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The Democrats’ Looming Chicago Disaster?
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks before participating in a bilateral meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington, U.S., May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger
JNS.org – For American Jews, President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will no longer seek reelection is less significant than it appears at first sight. The president’s seesawing between support for and bitter opposition to Israel, between condemnation of antisemitism and enabling it through silence, was partly a result of his cognitive breakdown, but it also reflected a moral degeneration at the heart of the Democratic Party.
That degeneration is a simple one: In the form of the Red-Green Alliance between progressive leftists and Muslim antisemites, the Democratic Party now contains a large and powerful faction that is not just antisemitic but predicated on antisemitism. The question is not if but when the Alliance will make its bid to conquer and colonize the entire party.
The Alliance has made considerable progress towards this end. From the activist industry to the mandarins of academia, the various organs of the American left have enthusiastically joined in the Alliance’s campaign of protester-terrorism. With some honorable exceptions, prominent Democrats—including Biden—have issued at best tepid condemnations. Other Democrats, such as Biden’s heir-presumptive Vice President Kamala Harris, have engaged in craven apologetics on the Alliance’s behalf.
The only conclusion to be drawn from this deplorable spectacle is that the Democrats may not be an antisemitic party, but neither are they an anti-antisemitic party. At best, they are “non-antisemitic.” That is, they take no stand on whether antisemitism is good or bad, desirable or undesirable.
This is, of course, morally bankrupt, but it is not surprising. To oppose antisemitism in a serious way, the Democrats would have to purge a large faction of their party, risk losing millions of votes and instantly become targets of protester-terrorism if not worse. Not being particularly courageous people, the Democrats are utterly unwilling to do this.
For American Jews, then, the question must be: What happens now?
It is not a pretty picture. While Biden has been an unreliable ally, Harris is worse than unreliable. She has expressed sympathy for the Red-Green Alliance and its protester-terrorists. It has been reported that she is one of the more prominent supporters of the Palestinians in the White House. Should she become the nominee—as now seems inevitable—and possibly the president, she could well take the side of the antisemites, if only by default.
This has ominous implications because the Democratic National Convention is only a month away. Put simply, a disaster may be brewing in Chicago.
While Harris will almost certainly have the nomination sewn up before the convention begins, the possibilities for chaos are immense. Put simply, the entire infrastructure of the Democratic Party is badly compromised by leftist and Muslim entryists, none of whom have the slightest compunction about using “any means necessary” to get what they want. Moreover, massive pro-Hamas riots outside the convention are already planned and, given that Chicago has an ultra-progressive mayor, it is unlikely that anything will be done to control them.
Thus, with agents both inside and outside the convention, the Democrats’ antisemitic wing could well seize control of the event or, if not, take satisfaction in causing general bloody mayhem. Violence may break out both inside and outside the venue, with Jews and pro-Israel politicians and delegates harassed, intimidated and assaulted both on the convention floor and the streets outside. A full-scale antisemitic riot is not impossible.
As a result, in order to bring back some semblance of peace and order to the proceedings, the already defeatist “non-antisemitic” Democrats may capitulate entirely to their antisemitic wing.
This is by no means guaranteed to happen. The party establishment, though already badly compromised, may keep control over the proceedings and Harris may be anointed with relatively little fuss.
For American Jews, however, this would be cold comfort indeed. Even in the absence of outright violence, Harris may capitulate to the antisemitic wing out of simple affinity. This would be little better than a hijacked convention. The Red-Green Alliance will declare victory, double down on its protester-terrorism, take to the streets and campuses once again, and possibly escalate its war against the American Jewish community to the point of outright terrorist attacks. With Harris as the party’s leader, no effective action will be taken to stop this descent into pogromism.
Again, there is no guarantee this will actually happen. Harris may attempt to hew a moderate line in preparation for the general election. The non-antisemitic wing of the party may do the math and decide they cannot risk losing the Jewish vote, especially in swing states like Arizona and Pennsylvania, where Biden was running behind by increasing margins. Sanity may prevail.
There is reason to believe that this may be the most likely outcome. While polls of the Jewish vote have been suspiciously absent of late, The Washington Free Beacon recently reported that Republican Jewish Coalition “executive director Matt Brooks said the Republican Party has seen increased support from Jewish voters in swing states, and he expects the GOP to continue to ‘make inroads and build’ among this constituency.”
This is anecdotal evidence, of course, but it suggests that private polls are indicating a not insignificant shift in the Jewish vote, at least in areas outside the traditional Democratic strongholds in the Northeast. This is bound to give the non-antisemitic wing of the party some pause. If they choose to capitulate to the antisemites anyway, it could well swing the election to Trump.
This would be painfully ironic. It would mean that, even if the Democrats avoid antisemitic carnage at their convention, they have already permitted sufficient carnage to bring about their political suicide. They thought they would have the Jews to kick around forever. The Jews may be about to disabuse them of that notion. If so, the Democrats will have no one to blame but themselves.
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Lebanon Claims It Is Replacing Hezbollah in the South
Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam speaks at the presidential palace on the day he meets with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, in Baabda, Lebanon, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
JNS.org – Lebanon’s leadership declared in recent days that the Lebanese Army has begun replacing Hezbollah forces in the country’s southern region.
In an April 15 interview with The New Arab, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announced that 2025 would be the year of the Lebanese state’s monopoly on arms.
Aoun pledged that only the state would have weapons, referring to the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), and stressed this goal would be achieved through direct dialogue with Hezbollah, while explicitly ruling out steps that could ignite conflict with Hezbollah.
“I told the Americans that we want to remove Hezbollah’s weapons, but we will not ignite a civil war in Lebanon,” Aoun said, referencing a meeting with US Deputy Envoy Morgan Ortagus.
Aoun added that Hezbollah members could potentially integrate individually into the LAF but rejected replicating the Iraqi model where Shi’ite, Iranian-backed paramilitary groups formed independent units within the military. He asserted the LAF was conducting missions throughout the country “without any obstruction from Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah member Mahmoud Qamat, however, responded by stating, “No one in the world will succeed in laying a hand on this weapon,” according to Lebanese media.
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Ali Fayyad stated the group was open to internal dialogue but warned against pressure on the LAF to disarm Hezbollah.
Col. (res.) Dr. Hanan Shai, a research associate at the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and a former investigator for the IDF’s commission on the 2006 Second Lebanon War, told JNS on Wednesday that statements by Lebanese officials and the activities of the Lebanese army are “unequivocally an achievement for Israel.”
But Shai warned that due “the weakness of the Lebanese army, the IDF cannot rely on it and must back it up with its own parallel defense—mainly through detailed intelligence monitoring and targeted thwarting of any violation not only in Southern Lebanon but also [deep] within it, including at sea and air ports.”
The fragility of the situation was highlighted when a LAF soldier was killed, and three others were wounded while attempting to neutralize suspected Hezbollah ordnance in the Tyre district of Southern Lebanon on April 14.
Hezbollah’s real intentions were also apparent when its supporters reportedly burned billboards celebrating Lebanon’s “new era.”
Most tellingly, the Israel Defense Forces is continuing to detect intelligence of illegal Hezbollah activity in Southern Lebanon, and acting on that intelligence. Overnight between April 15 and 16, the IDF conducted strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon.
In one strike near Aitaroun in Southern Lebanon, an IDF aircraft killed Ali Najib Bazzi, identified by the IDF as a squad commander in Hezbollah’s Special Operations unit. Other recent IDF actions included strikes and artillery fire targeting a Hezbollah engineering vehicle near Ayta ash-Shab in Southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, reports emerged suggesting Hezbollah was actively adapting its methods for acquiring weapons. Reports indicated a shift towards sea-based smuggling routes utilizing Beirut Port.
The Saudi Al-Hadath news site reported on April 8 that Iran’s Quds Force created an arms smuggling sea route that bypasses Syria.
Amidst these reports, Aoun visited Beirut Port on April 11, calling for strict government cargo monitoring.
Karmon expresses skepticism
Senior research scholar Ely Karmon of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya stated, “There’s no doubt there’s a change in Lebanon, first of all on the political level— the fact that President Joseph Aoun was elected—supported by the West, the United States, Saudi Arabia.”
In addition, he said, “Hezbollah’s political weight in parliament and in Lebanon in general has dropped significantly after the blow they received from the IDF.”
On the other hand, Karmon expressed deep skepticism about Aoun’s stated path to disarming Hezbollah. Aoun’s statement that he “isn’t interested in coming to military confrontation with Hezbollah,” and that it needs to be a “slow process,” as well as his call for Hezbollah to enter Lebanese army units, should not be taken at face value, according to Karmon.
“I don’t really believe it. First of all, because traditionally, in the Lebanese Army, most of the soldiers were Shi’ites, for a simple demographic reason. And therefore, the integration of thousands of Hezbollah fighters or personnel into the army—certainly at this stage in my opinion—it’s a danger that they’ll take control of the army from within, after they’ve already for years cooperated with the army.”
He added, “We know, for example, that they received weapons from the Lebanese Army—tanks and APCs—when they operated in Syria in 2013, 2010, and they even presented them publicly in Qusayr [in Syria]. On the other hand, we also heard one article from a Hezbollah representative who’s on their political committee, stating, ‘Absolutely not, we will not give up the weapons!’ It is clear there’ll be opposition.”
Karmon said he was skeptical about Lebanese government claims about taking over around 95 out of some 250 Hezbollah positions in Southern Lebanon. Karmon assessed that Hezbollah and its Iranian sponsors would be cautious but that they would continue to try “as usual, to act and to bring in weapons, to prepare some infrastructure in case, for example, there is a crisis in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue.”
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‘Tradition, Tradition!’
An image from “Family at the Seder,” from the 1935 Haggadah by artist Arthur Szyk (b. 1894, Lodz, Poland—d. 1951, New Canaan, CT). Photo: Courtesy of Irvin Ungar
JNS.org – How important is tradition in Judaism? Obviously, the answer is that it is very important. I mean, they even dedicated a major song by that title in “Fiddler on the Roof!”
How strong is the need for tradition in the spiritual consciousness of Jews today? Despite the effects of secularism, I’d venture to suggest that there is still a need inside us to feel connected to our roots, our heritage and our sense of belonging to the Jewish people. Perhaps more than any time of the year, Passover is the season when millions of Jews embrace their traditions with love, warmth and lots of nostalgia.
But for vast numbers of our people, tradition alone has not been enough. And that applies not only to the rebellious among us who may have cast aside their traditions with impunity, but also to many ordinary, thinking people who decided that to do something just because “that’s the way it has always been done” was simply not good enough.
So what if my grandfather did it? My grandfather rode around in a horse and buggy! Must I give up my car for a horse just because my Zaidy rode a horse? And if my Bubbie never got a university degree, why shouldn’t I? Just because my grandparents practiced certain Jewish traditions, why must I? Perhaps those traditions are as obsolete as the horse and buggy?
There are masses of Jews who think this way and who will not be convinced to behave Jewishly just because their grandparents did.
We need to tell them why their grandparents did it. They need to understand that their grandparents’ traditions were not done just for tradition’s sake, but there was a very good reason why their forbears practiced those traditions. And those very same reasons and rationales still hold good today. There is, in fact, no such thing as “empty ritual” in Judaism. Everything has a reason, and a good one, too.
Too many young people were put off by tradition because some cheder or Talmud Torah teacher didn’t take their questions seriously. They were silenced with a wave of the hand, a pinch of the ear, the classic “when you get older, you’ll understand,” or the infamously classic, “just do as you’re told.”
There are answers. There have always been answers. We may not have logical explanations for tsunamis and other tzuris, but all our traditions are founded on substance and have intelligible, credible underpinnings. If we seek answers, we will find them in abundance, including layers and layers of meaning, from the simple to the symbolic to the philosophical and even mystical.
The seventh day of Passover recalls the “Song of the Sea” sung by Moses and the Jewish people following the splitting of the sea and their miraculous deliverance from the Egyptian armies. Early on, we find the verse, “This is my God and I will glorify Him, the God of my fathers, and I will exalt Him.”
The sequence is significant. First comes “my God,” and only thereafter “the God of my fathers.” In the Amidah prayer, the silent devotion, which is the apex of our daily prayers, we begin addressing the “Almighty, as our God and the God of our fathers … Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Again, “our God” comes first. So while the God of our fathers, i.e., tradition, most definitely plays a very important role in Judaism, an indispensable prerequisite is that we must make God ours, personally. Every Jew must develop a personal relationship with God. We need to understand the reasons and the significance of our traditions lest they be mistaken for empty ritual to be discarded by the next generation.
Authentic Judaism has never shied away from questions. Questions have always been encouraged and formed a part of our academic heritage. Every page of the Talmud is filled with questions and answers. You don’t have to wait for the Passover seder to ask a question.
When we think, ask and find answers to our faith, the traditions of our grandparents become alive, and we understand fully why we should make them ours. Once a tradition has become ours and we realize that this very same practice has been observed uninterruptedly by our ancestors throughout the generations, then tradition becomes a powerful force that can inspire us forever.
The seders we celebrated at the beginning of Passover are among the most powerful in our faith. They go back to our ancestors in Egypt, where the very first seder was observed. How truly awesome is it that we are still practicing these same traditions more than 3,300 years later!
Our traditions are not empty. They are rich and meaningful and will, please God, be held on to preciously for generations to come.
With acknowledgments to Chabad.org.
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Thousands of Protesters Rally Against Trump Across US
“Protect Migrants, Protect the Planet” rally in New York City, U.S., April 19, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs
Thousands of protesters rallied in Washington and other cities across the US on Saturday to voice their opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies on deportations, government firings, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
Outside the White House, protesters carried banners that read “Workers should have the power,” “No kingship,” “Stop arming Israel” and “Due process,” media footage showed.
Some demonstrators chanted in support of migrants whom the Trump administration has deported or has been attempting to deport while expressing solidarity with people fired by the federal government and with universities whose funding is threatened by Trump.
“As Trump and his administration mobilize the use of the US deportation machine, we are going to organize networks and systems of resistance to defend our neighbors,” a protester said in a rally at Lafayette Square near the White House.
Other protesters waved Palestinian flags while wearing keffiyeh scarves, chanting “free Palestine” and expressing solidarity with Palestinians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza.
Some demonstrators carried symbols expressing support for Ukraine and urging Washington to be more decisive in opposing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Since his January inauguration, Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, have gutted the federal government, firing over 200,000 workers and attempting to dismantle various agencies.
The administration has also detained scores of foreign students and threatened to stop federal funding to universities over diversity, equity and inclusion programs, climate initiatives and pro-Palestinian protests. Rights groups have condemned the policies.
Near the Washington Monument, banners from protesters read: “hate never made any nation great” and “equal rights for all does not mean less rights for you.”
Demonstrations were also held in New York City and Chicago, among dozens of other locations. It marked the second day of nationwide demonstrations since Trump took office.
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