The Jewish sage Hillel:
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
Last week’s horrendous attack at Central Synagogue underscores the scourge of antisemitism that has shaken American Jews to their core. In an era of rising violence, American Jews and non-Jews seeking values-based leadership would do well to look to the leadership of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), founded 80 years ago to engage communities on issues of common concern and shared values (especially civil rights, justice, and equality).
My conversation with Amy Spitalnick, JCPA’s CEO, lightly edited for style and length, addressed antisemitism and Islamophobia, xenophobia, Israel, and the defense of democracy.
JCPA works “to build a just and inclusive democracy.” Why is that critical, and is America at risk when one party undermines democratic values?
Jewish safety and inclusive, pluralistic democracy are inextricably linked — simply put, there is no true democracy without real Jewish safety, and there is no real Jewish safety without ensuring a truly inclusive, pluralistic democracy.
Democratic norms and institutions have played a vital role in Jewish advancement and safety in this country for generations. My own family is a case study: My grandparents survived the Holocaust and came here as refugees after the war. It was through the opportunities they found here — my grandmother as a seamstress and card-carrying union member, my grandfather as a taxi driver — that they were able to build a better life for my mother. My mother and father both became NYC public school teachers and members of the UFT, and I benefited from a great public school education, all of which allowed us to really survive and thrive in the middle class. So many of these norms and institutions are now under assault by the administration and other leaders.
In fact, right now we see how rising antisemitism and this anti-democratic extremism go hand-in-hand. Antisemitic conspiracy theories rooted in tropes and lies about Jewish control and power — including “replacement” and “invasion” rhetoric — are used to sow division and distrust in our democratic institutions. If a shadowy cabal is controlling things, how can we trust in our elections? Our government? Our economy? And as our democracy erodes, it only allows antisemitism and broader hate and extremism to flourish. We’re in this feedback loop in which increasingly normalized conspiracy theories undermine our democracy, and eroding democracy only makes our communities less safe.
At the same time, we’re being offered false choices: by the administration and others on the right telling us that fighting antisemitism requires us to undermine democracy, and by some on the far-left working to divide Jews from the very coalitions we need right now to fight for our democracy.
Our job right now is to reject false choices and false binaries — to recognize that fighting antisemitism (wherever it exists) and protecting our democracy are one and the same, and those who suggest otherwise intend to divide our communities rather than advance our shared future.
Debate is raging over funding for Israel and AIPAC’s dark money spending. Is criticism of AIPAC or urging reassessment of Israeli aid antisemitic?
Criticism of AIPAC (or any other organization, for that matter) or debate over U.S. aid is not inherently antisemitic — and there are absolutely those using blanket accusations of antisemitism to stifle such important debate.
Of course there are also a number of ways in which these conversations have veered into dehumanizing rhetoric or tropes and conspiracy theories related to Jewish money or power, or disproportionately singled out Israel or AIPAC — which our leaders must be particularly attuned to as we see rising and increasingly violent hate targeting Jews under the guise of protesting Israel.
There are some fairly simple ways to engage in important debate on these topics without veering into harm: Focus on policies and tactics rather than identity. Ensure your critiques apply to all organizations and entities that spend in our elections, not just one. Keep an ear out for dual loyalty or disloyalty claims, antisemitic caricatures, and other harmful tropes.
At the end of the day, when we flatten all critique of Israeli policy or pro-Israel organizations into reductive, binary terms, it’s that much harder both to call out and address real antisemitism AND to illustrate that it is possible (and even necessary) to criticize Israeli policy without dehumanizing Israelis or Jews.
What’s the appropriate response to grotesque Islamophobia regarding Abdul El-Sayed?
Every single one of us — no matter whether we agree with El-Sayed — has an obligation to reject those using this Senate race or policy disagreements to advance Islamophobia. Some of the rhetoric we’ve seen about Abdul El-Sayed, Mayor Mamdani, and other Muslim leaders has just been horrific and disgusting — period. When we allow hate against any individual or community to be normalized, it makes all of us less safe.
It is absolutely fair game to disagree with these leaders on their policies and on their own rhetoric. But we undermine our own arguments when we allow them to be co-opted by those spreading dehumanization and bigotry. We know where such hate can lead. My safety as a Jewish person is bound up with the safety of my Muslim neighbors — and we should all refuse to allow our disagreements and fears to be exploited to pit our communities against each other right now, no matter who’s doing so.
The Trump regime is savaging voting rights and unleashing violence against immigrants, now threatening mass deportations of law-abiding TPS refugees. How do these endanger our democratic values, and how do we protect our neighbors?
At the core of the assaults on immigrant and voting rights are deeply xenophobic, racist, and antisemitic conspiracy theories that have become normalized over the last decade.
When neo-Nazis with torches descended on Charlottesville and chanted “Jews will not replace us!” it was considered fringe and shocking. Those ideas fueled a cycle of violence against so many communities (including Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, El Paso, and Buffalo). They also directly underpin draconian, dehumanizing policies targeting immigrants, voting rights, and more. Claims of an immigrant “invasion” or a “stolen” election are fundamentally rooted in these extremist, hateful lies, suggesting that there is a conspiracy to replace white people, our electorate, or core American values.
We should be clear about a few things: Our elections are safe, voter fraud is incredibly rare, and the impact of these dangerous policies would be to potentially disenfranchise millions of eligible voters. We must understand how this assault on voting rights threatens all of our rights and safety — and push back.
Similarly — especially as descendants of refugees and immigrants who experienced both persecution and the hope of safety in America — we know that closing our door to those in need abandons our core values while helping normalize extremism and bigotry, ultimately threatening all of us. The only moral response to ICE raids and violence and the broader dehumanizing attacks on our communities is to reject them — and instead advance smart, humane immigration policies rooted in shared safety and opportunity.
It is easy to shrug off antisemitism because it is so pervasive in certain parts of society, but if you have Jewish roots, you hear it. I am glad to have the same roots as the likes of Hillel, Maimonides, Spinoza, Einstein, etc. Imagine a society without these luminaries. Imagine a whole society of Proud Boys...
Thanks for this meaningful and much needed discussion. The autonomy of the Jewish people to speak as Amy has here is what is needed to solve these existential problems. Rejecting antisemitism and what ICE is doing to our communities is absolutely the right thing to do.