As a longtime congregational rabbi in Astoria, N.Y., it has been my policy not to involve congregants in divisive partisan politics and agendas. Rather, I have focused on the paramount Jewish obligation and merit of Godly Jewish living. Aside from the imperative of supporting Israel and Zionism, and the Jewish people, other “hot-button” issues, on which divergent viewpoints each claim religious validation, are better left outside the synagogue doors where individuals can easily find fellow-travelers and support for their own political or agenda-driven paths.
This leaves the synagogue as a place for a harmonious Jewish community imbued with holiness.
Yet with the alarming increase of antisemitism, this moment desperately calls out for honesty and clarity. I speak out now, not on the general politics of the upcoming New York City election for mayor, but rather on the critical consequences of its outcome for the Jewish community. As a patriotic rabbi, my concerns for Jewish well-being and safety are a concern for New York and America at large.
The upcoming mayoral election has many people nervous due to the leading candidate being plagued by, among other disturbing concerns, entrenched and active hatred of Jews and Israel. Some may assert the pretense of only hating Israel and not the Jews; however, there is no distinguishing Israel-hatred from Jew-hatred. A hater of one necessarily hates the other because Israel—the people, the geographical place, the idea, the Godly promise and its position as homeland of its indigenous Jewish people—is, and always has been, inherent and integral to Judaism, historically, religiously, liturgically and culturally.
From ancient times until today, that has always been true. There is no Israel without Judaism, and no Judaism without Israel. There is no legitimate way of loving one without loving the other, and no way of hating one without hating the other.
Thus, this antisemitic candidacy is deeply troubling. Of great concern is the possibility that not nearly enough people are perturbed by it. Too many, including some politicians and radicals—and, shockingly and woefully, some Jews—sidestep, obfuscate, deny, soften, contextualize or, in some extreme cases, support this candidate’s disquieting vision, predilections and goals.
But it is not only Jews who should be alarmed by this threat to individual and collective safety in our neighborhoods, cities and country. Until just a few years ago, I had not sensed or experienced Jew- or Israel-hatred in Astoria or the city at large. While differences among New Yorkers have been part of the fabric of who we are, most important has always been our devotion to the many shared values, love of the neighborhood, and a true feeling of mutual caring and respect.
All of this, once powerfully solid, is now dangerously fragile and on the precipice of crumbling, leaving us vulnerable prey to the haters and destroyers. We cannot allow this to happen.
I call on all people of decency, good conscience, common sense, communal responsibility, mutual neighborly concern and moral values to join together to defeat this candidacy and agenda of hate, ignorance, bigotry and regressive downward cataclysm.
Whatever our own personal political or social partialities, the scourge of hatred against Jews and Israel has no place in civilized society. It has no place in New York City. We have the opportunity and obligation to make a difference now.
Just as the Hebrew prophet Isaiah stresses the importance of “negating every tongue that rises against us,” we can and must forge common cause in preventing the blight of this candidate’s agenda to save ourselves and each other from it. With inspiration from the Hebrew Bible’s psalmist extolling the goodness of “dwelling together in harmony,” let us reclaim our traditional sensibilities and alliances, and restore the comity of our neighborhoods and our city.
May wisdom, truth, morality, responsibility, individual and societal preservation, and decency be the forces for good that drive our votes this November.
