A Week After Those Elections

Di velt vos mir haben gekent iz ibergekert gevorn! That’s a Yiddish expression for what happened last week: The world as we knew it has turned upside down.

The outcome of last week’s Midterm Election is not what we were hoping for. But in the aftermath of the Republican Party fiasco, we all know what went wrong.

There were many things that ended up being problematic. According to Vice President JD Vance, one of the major problems that precipitated the Blue Tsunami was Israel and the Jews. Vance didn’t clarify what he meant, and he may not even be certain himself, but he said that somehow, the U.S. has to change its relationship with Israel.

President Trump still has two years left in office, but according to some pollsters, the so-called “Jewish Problem” may only be solved by the Jews.

I’m going to dig a little deeper into this matter next week as we explore the array of possible Democratic candidates for president, some of whom happen to be Jewish.

Senator Jon Ossoff

Governor JB Pritzker

Gov. Shapiro

The leading candidates for the 2028 presidency include: Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

This is not a joke. These are the leading candidates who want to be president in an environment where there is vicious Jew-hatred and rising antisemitism, and where the number one clarion call of Democratic politicians at any level is “Free Palestine.”

This is in a country where candidates that rode the Blue Tsunami to win the Midterm Election got there by insisting that Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal, that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, and Bibi should be arrested if he ever dares step foot on the streets of New York. If you think the U.S. has a Jewish problem, that describes it pretty well.

The Democrats ran the Trump-hating, Democratic Jewish Congressman Dan Goldman out of office in Brooklyn, mostly because (although he despised Trump), he still supported Israel. Goldman was replaced by another Trump-hating, Squad-loving, El-Sayed cohort, Brad Lander.

Somewhere down the line, someone is going to take that giant step and insist that Jewish Democrats in Congress like Lander, Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) take a position on where they stand on Israel’s future and the need to insist that Netanyahu leave office, and what to do about the 19 Arab Knesset members who should be part of a coalition that governs Israel.

Then there’s the prospect that the highest-ranking Jewish elected official, Chuck Schumer, will become the Senate majority leader, a man who simultaneously acts as the greatest supporter of Netanyahu and Israel while at the same time serving as their harshest critic and detractor.

And then we have the slightly uncomfortable situation concerning these high-profile elected officials and their gargantuan net worth. Governor Pritzker is a billionaire courtesy of his family fortune, with his personal net worth estimated at $4.2 billion via his ownership share in the Hyatt Hotel chain.

The Polis net worth is estimated to be around $400 million through his high-tech entrepreneurial pursuits prior to his entering politics. At the other end of the spectrum is Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro, whose estimated net worth is just $100,000.

Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff is presently the leading Democrat for the party’s presidential pick, at 11%. Ossoff’s father is Jewish, but his mother is not and never converted according to online records. As our readers know, according to Jewish law, Ossoff is considered not-Jewish. But a large number of Jews in this country view themselves as Jewish regardless of which parent is Jewish.

Apparently, Judaism meant something to his father, because his dad had him convert to Judaism just prior to his bar mitzvah at a Georgia Reform Temple. So, Jon Ossoff considers himself Jewish, and according to his Congressional filings, he has a net worth of around $5 million. If he actually decided to run for President, all you’ll be hearing on the news is that he’s the first Jew to seek the office of president.

Then there’s Rahm Israel Emanuel. Yes, his middle name is Israel in case you’re wondering what his parents’ thought-process was at the time of his birth.

This is what it comes down to: Is the United States ready for a Jewish president? Back in 1960, John F Kennedy was the first Catholic president of the United States. At the time, there was actual concern that he might take direction from the Pope instead of from Congress.

As far as the U.S. is concerned, there’s an ongoing concern that Bibi Netanyahu is directing U.S. foreign policy. Of course, it’s absurd, but with a combination of conspiracy theories about Jewish power and influence and how Bibi runs Trump, any unverified claim, no matter how ridiculous, makes it to the nightly news cycle.

For his part, when Trump speaks about Iran and the Middle Eastern countries that he’s protecting, countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, and Kuwait, Trump always says that destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities protects “Israel and other Middle Eastern countries.” Why he can’t say “Middle Eastern countries” without singling out Israel just adds to the idea that Israel plays an inordinate role in Mideastern affairs.

Back to the possible Jewish presidential contenders, there’s an old Joe Lieberman story. Back in 2000, Al Gore selected the Orthodox Jewish, Sabbath-observant, kashruth-observant Connecticut Senator as his vice-presidential running mate.

Gore and Lieberman won the U.S. popular vote, but the Supreme Court decided 5-4 that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were the winners in Florida, which tipped the electoral college in their favor, giving them the win. It was a contentious and controversial matter, but for our community in particular, the possibility that an Orthodox Jew like Lieberman could become vice president of the United States was definitely a source of pride and inspiration.

Twenty-six years ago, there was certainly plenty of antisemitism, but it wasn’t as energized or as wildly common as it is today. This is just the beginning of the role of Jews in elected office. Stand by for more. 

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.