Fighting Authoritarianism is a Jewish Value

Today’s Friday column is guest-written by JDCA’s COO and Chief of Staff, Sam Crystal.

Today is the first day of Jewish American Heritage Month, and at JDCA, we’re honoring what it means to be a Jewish American. Our heritage is rich, vibrant, and diverse, and we’re incredibly proud of the contributions Jewish Americans have made to our country. As we reflect, we’re proud to celebrate being Jewish American with all of you.

My family’s immigration story has always been a source of inspiration to me for what it means to be a Jewish American. My grandfather, Jules, came to the United States as a young child with his mother just before the Nazis invaded his birth country of Latvia. Like many Jewish Americans, he spent decades searching through the Iron Curtain for family who survived the Holocaust – for closure, and to preserve what was left of his family.

Despite his traumatic childhood and years of adulthood searching for answers, my grandfather achieved the Jewish-American dream. He became a U.S. citizen and graduated from Penn State, where he met my grandmother. They started a family, he launched his own businesses, and he became a leader in the Soviet Jewry movement, helping Jews find freedom outside of the Soviet Union. From an early age, he helped me understand the important role activism has played in the Jewish American experience.

After my grandfather passed away in 2014, I traveled to Latvia to see the country he fled, and I left with a deeper understanding of the trauma he lived with. I saw the names of his dad, aunts, uncles, and cousins inscribed on the Holocaust victims’ memorial. I saw my great-grandfather’s apartment, workshop, and factory, which stretched multiple city blocks and produced bicycles and typewriters before the Nazis confiscated everything he owned. I even read a translation from a diary describing how my great-grandfather was a community leader in the Riga ghetto, and likely starved to death in prison after being arrested for promoting a resistance movement in a forced-labor factory.

Discovering this part of my family history left me with a new appreciation for our legacy of activism and leadership in the United States. This may feel familiar to many of you; as Jewish Americans, many of our ancestors came to this nation out of desperation and hope for a better future. The story of Jewish life in the United States is directly connected to the American dream: the desire to create a better life for the next generation – L’dor v’dor. Jewish Americans have contributed greatly to society, organized and advocated for our values, and fought for the safety of our people and the rights and dignity of marginalized communities.

Jewish American history is directly connected to the pursuit of a more perfect union, and the examples are endless. We stood alongside workers as leaders in the labor movement in the 20th-century garment industry. We stood shoulder to shoulder with Black Americans in the fight against segregation and to secure voting rights. We played a leading role in advocating for LGBTQ+ inclusion and rights. Our activism has never been symbolic. It’s an expression of our Jewish values of justice, equality, freedom, and human dignity.

Today, those same values are being tested in dangerous ways, and we are once again called upon to act.

Democracy itself is a deeply personal issue for many Jewish Americans. Yet we are living through a moment when our institutions are under unprecedented attack.

President Trump has repeatedly undermined the foundations of American democracy through his relentless assaults on the press, his attacks on the judiciary, and his willingness to abuse the powers of the presidency to shield himself from accountability.

These actions have not occurred in a vacuum. History teaches us that when faith in democratic systems erodes, minority communities – especially Jews – often become targets. The same values that drove Jewish garment workers to organize for fair labor rights and that inspired rabbis and activists to fight for racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights are now calling us to defend American democracy.

Defeating authoritarian forces is an expression of who we are as Jewish Americans.

The 2026 midterm elections will help determine whether the United States continues to uphold the democratic principles that have allowed Jewish communities to thrive, or moves further down a path of division, distrust, and democratic backsliding.

Engaging the Jewish vote is essential to this effort. Across the country, Jewish Americans have the opportunity – and the responsibility – to make their voices heard by playing a decisive role in close elections during the upcoming midterms.

Our people’s story is one of resilience, of contribution, and of unwavering commitment to the values that define this country at its best. The story of our people reminds us that democracy is not guaranteed; each generation has the responsibility to defend and strengthen it.

Today’s call to action for Jewish Americans is clear: organize, vote, and stand up for our Jewish and democratic values. By taking action for our values through JDCA, you honor our Jewish American heritage and history.

Happy Jewish American Heritage Month,

Sam Crystal
COO and Chief of Staff, Jewish Democratic Council of America