a parent or both parents.
Try to imagine someone you know being deported. Latinos will likely know someone who will be deported, their families broken. We are talking about 1-in-25 families in the country.
It might be someone you believed was documented but is not. Or it might be someone close to someone you care about: your son’s girlfriend, your best friend’s father, your kid’s buddy’s mom, an employee, a neighbor.
This should be enough to inspire a gasp or shudder.
But, Snyder goes on into that area that most of us have not even begun to consider.
How will it all go down?
Again, Snyder:
Such an enormous deportation will require an army of informers. People who denounce their neighbors or coworkers will be presented as positive examples. Denunciation then becomes a culture. If you are Latino, expect to be denounced at some point, and expect special attention from a government that will demand your help to find people who are not documented. This is especially true if you are a local civic or business leader. You will be expected to collaborate in the deportation effort: if you do, you will be harming others; if you do not, you risk being seen as disloyal yourself.
And then what? Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carrying out raids in workplaces? Neighbors informing on each other’s lawn guys and housekeepers? Protests breaking out, with Trump ordering the military to violently suppress those protests?
All of those potential actions are in his playbook, and they come straight out of the playbook of Nazi Germany.
This is fascism.
This is precisely what is in the Jewish memory bank. This is what we have meant when we have said “never again!” — yes, about the Jews but presumably, about anyone. This is what we have meant when we talk about knowing the heart of the stranger, that oft-repeated commandment that gets more ink in the scroll than, say, the laws of keeping kosher and even Shabbat itself.
Let me emphasize: Some of those who will vote contrary to my own political preferences are my friends, family and Jews with whom I enjoy a warm relationship. I am not canceling you, as you are not canceling me. We have a political disagreement, and I can still enjoy your company.
But, many of you say that you bring a piece of your Jewish identity and Jewish memory (i.e., your love for Israel and your fear for her security) into the voting booth with you.
I only hope you would bring the rest of that necessary historical memory with you as well.
It’s not just 1942 — the fear of another Holocaust.
It is not just 1948 — our love for the state of Israel.
It is not just Oct. 7, 2023 — our PTSD from the most violent day in recent Jewish memory.
It is also the 1930s.
It is time for us to know much about history.
