There Is No Protection From Antisemitism In The Republican Party

Republicans Have Their Own Antisemites

This article is a sequel to last week’s blog post in which I said that liberal Jews must vote for Democratic candidates in spite of their condemnation of Israel’s actions in Gaza. We cannot allow Mr. Trump to continue to destroy everything that we love about our country, and the only hope of preventing that destruction is to elect Democrats in November. However, that is not the only reason why we should stick with the Democratic Party. The other reason is that the Republican Party has even more antisemites than the Democratic Party.

Antisemites Are a Core Part of the Republican Party

The Republican Party is rife with antisemitism. Trump’s MAGA movement counts well-known antisemites and white nationalists like Nick Fuentes among its strongest supporters. Trump's vice president J. D. Vance is a Christian Nationalist, and Christian Nationalism is inherently antisemitic because it claims that only a Christian can be a real American.

Evangelical Christians are among the Republican Party's strongest supporters. They support Israel and so do not at first seem to be antisemites, but their support for Israel is not based on sympathy for Jews. Instead, it grows out of their apocalyptic theology:

Christian Zionism is a belief held by many evangelical Christians that the modern state of Israel fulfills biblical prophecy and must be supported for the Second Coming of Christ. While Christian Zionists advocate for Israel, their motivations are often rooted in apocalyptic theology rather than genuine respect for Judaism.

Christian Zionism can reinforce antisemitism in several ways. Many Christian Zionists view Jews as instruments of prophecy rather than a people with a sovereign right to self-determination. They support Israel not out of solidarity but to fulfill end-times prophecy, in which Jews must convert or be destroyed.

People with Christian Nationalist and Christian Zionist beliefs are core parts of Trump’s MAGA movement, and they play and important role in the Republican Party today.

Trump Never Condemns the Antisemitism of His Supporters

Some Jews are impressed by Pres. Trump's opposition to anti-Israel activities and antisemitism on American university campuses, but those Jews ignore the fact that his opposition to antisemitism has very strict limits. He has built his power on a coalition that includes antisemitic groups within the United States, and he never questions or repudiates the beliefs of those groups or their members.

When asked what he thought about the violent clashes at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in 2017, he famously said that there were good people on both sides. More recently, he has refused to repudiate Nick Fuentes, a well-known racist and antisemite. The Republican Party gives a home to Fuentes and others like him. So, moving from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party is not a way to oppose antisemitism in American politics.

There is Antisemitism in Both Parties

Unfortunately, antisemitism is common among extremists both on the left and the right, and extremists in both the Republican Party and Democratic Party include antisemites. Therefore, the antisemitism in the Democratic Party cannot provide a reason to move to the Republican Party, and Jewish voters must decide which party to support on other grounds. If you like Pres. Trump's domestic policies and his war in Iran, you should vote Republican. On the other hand, if you think as I do that Pres. Trump is a danger to our democracy and to our society, you should vote Democratic in November.