How Bend the Arc Is Fighting Donald Trump
Image by Getty Images
By Rabbi Menachem Creditor May 22, 2016
Many Jewish organizations have tried to find a way to fight back against the terrible rhetoric of Donald Trump, but Nathan Guttman’s story of May 20 lionizing the efforts of the Anti-Defamation League and other groups missed some of the most important work happening on this issue — and a crucial player: Bend the Arc.
This is a vitally important time for Jews to be speaking up and speaking out about the virulently xenophobic and Islamaphobic politics of Trump. We are called to lend a moral voice to the debate that resonates with the media and voters alike.
And while the work of top-down organizations like the ADL is important, more important is engaging and mobilizing our fellow Jews on the ground. This has to be a movement. And it can’t be about just vague principles — it has to be about doing the real work needed to defeat the man who is making this hatred happen: Trump.
Nobody is doing that work as well as Bend the Arc, which has been mobilizing on this issue since last fall. When Trump suggested that every American Muslim should be registered to a list — a horrible, despicable suggestion — Bend the Arc was one of the first and loudest Jewish voices to condemn it. Their statement made national news, and launched a petition that gathered 13,000 signatures of American Jews in just weeks.
Since that time, Bend the Arc hasn’t let up. They’re working in coalition with other progressive groups like Color of Change and they’ve been organizing grassroots volunteers, activists and rabbis for ongoing action this coming summer and fall, when the fate of this country will be decided.
It’s critical for the Jewish press to see this work and understand its value to the Jewish community and our democracy. The voices of our longstanding institutions are important, but they’re simply not enough. Jews everywhere, grassroots and establishment, must be part of this struggle.
Signed,
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Congregation Netivot Shalom
Berkeley, CA
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
