I have written many times about the normalization of anti-Semitism on the Left and specifically about the recent anti-Semitic statements from Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and the disgusting excuses for her being pushed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and leading Democratic presidential candidates. This post is not intended to relitigate those issues but to reach out to Jewish Democrats who agree that Omar's statements were anti-Semitic and who have been frustrated and hurt by the response of party leaders.

I want you to know that it's ultimately up to you to take a stand against the festering anti-Semitism in your own ranks. I can write, and likely will write, plenty of articles about the growing anti-Semitism problem within the Democratic Party. But I recognize that, given that I'm a conservative, much of what I write will be dismissed as coming in bad faith. Any change that's going to happen is going to have to happen from within.

I say this as somebody who is no stranger from feeling alienated from a political party. In 2016, faced with the rise of Donald Trump, I publicly de-registered from the Republican Party, and not just in vague terms. I actually went on Fox News during prime time and specifically said, "The Republican Party has chosen to embrace Donald Trump. That’s their prerogative. But this is where I get off the boat. ... I think that he’s exploited and inflamed bigotry and sexism. That’s not the type of conservative message I abide by, which is about limited government, returning power to the states, and focusing on the Constitution."

I took a lot of heat for doing that and still do it to this day. And obviously I was unsuccessful in preventing the Trumpist takeover of the party. But I bring this up to demonstrate that I'm not expecting any Democrats to take any actions that I myself was not prepared to take.

To be clear, I'm not even arguing that Jewish Democrats suddenly vote for Trump in 2020. I get that you're in a tough spot. It isn't as if the Trump GOP has been offering welcoming language to minority groups, however pro-Israel its stances have been. And given that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be entering her 90s in any theoretical Trump second term, the idea of flipping parties is unfathomable. (I could never bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and ended up writing in "none of the above.")

All I'm arguing for is that you be more assertive in driving out anti-Semitism from your party. Speak up. Protest. Take a stand. Actually exercise some of the influence that the Jew haters are always claiming you have. Don't let Democrats take your support for granted. Get over your fear that speaking out will give a cudgel to Trump Republicans, who you view as bigoted. Anti-Semitism needs to be driven out of polite society wherever it comes from. No side should be given a free pass.

So far, unfortunately, the reaction from Jewish Democrats has been mostly disappointing. Though there was criticism of Omar coming from Jewish Democrats, they ultimately bailed out leadership. The Jewish Democratic Council of America said it was " proud" of Democrats, attacked Trump, and claimed Democrats were "quick to rebuke" Omar. This is an appalling act of revisionist history.

Pelosi could not get a resolution passed specifically addressing anti-Semitism and Omar's comments, and instead was forced to issue a broad generic condemnation of all hate that minimized the specific issue of anti-Semitism. As Pelosi said, "We should be addressing these forms of hatred and not mention her name, because it's not about her. It's about these forms of hatred." Okay, so if it wasn't about her, then let's not pretend the issue has been dealt with, let alone with any sort of haste.

Jewish Democrat Josh Block of the Israel Project, who served in the Clinton administration and also as an AIPAC spokesman, provides a much better model for how Jewish Democrats can speak up. It starts with stating the truth of what happened.

"I think it is deeply alarming to see that there's been such difficult waters for the leadership to tread getting passed what is a very simple condemnation of very clear statements that are anti-Semitic," Block said on i24 News. "The responses from some [Democratic] presidential candidates ... are incredibly disingenuous, lying about the context in which these things took place, suggesting there was some policy content to Ilhan Omar's remarks suggesting Jews are buying influence of America, that they're warping the debate, that they're demanding loyalty and fealty to other countries, that Jews in America are not loyal Americans. These aren't about policy debates. They're directly assaults on American Jews designed to make us feel less welcome, less participatory, and less safe, in our political spaces — whether it's the Democratic Party or society at large. And the top Democratic leaders in America have a responsibility to take action — forceful action — to confront anti-Semitism now, or they risk breaking, by the way, on 60 years of relationships and trust that American Jews hold in our leaders that they'll protect us unequivocally."

Block also made a similar case on PBS. More Jewish Democrats should follow his lead.

Over in Britain, where the growing anti-Semitism on the Left was allowed to fester, the Labour Party is being torn apart. Recently, a Labour Party official ruled that this image of an alien stamped with a Jewish star covering the face of the Statue of Liberty that was posted by a party activist was merely an effort to criticize Israel.





The Democratic Party isn't quite there yet, but it's naive to believe that it cannot end up there if current trends continue. No reading of history should lead one to conclude that the Democratic Party is immune to the oldest form of prejudice.

It is not inevitable that the Democratic Party will get taken over by anti-Semitism, but the only way to prevent it from happening is for Jewish Democrats to take a firm stand. Now. The future of the Jewish community in America may depend on it.

