Dem Party to Jewish Voters: Never Trump
Recovering from their own infighting and disunity on Israel, Democratic Party officials and Jewish Democratic leaders had a message to Jewish voters across the country: Never Trump.
“I hope that in our Jewish community we recognize this face of authoritarian, this face of fascism that has tormented our people across many different nations in different time periods, and help play a meaningful role in ensuring that it does not win out,” Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) said during a “Jewish Roundtable” hosted by Sarah Bard, Hillary Clinton campaign’s Jewish outreach director, and Aaron Weinberg, the DNC’s director of Jewish engagement, on Tuesday. “I think there’s a unique opportunity with our Republican Jewish brothers and sisters to ensure that they don’t support this Republican nominee. You possibly have cousins, friends and members of your synagogue that you know to be Republicans, and they have probably supported (Mitt) Romney and (John) McCain; it’s important for us to be their conscience, and we say, ‘Look, I understand you’re a conservative, you’re a Republican. But this nominee is beyond the pale.'”
Polis implored the crowd of several dozen Democratic delegates and supporters to make sure that Hillary Clinton does not only win 75 percent of the Jewish vote, “but 90 percent of the Jewish vote” to ensure she wins in swing states like Florida and Arizona.
State Senator Daylin Leach also piled on the Republican presidential nominee, suggesting that Trump is not the tikkun olam candidate but rather the “destroy olam” candidate.
New York City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn), representing a district that vote heavily Republican in national elections, said that Jewish Democrats have a “unique opportunity” to make their case to such voters in key battleground states that when it comes to Jewish issues and Israel, Donald Trump “has no record to speak of.”
“Because you marched in an Israel Day Parade once does not mean you are supporter of Israel,” Greenfield stressed, referring to Trump’s boasting of his pro-Israel credentials by noting that he marched as a grand Marshall in the Israel Day Parade on fifth avenue in Manhattan in 2004.
Pointing to Trump’s rhetoric and name calling, Greenfield said the Republican nominee should be treated the same way he would treat one of his kids for calling someone “dumb” and “stupid” – send them to their room as a punishment. “Folks, in November let’s send Donald Trump to his room and elect Hillary Clinton as president of the United States of America,” Greenfield concluded.