The Jerusalem Post: Jewish Americans are Now the Face of Trump Resistance
“I am concerned that under Trump, this country has become more divided along racial, ethnic and religious lines, and that’s because of the vitriol that some of his supporters have espoused,” Halie Soifer, the newly-appointed executive director of Jewish Democratic Council of America, told The Jerusalem Post this fall. “I would like to think that the country is ready for a Jewish candidate, but to the extent we aren’t, of course there is concern that there’s a rise in antisemitism. And his past rhetoric raises concern that this may become an issue going forward in 2020.”
Declining to comment on any one potential candidate, Soifer did express worry that Jewish figures serving as the face of Trump resistance could backfire against the party– and the community– at such a politically divisive moment.
“I think its still very early– there are lots of names out there,” Soifer said. “But it would be great to have Jewish candidates. I would like to think today that the fact that candidates are Jewish are less important than if they represent Jewish values– a woman’s right to choose, support for Israel, gun control. That’s what is really important.”
“But it’s really about being able to defeat Donald Trump,” Soifer added.