Jewish leaders weigh in about their priorities under a second Trump term
“Terrified” or gratified, groups told us how they are pivoting for a new era on climate change, reproductive rights, antisemitism, campus protests, religious freedom and social welfare
(Getty Images; JTA illustration)
By Andrew Silow-Carroll November 10, 2024
(JTA) — The leader of one Jewish nonprofit described Donald Trump’s return to the presidency as “terrifying.” Another called it a “serious setback.” And yet another welcomed the news, calling the president-elect “a proven ally in the White House.”
The range of reactions reflects the ideological diversity among Jewish nonprofits that largely focus on a distinct policy area. Most U.S. Jewish organizations tend to be liberal, and their domestic agendas reflect that. A vocal minority leans right. Even on “consensus” issues, like combating antisemitism or defending the U.S.-Israel alliance, their approaches can vary widely
In a political moment that stunned many and left few without strong feelings, we asked leaders of a range of Jewish groups, each associated with a signature issue or specific community, to describe their top priority under a new administration that in myriad and perhaps radical ways will represent a break with the Biden administration. On immigration, climate change, LGBT issues, abortion, antisemitism, fighting extremism and protecting religious freedoms, their answers reflect a Jewish policy community bracing for difficult battles and anticipating new opportunities under a historic changing of the guard.
Extremism: “Our communities’ futures are intertwined”
Amy Spitalnick is CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
President Trump’s agenda — from mass deportations and immigration bans, to rollbacks of voting and other civil rights — is often rooted in dangerous conspiracy theories that pit communities against one another, sow distrust in our democratic institutions, and fuel extremist violence targeting Jews, Latinos, Black Americans and others.
This should be a reminder: Our communities’ futures are intertwined. Countering anti-immigrant, white supremacist, anti-LGBTQ, and other forms of hate requires countering the antisemitic conspiracy theories often at their core. And so too as communities are dehumanized and democratic norms erode, antisemitism worsens.
This challenge also presents an opportunity to build broad coalitions that recognize this fundamental truth: We can’t protect democracy or any community’s rights and safety unless we confront antisemitism and we cannot protect Jewish safety unless we advance inclusive democracy that protects all communities.
That is precisely what we’ll be focused on at JCPA, through our Action Networks, work with Jewish Community Relations Councils and other partners, and broader public engagement. The only path forward is one in which Jews mobilize to protect democracy and counter hate in deep partnership with others, and can do so without checking our Jewish identity at the door — because our partners understand Jewish safety is inherent to their own.
Immigration: “We are deeply concerned”
Naomi Steinberg is vice president, U.S. Policy and Advocacy, for HIAS, a humanitarian aid and advocacy organization for refugees and asylum seekers.
HIAS’ top priority under the next Trump administration will be to do everything we can to uphold the U.S. legacy as a country that welcomes refugees, and that values the contributions of immigrants.
The first Trump administration gutted the U.S. refugee resettlement program and also made it nearly impossible for desperate people seeking safety to exercise their legal right to seek asylum. We are deeply concerned that this will happen again, in a moment that there are very high numbers of global displacement due to conflict and violence. The Trump campaign stated their intention to “temporarily” suspend refugee arrivals and then drastically reduce refugee admissions to the lowest level in the decades-long history of the program. HIAS will fight to keep the resettlement program alive; oppose draconian policies at the border as well as mass deportations that will tear our communities and economy apart; and advocate for an overhaul of the U.S. asylum system that balances security as well as ensuring that people can access a system that is humane and effective.
Religious freedom: “The jewel in the American crown”
Rabbi Abba Cohen is vice president for government affairs and Washington director and counsel at Agudath Israel of America, a voice for haredi Orthodox Jewry.
We are living at a moment when the existential threat against Israel and virulent antisemitism have opened our eyes to a terrifying reality. A reality that demands action from the incoming administration and Congress.
We will encourage the strengthening of Israel’s defenses and the provision of strategic assistance, without conditions. And continue to call for the president and legislature to do all they can to get the hostages in Gaza released, and to dismantle and defund Iranian-backed terror networks. No pay-to-slay. No U.N. deceptions. No tolerance for BDS.
And we will encourage expansion of the historic Abraham Accords.
As to Jew-hatred at home, federal security grants funding must meet the needs of our at-risk institutions. We will press the Departments of Justice and Education to provide the resources needed to effectively prosecute hate crimes and Title VI violations. Universities that tolerate antisemitic intimidation must face stiffer penalties. And we will advocate for expanding the federal effort to counter antisemitism and for passage of the Antisemitism Awareness Act.
Religious freedom is the jewel in the American crown. We must reject the hostility toward religion and faith communities that has crept into our national discourse, and work for proper accommodation of religious rights in both the law and society.
Abortion access: “Reproductive freedom is a Jewish value”
Sheila Katz is the CEO of National Council of Jewish Women.
These are fraught times. For women, children, and families everywhere – our rights and our lives are on the line.
While we celebrate expanded protections for abortion access in seven states, we reel from setbacks that continue to bar our mothers, sisters, and daughters from their right to reproductive health care.
On the most human level, we fear for our right to live. Bans don’t only impact those seeking to terminate a pregnancy, they affect all facets of contraception, pregnancy and miscarriage care. Families, friends and partners will be forced to sit idly by while their loved ones suffer because they are unable to access the care they desperately need. We don’t need to look further than the senseless deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman, Candi Miller, Josseli Barnica and Nevaeh Crain due to these egregious bans.
This fear is our fuel: fuel for a world in which women are treated with respect and autonomy.
Reproductive freedom is a Jewish value, and we will not stop advocating for it. We will come together in community after inauguration for our national Repro Shabbat to teach about Judaism and reproductive freedom. And we will work in partnership with Jewish organizations and civil rights organizations to build a better world. We will not be deterred.
Antisemitism: Protecting “Jewish security and democratic values”
Jonathan Jacoby is the national director of the Nexus Project, an organization that aims to combat antisemitism while “striving to prevent the misuse of antisemitism as a political weapon.”
We expect the incoming Trump administration to aggressively exploit real concerns about Jewish safety for political gain. The administration and its Republican congressional allies will use last month’s House Education Committee report on campus antisemitism as a platform to target federal funding for higher education and academic freedom. The Nexus Project will continue to advocate for robust funding for the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The Nexus Task Force will differentiate between antisemitic behavior and legitimate political activity, and demonstrate how using existing civil rights laws is the best way to protect Jewish students.
The focus on campuses is part of an effort to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition as the sole definition of antisemitism through legislation and executive action. This strategy creates divisions among Democrats and Jewish Americans, while suppressing legitimate criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. We will mount an education campaign to prevent Congressional action on IHRA, highlighting both the constitutional vulnerabilities — as demonstrated by a recent Texas court decision on the First Amendment rights of pro-Palsetinian groups — and the dangers of elevating any single definition of antisemitism. We will emphasize how this approach impedes effective enforcement while threatening academic freedom and protected speech. We’ll advance bipartisan support for approaches that protect both Jewish security and democratic values.
Hunger: “Support those living with food insecurity”
Abby J. Leibman is president and CEO at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger.
More than 47 million Americans currently live with hunger, and MAZON has very real reason to be concerned that the policies of the next administration and leaders in the incoming Congress will greatly increase that number.
MAZON and our partners in the anti-hunger movement will fight to protect access to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and other nutrition safety net programs, and to make sure that benefit levels can adequately address the needs of people of all faiths and backgrounds. As the first Trump administration did, there is a strong likelihood that the White House will try to restrict access to SNAP benefits wherever possible and to cap support at inadequate levels, plunging more working Americans into poverty. We are and will be prepared to meet this challenge, just as we have done for four decades.
We are committed to doing everything in our power to support those living with food insecurity. Every person deserves the right to feed themselves and their loved ones in dignity, and we will defend that right.
Education: “Support parents in making the best choices for their children”
Nathan Diament is executive director for public policy at the Orthodox Union.
We see a number of critical opportunities to work with the incoming Trump Administration — as well as allies in the next Congress — to advance the values and interests of our community.
First and foremost is the opportunity to mount a more effective response to the surge of antisemitism in the United States. Clearly, the efforts of the Biden Administration were insufficient as we saw on too many university campuses and city streets. A new effort to combat antisemitism must include imposing actual penalties (ie: withholding federal funds) upon universities that fail to protect the rights of their Jewish students, and federal prosecutions of perpetrators of antisemitic acts — including the obstruction of Jews at our synagogues (as the “FACE Act” provides).
Second, we need a more robust U.S. policy to confront Iran and its proxies and bring security and stability to Israel and the Mideast. If a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia is not struck in the waning days of the Biden Administration, it should be a high priority for President Trump.
Third, next year the Administration and Congress will be working on major revisions to federal tax laws. The OU has successfully worked in many states — both “blue” and “red” — to enact education tax credits and other programs that support parents in making the best K-12 education choices for their children. Some measures supporting school choice were included in the 2017 tax legislation, at the beginning of President Trump’s first term. His second term will be a critical opportunity to expand this policy at the federal level.
Climate change: “Raising our voice for our communities and collective future”
Rabbi Jennie Rosenn is founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action
Together with partners across the climate movement and the American Jewish community, Dayenu will fight attempts to gut the Inflation Reduction Act, the hard-earned climate legislation passed in 2022. The law has delivered historic investments, created over 330,000 jobs, saved families over $8 billion on energy upgrades, and moved our country towards a livable future. Notably, it grants nonprofits, including faith-based groups, a reimbursement of up to 30% of the cost of a clean energy or transportation project.
We’ll challenge efforts to expedite giveaways to the fossil fuel industry, dismantle environmental protections, and strip the American people of our rights to raise our voice for our communities and collective future. Everyone — regardless of their race, income or zip code — deserves clean air and water, and a safe environment in which to live, learn, work, play and pray.
We will advance real climate solutions on the state and local level, prioritizing resourcing underserved communities. We will show up in strength with our allies — in solidarity for genuine democracy, justice, and equity. And through this all, we will stay rooted in our wisdom, history, spirit and song — sustaining ourselves in hard times.
LGBTQ+ rights: “We will fight”
Idit Klein is president and CEO of Keshet, a national organization that works for LGBTQ+ equality in Jewish life.
At Keshet, we know that our freedoms, as LGBTQ+ people and as Jews, are in jeopardy, along with the rights of so many other Americans.
The new administration has clearly outlined its plans: a country where only some people are entitled to rights, and everyone else is vulnerable — including LGBTQ+ people, including Jews. Keshet is concerned about escalated attacks on transgender people, especially trans youth. We will fight prohibitions on gender-affirming care and “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bills.
These challenges are not new to Keshet; indeed they are why we exist. We will continue to mobilize the Jewish community and invest in cross-communal and multi-faith partnerships. We will continue to train Jewish leaders to protect against hateful rhetoric and policies and to foster places of affirmation and belonging for all Jews.
As LGBTQ+ people and Jews, we have been here before. Our people’s long history of survival and resilience has taught us that choosing hope is the only way forward. Keshet’s community members will do what we have done for generations: care for one another, build coalitions and stay focused on making possible the just and equitable world we all deserve.
College campuses: “The pivotal role played by faculty”
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin is director of AMCHA Initiative, a non-profit that combats campus antisemitism, and a faculty member at the University of California for nearly two decades.
In the 10 months following Oct. 7, our database shows there were 77 physical assaults on Jewish students and 129 incidents of violent threats, representing surges of 2,500% and and 900%, respectively, over the same period the prior year.
While attention has focused on students and student-led groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), it is faculty who are, on many campuses, at the root of the Jew-hatred, fomenting anti-Israel activity and escalating antisemitic incidents. AMCHA Initiative just completed research that found at schools with Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) chapters, whose members are committed to academic boycotts of Israel, Jewish students were more likely to be subjected to physical assault and to be targeted with violent threats; on these campuses, anti-Israel protests and encampments lasted longer.
The recent report of the House Committee on Education & the Workforce about antisemitism on college campuses focused on the antisemitic behavior of anti-Zionist students and student groups and the woefully inadequate administrative responses to their behavior. This was hugely valuable and important work. The next step is for Congress and the administration to turn their attention to the pivotal role of faculty. We would like to see more Congressional hearings focused squarely on faculty and their contribution to campus antisemitism. We would also like to see the new administration tackle the problem of academic boycotts of Israel both through legislation and DOE policy. While students are transient and administrators can be fired, tenured faculty abuse has lasting implications.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
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