As news spreads of the recently disseminated statewide California Voter Guide being coopted by a candidate whose platform is simply a moronic screed of antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, one thing can be said: At least the candidate is open and honest about his beliefs.  The same cannot be said for any of the candidates for Congress in New York’s 12th Congressional District, the most Jewish district in the United States.

The contest for the seat being given up by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the longest serving Jew currently in Congress, is effectively a lifetime appointment to Congress, given the nature of incumbency and the liberal tendency of voters in the district.  The field of candidates is wide and includes New York Democratic machine politicians, a Kennedy, and a converted ex-Republican, among several others, and they all seek to outdo the others in their anti-Trump credentials and rhetoric.

With less than two months to go until the primary, none of the candidates – not one – is daring to openly say what if anything they believe or intend to do about rampant antisemitism in their party. They do not even acknowledge that it is a problem.

Not even recent events such as the blatantly antisemitic transformation of the Board of Trustees of the University of Michigan, which got a few Michigan democrats talking briefly, nor Sen. John Fetterman’s outspoken concern about the lunatic fringe in the democratic party will get the candidates in New York City to talk about this subject.  New York’s Twelfth is so reliably liberal and democratic, that the fight among the candidates is for that fringe.  Indeed, so many votes are at stake, they aren’t really a fringe at all.

It is easy to denounce individual acts of antisemitism.  Even New York City’s new Mayor can do that in a manner that sounds like he “cares deeply” about Jews.  But the candidates are afraid to acknowledge that their party has been hijacked by people no better than the cranks who headline the hard right.  (These hijackers are often dressed in keffiyehs no less!)  Their party embraces Hasan Piker, Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Rasheda Tlaib, AOC, Mayor Mamdani, and a growing contingent of others who promote conspiracy theories about, and openly hate, Jews.

Will they support a presidential candidate in 2028 who opposes the existence of Israel and who traffics in the widespread lies of genocide and apartheid?  Do the candidates believe that Israel controls United States policy?

Progressives, democratic socialists, and countless pro-Palestinian groups are fundamentally opposed to the two-state solutions that have been on offer by Israel, and the U.N., repeatedly since before 1947.  There is a rising torrent in the Democratic party that wants a one-state solution, and the one state they have in mind is not Israel.  Do the candidates have the courage to express an opinion?

What do the candidates think of the Mayor’s refusal to sign into law the City Council’s legislation – bipartisan and passed by a wide majority – providing for greater buffer zones around religious schools subject to protests?  (We are talking about Jewish schools, as there are never protests outside other schools.)  Or his refusal to reverse his embrace of phrases such as “globalize the Intifada”?  Do the candidates find this acceptable in one of their party’s darlings, or are they simply too afraid to speak up?

Some candidates (Micah Lasher and Alex Bores come to mind) have promoted basic legislative efforts. But Jack Schlossberg (the candidate seeking to extend the Kennedy dynasty, and currently the lead in polls) has conflated issues and appears to apologize for antisemites by suggesting some of them are simply opposed to some Israeli policies (something fully acceptable under all definitions of antisemitism).  And all the candidates may be heard to “denounce all forms of bigotry” and endorse enforcement of hate crimes laws. This is all lip service when the greater problem goes unacknowledged.

They all point the finger at Republicans as the root cause of antisemitism in America, but this is a distraction from looking within their own ranks for much of the real rise in antisemitism.  The encampments, protestors outside synagogues, and free Palestine crowds are far more likely to vote Democrat than Republican.

For some, pandering to this contingent is comfortable. There is an overriding fear of upsetting the applecart that allows bigotry to fester.  If one of the candidates truly spoke up and challenged the antisemitism in their party, the others, at least some of them, might follow.  It might even become trendy to think that antisemitism is wrong.

The electorate is entitled to know where the candidates stand on these issues. Perhaps a candidate or two can tell their future constituents what specific actions they intend to take to immediately alter the terrifying, upward trajectory of antisemitism and hate crimes against Jews in America, a trajectory with a firm footing in their own party, not just the other party.  If the Congressman from the most Jewish District in America can’t clearly focus on dealing with this, who will?

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)