OPINION
It’s been said that while history may not repeat itself, it often rhymes.
As a journalist who detests the all-too-frequent comparisons with the Holocaust that do nothing so much as demean those who suffered and died in the conflagration, I try to stay away from them.
Sometimes, however, incidents are so similar, it would be an injustice to history and its victims not to point them out.
In the July 1932 election in Germany, the Nazi party, headed by young, charismatic, smooth-talking, good-looking (by their standards) Adolf Hitler, whose popularity was based in part on antisemitism, became the single largest faction in the Reichstag, the country's parliament.
A few months later, he was appointed (not elected) chancellor by then-German President Paul von Hindenburg. In 1934, however, when Hindenburg died, the German people, knowing that Hitler was chancellor, voted to merge his office with that of the president.
Thus, it could be fair to say, the Germans voted to make Hitler their "Führer."
Next week, Americans will head to the polls. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, another young, charismatic, smooth-talking, good-looking candidate, who has made antisemitism an integral part of his popularity, is running for mayor.
He will probably win, and there is nothing we in New Jersey can do about it.
Except . . . work very hard to show Mamdani does not represent a national trend.
We can start right here in New Jersey, where the Democrat running for governor, Mikie Sherrill, is most assuredly not running as an antisemite.
However, she has not condemned Mamdani.
In fact, at first, she endorsed him, just as though he were an ordinary fellow Democrat running for office in a neighboring state.
A few months later, she sort of walked the endorsement back, saying she would "let the people of New York decide that race."
That's not good enough.
It means the would-be governor of New Jersey has no problem with a man who will not denounce the very idea of a "globalized intifada."
It means she will not denounce the candidate for mayor of New York who favors the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to destroy the State of Israel.
How on earth could anyone who supports the state of Israel even consider voting for Sherrill?
Her Republican opponent, on the other hand, Jack Ciattarelli, has not only condemned Mamdani specifically for his antisemitism but has also demanded that Mikie Sherrill join him in this denunciation — something she has not done.
The issue has attracted the attention of Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., who lost his gubernatorial bid to Sherrill.
"A real friend of the Jewish community doesn't applaud disgusting antisemitic tropes. They condemn them."
As it happens, Mr. Gottheimer was addressing a charge that Mr. Ciattarelli's Muslim advisr, Dr. Ibrar Nadeem, made an antisemitic remark, an accusation refuted by the candidate and the adviser. In the statement Mr. Gottheimer objected to, Dr. Nadeem said he personally had not taken any money from the Jewish community.
"[Dr. Nadeem] was talking about the grief he gets from some because of my unwavering support for the Jewish community and Israel and his own efforts to build bridges between Muslim and non-Muslim communities," said Mr. Ciattarelli.
Dr. Nadeem agreed, saying the accusation charging him with antisemitism is "false."
"I’ve spent years building bridges — especially between Muslim and Jewish communities — and I’m proud of that work.
"To my Jewish friends, thank you for standing with me and rejecting division. Truth and unity will beat political lies — every time," he said.
Mr. Ciatarrelli went further, pointing to Ms. Sherrill’s refusal to condemn Mr. Madani's antisemitism. "She’s a Mamdani supporter who doesn't have the moral courage to stand with Israel," he said.
Some voters have other reasons for supporting Mr. Ciatarrelli for governor. Some appreciate his intention to bring down the cost of utilities and property taxes. Those are issues Jewish New Jersey voters can debate, but there is no disputing her refusal to condemn Mamdani’s antisemitism.
Yes, polls show about 25 percent of New York City's Jewish voters support Mamdani. They maintain he’s not antisemitic, "just anti-Israel" (as, we may presume, are they).
To paraphrase the late-former Chief Rabbi of the UK, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks: In the Middle Ages, the antisemites didn't say, "We hate the Jews" They just hated the Jews' religion. In the 20th, they didn't say, "We hate the Jews." They just hated their race.
Today, the antisemites like Mamdani don't say, "We hate the Jews."
They just hate the Jewish national state. It's the same antisemitism dressed up in a different gown — and this time, they’re fooling no one.
We in New Jersey can't pull the lever on Election Day for either of Mamdani's opponents, but we can vote for Jack Ciatarrelli — if for no other reason than to show that a candidate like Sherrill, who won’t call out an antisemite for what he is and condemn him, will not get the votes of the Jewish community or any other supporters of Israel.
Let's do what we can to make Jack Ciatarrelli, a supporter of Israel and the Jewish community, the next governor of New Jersey.
Susan L. Rosenbluth is the editor and publisher of the Englewood, NJ-based Jewish Voice and Opinion and TheJewishVoiceAndOpinion.com. Her upcoming novel, Blurred Vision, will be published by Red Adept.
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