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Strange Bedfellows: The Bizarre Jewish Support For Donald Trump

Jews are told to remember all the time -- not just on Remembrance Day -- the horrors of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the support that comes from all that remembering typically seems to just reverberate around a somewhat insulated community. That's not good enough for me.
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Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as his son-in-law Jared Kushner (L), daughter Ivanka listen at a campaign event at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, New York, U.S., June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Mike Segar / Reuters
Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks as his son-in-law Jared Kushner (L), daughter Ivanka listen at a campaign event at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester in Briarcliff Manor, New York, U.S., June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

They say there's a special place in hell for women who put down other women. After this week I think we're going to have to make some room for the Jews who support Donald Trump.

I've watched "friends" on Facebook and in the media cheer for Trump's win. Because it will be good for America, good for Israel or whatever other asinine reason they are delusional enough to believe.

To them: you are the company you keep and a million other clichés. How can you possibly think anything good will come this for you, your friends, your family, your community? It defies all logic that something celebrated by the KKK and comfortably "out" anti-Semites could also benefit any single Jewish person.

Do you have no sense of outrage for the hate he's spewed against other religions?

I'm disappointed. I'm terribly angry. Especially so the week after Remembrance Day. My grandfather was a Canadian Jew who fought in the Canadian Army in the second World War. He went to Europe and fought the Nazis. On Remembrance Day, I posted about him on Instagram and my aunt wrote, "he taught me to be proud of my heritage and to respect all of humanity no matter their colour, religion or culture as he personally fought for freedom." Well said. What did your grandparents teach you?

Jews are told to remember all the time -- not just on Remembrance Day -- the horrors of the Holocaust. Unfortunately, the support that comes from all that remembering typically seems to just reverberate around a somewhat insulated community. That's not good enough for me. I need to know that my community is supporting not just our community but any community that's marginalized or suffering from the hate of others.

A rise in hate crimes and an alarming acceptance of racism should be warning bells enough that nothing good will come from this.

A few months ago, Jared Kushner, Trump's Jewish son-in-law, wrote an opinion piece in his paper the Observer, explaining how his father-in-law is not an anti-Semite. In the wake of Trump's election win, some of my Facebook friends have been posting this letter to social media, with a sense of relief. "Phew," I imagine they're telling themselves, "he's not going to go after me." Do you have no sense of outrage for the hate he's spewed against other religions? Against other races? Other sexual orientations? I guess gay Jews aren't a concern of yours either.

To those who take comfort in the assurance that "it's not us, this time" I fear the lessons of history are already lost. While much is still uncertain, this bizarre mutual acquaintanceship between Jews and the hateful, racist supporters of Trump terrifies me most.

By no means am I suggesting that another Holocaust is upon us or that America just voted Hitler to power. But the absence of those things doesn't mean that we shouldn't be vigilant. A rise in hate crimes and an alarming acceptance of racism should be warning bells enough that nothing good will come from this. Especially for the children and grandchildren of the people who suffered the worst atrocity of the twentieth century. Because if we can't remember how to do the right thing, who will?

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