My reasons for voting for Kamala Harris

On Nov. 5, 2024, Americans will be voting in what many view as the most consequential elections in our history. As I make my selections, it will be imperative that my choices reflect the values that are important to me not only as a Jew but also as a human being, those concerning freedom, truth, justice, equality, intelligent leadership, and empathy. 

In a recent poll by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, 72 percent of Jewish voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris, and 25 percent supported former President Donald Trump. In 2021, the Pew Research Center published “Jewish Identity and Belief,” a study based on a survey of Jews as to what attributes are most essential to being a Jew. Based on five of its most essential, here are some of the possible reasons why so few Jews back candidate Trump:

“Remembering the Holocaust”: Donald Trump has praised dictators, including Vladimir Putin (“a genius” and savvy”) Victor Urban (“fantastic”); and Kim Jung-un (“tough, smart guy.”) This alone should disqualify him for office. Taking a page from his dictator friends’ playbook, he recently posted on his website Truth Social that he will lock up political opponents.”

“WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences.” Furthermore, according to the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), Donald Trump has mirrored the fascist rhetoric of Hitler and Mussolini through his antisemitic tropes, including the vile “duel loyalty” lie. He has accused Jewish Democrats as hating Israel and their religion, calling them “fools” and needing to have “their head examined.” On Sept. 19, 2024, Trump asserted, “If I don’t win this election the Jewish people would have a lot to do with that,” (Note: Jews make up only 2.5 percent of the U.S. adult population). Even J.D.Vance, Trump’s vice president choice, wrote privately to an associate in a 2016 email that he viewed Trump as “America’s Hitler.”

Trump’s recent rhetoric has been as disconcerting if not more dangerous. In two separate talks to Jewish groups in Washington D.C. on September 19, Trump asserted, “If I don’t win this election the Jewish people would have a lot to do with that.” 

His comments were immediately excoriated by prominent Jewish groups. including the American Jewish Committee. “Whoever a majority of the Jewish community votes for, Jews — roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population — cannot and should not be blamed for the outcome of the election. Setting up anyone to say ‘we lost because of the Jews’ is outrageous and dangerous. Thousands of years of history have shown that scapegoating Jews can lead to antisemitic hate and violence.” 

“Leading an ethical and moral life”: According to the Washington Post, Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims over the 4 years of his presidency. Along with six corporate bankruptcies, his legal woes include indicted or alleged crimes including Trump University, hush money payments, sexual abuse and defamation, falsified business records, and attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 election show. Most recently, Trump’s lies about the federal response to Hurricane Helene, with claims that hurricane money was spent to house illegal immigrants, has complicated the recovery. “It is paramount that every leader, whatever their political beliefs, stops spreading this poison,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates wrote in the memo, adding: “This isn’t about politics — it’s about helping people.”

‘Working for Justice and Equality in Society”: Coupled with his being on the wrong side of the law as enumerated above, Donald Trump has known to align himself with and has emboldened dangerous far-right wing extremists. He dismissed the neo-Nazi and white supremacists’ 2017 deadly demonstration in Charlottesville, North Carolina, with his infamous,“There were good people on both sides.” He has disparaged immigrants, the disabled, Gold Star parents, veterans, prisoners of war, veterans, Haitians, Blacks, Muslims and, as noted above, all his political opponents. 

“Being Intellectually Curious”: In 2018, Trump defended himself against negative reports regarding his mental capacity to handle the presidency with a tweet stating he was “very smart” and “a very stable genius. On 5/21/2021, New York Times reported on information shared by 10 then-current and former officials involved in the president’s intelligence briefings. They stated Trump frequently ignored information with which he disagreed, veered off in tangents, demonstrated a short attention span, and relied on conservative media and friends for information. 

“Caring about Israel”: Trump repeatedly states that as president he did more for Israel than any other president, citing the 2020 Abraham Accords. As we commemorate the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, massacre, however, his rhetoric demonstrates his serious lack of support for Israel. His initial comments a few days later were to praise Hezbollah, another terrorist group, as “very smart,” Recently, on the event’s first anniversary, he used a conservative talk show’s podcast to put the spotlight on his own grievances. “Israel has to do one thing. Israel has to get smart about Trump,” he was quoted in The Times of Israel,” because they don’t back me.” John Bolton, Trump’s former national security advisor, warns that the former president cannot be trusted. “Trump’s support for Israel in the first term is not guaranteed in the second term,” said Bolton, “because Trump’s positions are made on the basis of what’s good for Donald Trump, not on some coherent theory of national security.”

“When someone shows you who they are,” wrote Maya Angelou, “believe them the first time.”

This election day, we can choose a path, a future in which democracy can continue forward. Please join me in voting for Kamala Harris.