BINTEL BRIEFHow do you prove to non-Jews that Trump won’t be ‘good for the Jews’?
Bintel says you can’t. So just go back to that rock you’ve been living under
A man with a yarmulke listens to U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
By Beth Harpaz January 2, 2025
A Bintel Brief, Yiddish for a bundle of letters, has been solving reader dilemmas since 1906. Send yours via email, social media or this form.
Dear Bintel,
Can you please help me explain to my non-Jewish colleagues that their statements that the new Trump administration will protect Jews is itself an example of the antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jews have power and money and use it to benefit their own interests? I can’t find a crisp explanation anywhere. My non-Jewish colleagues are saying things like, “He chose Mike Huckabee, who supports Israel, as ambassador to Israel,” and “He chose Elise Stefanik, who criticized universities for not protecting Jewish students, as ambassador to the U.N.”
My Jewish family and friends think that the first Trump administration and the Trump 2024 campaign were both antisemitic, and believe in our kishkes that the second Trump administration will bring more antisemitism. He does not seem to care about our rights any more than he cares about the rights of LGBTQ+ or BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and people of color] people. Can you point to a clear statement by a credible source that I can share with my colleagues? Thank you!
Signed,
Feelin’ It In My Kishkes
Dear Feelin’ It In My Kishkes,
I salute your faith in clear statements and credible sources, along with your desire to engage people who disagree with you politically in real dialogue.
Sure, I can serve up a whole menu of smart, legit people who have been saying for months — years, even! — that President-elect Donald Trump will be “bad for the Jews.” Here’s an op-ed by a Watergate prosecutor. Here’s an article from the liberal Israeli newspaper Haaretz, and here’s one from our very own pages at the Forward. This one’s from 2019, by a Jewish Nobel laureate, the economist Paul Krugman, who, in announcing his retirement a few weeks ago after 25 years as a columnist for The New York Times, wrote: “We may never recover the kind of faith in our leaders — belief that people in power generally tell the truth and know what they’re doing — that we used to have.”
Unfortunately, I’m afraid all the articles in the world are unlikely to convince your coworkers that they’re wrong. I guess you’ve been living under a rock for eight years if you’re just now encountering this phenomenon, but here’s the bottom line: Our country is split and entrenched, left vs. right — pro- and anti-Trump — as never before. You can’t change your coworkers’ minds with your argument any more than they can change yours with theirs.
Here’s another news flash. Your non-Jewish colleagues aren’t the only ones who think Trump is good for the Jews. At least 20% of American Jews picked Trump for president, according to exit polls, even though his former aides say that he admires Hitler. Some 40% of Latinos and Asians also voted for Trump despite — or, perhaps, partly because of — his aggressive plans to deport immigrants. And 20% of Black men picked Trump over Kamala Harris, a Black woman. Identity politics may be losing its potency.
So while I admire your willingness to refute statements that are anathema to you, I predict that pushing back won’t get you anywhere. Conspiracy theorists, if that’s what they truly are, are not easily dissuaded by facts. And both Trump supporters and Trump haters are not easily persuaded by counterarguments.
That said, if you’re up for the fight, put on your gloves and go for it. But if you want peace in the office, you’ll have to find another way to relate to your colleagues. If it were me, I’d focus on ways to politely shut the conversation down.
Here’s something of a script, which should be paired with the body language of sincerity and calm (smile, make eye contact, relax your arms, open your hands): “I respectfully disagree with you. I didn’t vote for Trump and I personally believe he will be bad for the Jews and for our country. But I hope we can agree to disagree, and leave our political opinions outside the workplace. I hope we can continue to have a good working relationship despite our political differences.”
Or even, simply, “I appreciate your point of view but I prefer not to talk politics at the office.”
And that’s it. Your colleagues may be surprised and may push back. To their stammering rationalizations — “But, but, but, I thought …” — you simply smile, shrug and turn your head back to your computer screen. Or, change the subject: “Hey, Marty, I meant to ask: How was the cruise? How’s your daughter’s team doing? How’s it going with the rescue pup?”
Maybe you’ve got a stronger stomach than I do. In which case, go ahead and try to change their hearts and minds — and please let us know what happens. But don’t be surprised if those efforts leave your kishkes feeling even worse.
Do you have any additional thoughts for this advice-seeker? Send them to [email protected] or send in a question of your own. And don’t miss a Bintel — sign up for the Bintel Brief newsletter.
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