Article
Jerusalem Post: Jewish Democrats release campaign ad comparing Trump and 1930s Germany
September 29, 2020
By Cody Levine
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) has released a new campaign ad Tuesday aimed at Jewish voters in swing states which compares US President Donald Trump and his alleged connections to white nationalism to the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany, according to a press release from the organization.
The new ad features parallel images of antisemitic hate and nationalism in Nazi Germany and the Trump administration, suggesting that American Jews have much to fear from a second term. Some of the images include antisemitic graffiti from 1930s Germany along with images of antisemitic graffiti on a modern American synagogue and Jewish cemetery. The narration also reads: “History shows us what happens when leaders use hatred and nationalism to divide their people.” The ad ends with an ominous warning: “Hate does not stop itself. It must be stopped. VOTE.”
Halie Soifer, JDCA executive director, said in response to its release that “A majority of American Jews feel less safe today than they did four years ago due to the rise of white nationalism and antisemitism under Donald Trump.”
“This, coupled with Trump’s assault on our democratic institutions, are reminiscent of the rise of fascism in 1930s Germany. President Trump’s use of hatred for political purposes has made America less safe for Jews and we are voting accordingly,” she added.
“We must vote like our future as a people depends on it – because it does.”
The 30-second ad will strategically target American Jews living in vital swing states such as Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, with the JDCA noting that the goal is the ensure Jewish voters see the ad multiple times before election day.
Along with this, the JDCA said that they will host a briefing with Holocaust historian and Emory University Professor Deborah Lipstadt examining how “hate does not stop itself – it must be stopped.”