JRV1347

Take-Away for Us Grassroots U.S. Jews: We’re Part of Diaspora History, Stand Up for Homeland and Us

#1347 November 8, 2026

We Jews weren’t denigrated in the U.S. Midterm campaign because of Israel. In our forever antisemitic world, Israel was denigrated because it’s the homeland of Jews. Want a good tonic for the blue-wave blues? Take an Amazon shot at my book.

Take-Away for Us Grassroots U.S. Jews: We’re Part of Diaspora History, Stand Up for Homeland and Us

Two Rx for Our Blue-Wave Blues

My friend Myron Sugerman on Nov. 4:

“In view of the results of the election last evening, we all can use a shot of Chizuk (strengthening)”

He said he had “the perfect answer, great speeches of Jewish pride and encouragement” delivered at Oct. 21’s Philly ZOA Gala, to which he provided the video link,  https://youtu.be/0-lSe1ES9Ns

Having (perhaps among others) provided Myron that link, I completely agree with his Rx.  But I want to supplement Myron’s Rx with a further source of what I fancy to provide Diaspora Jewish pride and encouragement, the book that I wrote, Here & Now: U.S. Jews and the Issues Confronting Us, for which the publisher has obtained some nifty so-saying endorsements (see some here on our website home page).

But first I need to moan over how we US Jews voted.

“Jewish Voters Back Democrats by 2-to-1Margin in Midterms”

World Israel News, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, headline and sub-head:

“Jewish Voters Back Democrats by 2-to-1Margin in Midterms

“Majority of Voters Say US is Too Supportive of Israel, While Exit Polls Show Jews Strongly Favoring Democrats”

Article text re Fox News Poll:

“The findings indicate that dissatisfaction with Washington’s support for Israel was concentrated among Democratic voters, while Republicans overwhelmingly dominated the groups expressing satisfaction with current support or calling for stronger backing.

“…. Despite the widespread dissatisfaction with American support for Israel among Democratic voters, Jewish Americans continued to support Democratic congressional candidates by a substantial margin.”

I thought about bold-facing some of the above, but res ipsa loquitur – our joinder with those dissing our own people’s historical, legal, equitable, indispensable homeland speaks for itself.

Yes, We’re Part of Our People’s Two-Millennia Diaspora History

Early on in this year’s American political campaign season, it blithely hadn’t occurred to me that Israel and Jews could conceivably form an emotional major issue in a 2026 American midterm election. In retrospect, I’d put it denouncing Israel & Jews – by Democratic Party candidates in the campaign, Republicans in casting blame, and even this very weekend an 88th anniversary preliminary reprise of Kristallnacht right here in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia. 

The Holocaust was no anomaly.  Europe never accepted us as Europeans – Pale of Settlement, ghetto, forced removal from place-to-place, Holocaust, Inquisition, pogrom, all devised expressly for us.  Nor did we fare better under apartheid dhimmitude in Muslim lands. We thought that was because we were homeland-less outsiders in their midst, that Zionism’s fulfillment would cure it. 

Well, it didn’t.  Taking into account the long long discrimination, make that persecution, of Jews in Christian and Muslim lands, the reality isn’t that Jews today are persecuted because of Israel, but Israel because it’s the homeland state of the Jews. Existentially weakening (“two-state solution”), even extinguishing (“from the River to the Sea”) Israel wouldn’t usher in a Golden Age for us Diaspora Jews. It would merely restore our persecuted status quo ante Israel. We have to stand up for ourselves, our Peoplehood and its Homeland.  

Yes, Myron’s right. We all can use a shot of chizuk. So by your leave I’ll summarize my book Here & Now, a subject-ordered compilation of “the best” of these quarter-century weekly emails, what I hope helps provide this shot of encouragement.

Here & Now: U.S. Jews and the Issues Confronting Us

PART I: OUR TIME, PLACE & ROLE IN THE WORLD begins with introducing me – my pique with anti-Israel media bias and what I tried over the years to do about it – debunking biased coverage, sidewalk demonstrations, community talks, confrontations with my hometown Inquirer, conversations with CAMERA.  Then follows “Who We’re Up Against Here & Now” – college kids & enablers, the UN, media, Europe, “As a Jew” American Jews.  Then “Debunking Toxic Terms & Malevolent Myths” defaming Israel’s Rebirth and 1967 Liberation of Judea-Samaria and historic Jerusalem.

PART II: OUR HERITAGE – ERETZ YISRAEL debunks myths about David, Solomon, ancient Israel, and significantly extant Temple Mount; shows history embedded in Passover and Hanukkah celebrations; and traces our uninterrupted three-millennia homeland presence.

PART III: AMERICAN JEWS starts with a litany of recent-year occurrences of U.S. Jews and our organizations standing against our people’s and homeland’s interests, and then unleashes our “secret weapon,” grippingly readable non-fiction books on Israel, ancient and modern, with cover shots and summaries from my and the parrot’s private library of over a thousand.

PART IV: OUR RELATIONS WITH OTHERS describes Christians’ stake in preventing Holy Land “Islamization,” recalls a forgotten moment of Jewish-Black solidarity, and compares Jewish and Kurd history and status in “the Arab Mideast.”

PART V: “MIDDLE EAST PEACE” puts that in quotes because the Arab-Israeli Palestine conflict is just one of conflicts there, and prefaces that to understand it you have to know who are the Israelis and Arabs, and what is “Palestine.” It describes these, debunks “Occupation,” states all sides’ views of “the two-state solution,” and suggests the alternative of Amb. Friedman’s modification of President Trump’s “Deal of the Century.”

Here & Now’s publisher, Writer Cosmos, has obtained for it quite a number of Israel experts’ ENDORSEMENTS:

And more recently a few more:

Daniel Pipes: “Jerome R. Verlin brings a sharp, relentless, and much-needed clarity to the intellectual battlefield surrounding Israel. His week-by-week dissecting of media terminology and historical erasure exposes how language itself has been weaponized against the Jewish state. Here & Now is a vital blueprint for grassroots advocates who refuse to concede either historical truth or strategic sanity.”

Leen Ritmeyer: “In an era where ancient history is routinely rewritten or bulldozed for political expediency, Jerome Verlin steps forward with an uncompromising defense of physical truth. His integration of archaeological evidence—from the stones of Mount Moriah to the ancient topography of Judea—serves as a powerful reminder that title deeds are written in the earth itself. A remarkable blend of historical rigor and passionate advocacy.”

Caroline Glick: “Jerome Verlin cuts through decades of diplomatic fantasies and toxic slogans to lay out the raw realities of the Mideast conflict. Exposing the fallacies of the conventional two-state dogma and grounding his analysis in legal, territorial, and historical facts, Here & Now offers a refreshing and courageous roadmap for the future. A masterclass in unapologetic Zionist advocacy.”

Richard Landes, Ph.D: “Verlin’s work is an indispensable archive of how mainstream media bias operates in real time. Like a seasoned watchman on the walls, he tracks the subtle semantic shifts that turn victims into aggressors and history into fiction. Here & Now is a invaluable toolkit for combating the cognitive war waged against Israel and the Western mind.”

Dr. Martin Sherman: “With razor-sharp focus, Verlin highlights the insurmountable strategic and geographical perils of forcing Israel back into defenseless borders. His writing links ancient heritage directly to modern national survival, proving that territorial integrity in Judea and Samaria is not a luxury, but an existential imperative. Here & Now is essential reading for understanding the true stakes of the conflict.”

Rabbi Amiel Hirsch: “Jerome Verlin’s voice represents a crucial challenge to contemporary American Jewry. While he writes from a distinct perspective, his call to restore a deep sense of Jewish peoplehood, heritage, and unwavering commitment to Israel’s survival is one that every denomination must wrestle with. “Here & Now is a passionate, provocative plea to ensure our community does not lose its way.”

Bottom Line

So for that nip of chizuk, give it a shot.