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Holocaust survivors make competing closing arguments to Jewish voters

Posted on by L. Dreeye
Holocaust survivors make competing closing arguments to Jewish voters

The differing testimony from two Holocaust survivors, both from New York, symbolizes the split among Jewish voters following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which not only brought back painful memories of World War II but also a new wave of anti-Semitism.

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A new ad from former President Donald Trump’s campaign attempts to push back against Vice President Kamala Harris’ comments calling the GOP nominee a “fascist.” It tells the story of a Holocaust survivor who said the accusation brought shame on members of his murdered family.

“Adolf Hitler invaded Poland when I was 9 years old. He killed my parents and most of my family,” Jerry Wartski, 94, an Auschwitz survivor and retired New York real estate investor, said in an ad published last week.

“I know more about Hitler than Kamala would know in a thousand lifetimes. For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I have ever heard in 75 years of living in the United States,” Wartsky added. “I know President Trump and he would never say that. And Kamala Harris knows it. She should apologize to my parents and everyone else Hitler killed for repeating these lies.”

The Trump campaign released the ad after Democrats compared Trump to Hitler last week, pointing out New York Times interview with Trump’s former chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, who said the former president’s actions fit the definition of a fascist. Another report from Atlantic Trump said last week that Trump praised Hitler for having generals loyal to him, but the former president’s campaign denied that.

Harris did not directly call Trump “Hitler,” but said she believes Trump is a fascist and quoted Kelly.

Democrats found a new opportunity to appeal to Jewish voters after Trump held a mega rally at Madison Square Garden that was condemned for racist remarks and for referencing a 1939 Nazi event at the arena. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) said Trump evoked “Hitler’s white nationalism” and posted a video of a constituent who was also a Holocaust survivor.

“When I heard that Donald Trump wanted – I don’t know if he wanted to follow him, but Kelly, who worked with him, said (Trump) admired Hitler,” said Elizabeth Bellak, 93, a Holocaust survivor. “So if he admired Hitler, who was a fascist, so what – he wants to do the same thing and be Hitler?” she asked.

Bellak said Trump doesn’t care about America and that all he cares about is “getting revenge on the people who are against him.”

“When he says he wants to take over the army and bring to justice the people who are against him, it’s something incredible. I just don’t want the old fears to be repeated here,” she said.

The vast majority of Jews have consistently voted Democratic, but the war between Israel and Hamas highlights divisions within the party over Israeli policy. Republicans believe the surge in anti-Semitism sparked by last year’s attack in Israel, which led to mass protests, will undermine Jewish support for Harris.

The Republican Jewish Coalition released its final ad, which features three Jewish women talking about the attack on Israel and the threat of rising anti-Semitism on college campuses. The organization is spending $15 million on advertising in battleground states this cycle. This is the largest amount spent during an election in the group’s history.

One woman said she never liked Trump, but “at least he will protect us.” Another woman sitting across from her said she had never voted Republican in her life but was voting for Trump because Harris was “busy defending the team.”

“You don’t have to like Donald Trump, but Donald Trump will keep the Jewish community safe,” said Sam Markstein, national political director for the RJC. “Frankly, this collective anxiety, worry and fear is pervasive and palpable in the Jewish community like never before.

“So whether you’re a Republican who proudly votes for Donald Trump, or if you’re a Jewish Democratic voter who’s never voted for a Republican in your life, we’re seeing momentum across the board. towards the Republican Party this year,” he said.

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A poll by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, found Harris leading Trump 67% to 31% among likely Jewish voters. A poll by the Jewish Democratic Council of America found Harris leading Trump (71% to 26%) among Jewish voters in seven swing states.

Markstein argues that Harris’s embrace of “fascist” rhetoric is turning off voters, especially Jews.

“This final message is now the lunatic frenzy that Trump is Hitler. I think they’re actually turning off a lot of the same swing voters that they really need to win. “I think it’s a big tactical mistake, I think for some reason they’re going to get fed up with it and I think it’s going to backfire on them,” he said.

“This is simply morally wrong and reprehensible, and frankly it desensitizes us to the real anti-Semitism that is rapidly rising to unprecedented levels here at home,” he added.

Meanwhile, JDC PAC’s latest ad, titled “Our Choice,” includes footage of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks with images of the 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville and other neo-Nazi protests.

“This is a difficult time for many American Jews, a time filled with uncertainty,” says the ad’s narrator. “Our choices will impact our families and our democracy for years to come.”

The video also touches on comments Trump made in mid-September in which he argued that “the Jewish people will be largely to blame” for his loss if Harris wins on Election Day.

“Donald Trump is openly scapegoating Jews,” the narrator says, followed by comments from Harris in which she says, “This is anti-Semitism, and it is unacceptable.”

Democratic strategist John Reinisch, who is Jewish, said the Democrats’ latest message is effective and that “Donald Trump really has himself to blame for this.”

“While I generally don’t condone or think it’s good for Jews to talk about “Hilter this or Hitler that,” the former president brought it on himself by saying positive things about Hitler and the people who surrounded Hitler. – said Reinisch.

“Nobody pulled it out of thin air. “This has been detailed by former senior military officers, many of whom are extremely senior military figures entrusted with matters of national defense and security,” he added, citing comments from Kelly of New York Times story.

Harris tried to reach skeptical Jewish voters by sending her Jewish husband to critical states. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff gave a speech Monday in Pittsburgh, a few miles from the synagogue where the worst attack on Jews in U.S. history took place, arguing that Trump would attack Jews “in the blink of an eye.”

“Donald Trump demands loyalty, but he is only loyal to himself,” Emhoff said. “If it were in his personal interests, Trump would turn his back on Israel and the Jewish people at any moment.”

Emhoff said he and Harris are committed to “eradicating” anti-Semitism, calling it an “epidemic of hate.”

“There is a fire in this country, and we either pour water on it or fill it with gasoline,” he said.

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While most Jews live in states that are not considered traditional battlegrounds, such as California, New Jersey and New York, they make up about 2% of the population in hotly contested Pennsylvania and Arizona. Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina also have significant Jewish populations large enough to influence election results.

“If he wins, Jewish voters will play a key role in Donald Trump’s winning coalition,” Markstein said.