It鈥檚 a bad day for American Jewry when being anti-Israel helps candidates get elected.
Jews are up in arms at this development, as they should be. When three Israel-hating Democratic Socialist candidates win hotly contested House primaries in New York City, backed by Israel-hating Mayor Zohran Mamdani, we should be alarmed.
But if all we do is focus on the assault on Israel, we鈥檒l be making a big mistake.
That鈥檚 because the Democratic Socialist assault is, above all, on America.
Attacking Israel these days is low risk. It鈥檚 a lot riskier to admit that your policies undermine the American Dream.
How so?
However cleverly they are masked, socialist policies are the antithesis of the American creed. This was artfully displayed by Mayor Mamdani in his inaugural message: To 鈥渞eplace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.鈥�
That sounds so warm and cuddly, doesn鈥檛 it?
What Mamdani will never tell you is that it was rugged individualism that propelled his own rise to the top of New York politics. It was raw ambition and hard work and relentless networking 鈥� pillars of American liberty 鈥� that made him a winner.
Had he relied on the 鈥渨armth of collectivism,鈥� he鈥檇 still be making hip-hop videos. The savvy mayor knows that cuddly collectivism may help him get votes, but it鈥檚 his drive and tenacity that gave him his American Dream.
Socialists don鈥檛 want you to know that. Admitting that 鈥渞ugged individualism鈥� fires up dreams would only undermine their own dreams.
It鈥檚 not cuddly collectivism that helped these socialists achieve their dreams. It鈥檚 moxie. It鈥檚 agency. It鈥檚 the American creed of making things happen. It鈥檚 everything their policies discourage.
It鈥檚 not cuddly collectivism that helped Bernie Sanders buy his private homes and travel in luxury. It鈥檚 the freedom to take advantage of opportunities, knowing that he lives in a country that rewards hard work.
Of course, 鈥渉ard work鈥� is not an idea that works on the campaign trail. You鈥檙e better off promising a sexy Marxist revolution that demands nothing of voters. Hang out at Starbucks all day while we give you free groceries and freeze your rent. What鈥檚 not to like?
A radical socialist like Darializa Avila Chevalier indeed hates Israel, but it鈥檚 much worse than that. When she says 鈥淣o. more. police. at. all. Ever,鈥� insisting that 鈥渁 world without borders 鈥� just like a world without prisons or police 鈥� is possible, necessary and the only moral way forward,鈥� or brags that 鈥淚 forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my face on the American flag behind me,鈥� that is blatant, shameless anti-Americanism.
As Noah Rothman writes in National Review Online, 鈥淲hat tethers these [Democratic Socialists of America] candidates is not their shared hatred of the Jews or the banks or the moneyed and propertied classes. They hate America and the West 鈥� Marxian revolutionaries do not stop. They must consume continually, find new enemies to demonize and scapegoat 鈥� It is a hate group masquerading as a political movement.鈥�
Their hatred of Israel is making all the noise, but it鈥檚 their hatred of America that is most dangerous.
Jews are left in an awkward position. Our natural reflex is to defend Israel against lies and call out the antisemitism spreading throughout the country. While that is obviously important, it would be a blunder to stop there. This is a moment when America itself is under siege. For Jews, it鈥檚 a chance not just to help our tribe but to help our country.
Maybe it鈥檚 not a coincidence that we鈥檙e celebrating America鈥檚 250th anniversary this week. There’s no bigger priority today for American Jewry than to repair the fraying U.S.-Israel relationship. And there’s no better way to begin that process than by showing how much we care for America.
When we take on Democratic Socialists like Chevalier and Mamdani, our message must be: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not just anti-Israel, you鈥檙e anti-America.鈥� When we take on their hypocrisy, our message must be: 聽“The American Dream has been good for you, but why not for your voters?”
In short, when we see anyone鈥攔ight or left鈥攗ndermine America and its founding ideals, the 91传媒 message must be: 鈥淲e’re here to keep the American Dream alive.鈥�
