Nov. 3: A Test of Commitment to Peoplehood
#1345 October 25 2026
It’s undeniable the Democratic Party has Abandoned our People’s homeland, not just its current PM. In the face of all the crescendoing canards – “colonialism … occupation … apartheid … genocide ….” – equivocal support – pro-Israel/anti-Bibi … pro-“two-state solution” dismemberment – merely manifests weakness, fueling the flames. Stand up November 3, voting flatly against anti-Israelism – i.e., anti-Jewish peoplehood – here in America.
Nov. 3: A Test of Commitment to Peoplehood
A fellow beer-drinking buddy once asked me what I thought of a particular brand of Israeli beer (not Gold Star, which I think is pretty good). “A test of commitment to Zionism,” I told him. November 3, nine days from today, we U.S. Jews face a real such test. Indeed, I’d go beyond Zionism and call voting against “anti-Zionism” a test of commitment to Jewish peoplehood.
Where the Dems Now Are
Last week (10/14/26), JNS editor Jonathan Tobin frankly headlined “Democrats Have Abandoned Israel, Not Just Netanyahu.” In last week’s #1344, I cited as October non-surprises [a] Tobin’s assessing the Dems’ anti-Israel stance as beyond reclaiming by, e.g., our Gov. Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel/anti-Bibi stance, that “even far more lukewarm affirmations of support [for Israel] was a kiss of death for candidates”; [b] a House Dem-offered “Stop the Settlements Act,” which mainstreamers along with progressives supported; [c] all but Fetterman Senate Dems demanding a State Dept. report on Israeli settler activities; and [d] Obama characterizing Israel’s 1948 independence as “they took the land of people and they were expelled.”
How We U.S. Jews Must Answer It (Starting Nov. 3)
A JNS summary (Thursday, 10/22/26) of Tobin’s “Think Twice” interview this week of Alan Dershowitz quoted the Professor’s motivation for leaving the Dems:
“‘I am a liberal, but I’m no longer a liberal Democrat, because I think that’s an oxymoron,’ Dershowitz says.
“‘I don’t think Democrats are liberals. The reason I basically made the switch was not because [New York City Mayor Zohran] Mamdani got elected or because [Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Dr. Abdul] El-Sayed was nominated. It’s because [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer supported them. It’s because the mainstream of the Democratic Party … wouldn’t stand up against the antisemites in the Democratic Party. Whereas U.S. President [Donald] Trump did stand up against some of the extremists in the Republican Party.’
“‘So, for me,’ he continued. ‘The issue is not the extremes; it’s how the center deals with the extremes.’” [brackets original, emphasis added]
Ok, the Professor has grown on me over the years (starting that night the not-liberal ZOA gave him an award and in accepting it he said we must strive for bipartisan Congressional Israel support), but (MAGA GOPer I am) I was disappointed he abandoned the Dems. Rather than switch, you grassroots U.S. Jews who are Dems can do our People more good where you are. Stay in the Democratic Party and adamantly make the case there that
*** historically (3,000 years never-abandoned homeland-claiming physical presence – e.g., Parkes’ Whose Land? “real title deeds”)
*** legally (Palestine Mandate’s reconstituted Jewish national home)
*** equitably (Jew-free Jordan with its Palestinian Arab majority sits on three-quarters of Mandated Palestine, so, yes, they have an in-Palestine home)
*** indispensably (Europe never accepted us as Europeans; we were dhimmis (apartheid, anyone?) in Muslim lands; does your synagogue have security guards?)
our Jewish homeland is Ours.
A few weeks ago, I quoted my friend Myron Sugerman’s retired Israeli naval commando friend’s assertion, with which I agree, that the gravest danger facing our people’s homeland isn’t Iran but “the two-state solution.” Think for a minute! Are there two pieces of Israel more Jewishly meaningful than historic Jerusalem (Temple Mount, Western Wall, City of David and all) and Judea-Samaria biblical hill country heartland (see, e.g., DVD of “Route 60: The Biblical Highway”). Can you envision less secure boundaries than the 1949 Israel-Jordan ceasefire lines, expressly declared not to be borders, which even we (idiotically) call “Israel’s 1967 borders”? Call me Cassadra [Google AI: “In contemporary usage, her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate a person whose accurate predictions, generally of impending disaster, are not believed”], but for our people’s precious homeland, the threat of “the two-state solution” is existential!
Nothing New Under the Sun
That Tobin “Think Twice” interview further quoted Prof. Dershowitz saying this:
“‘We should become more single-issue voters. If I were living in Germany in 1932 and I were an environmentalist or a vegetarian or somebody who wanted full employment for Germany, I wouldn’t care about those issues. I would care about Adolf Hitler. Seven thousand German Jews voted for Adolf Hitler,’ Dershowitz declared. ‘I think the time has come for single-issue voting. Antisemitism is the most serious danger in the world today of bigotry.’”
Which reminded me: Back when the Soviet Union dissolved, the president of one of those new eastern European states convened its parliament and called for hands who wanted to speak. One hand shot up, but he’s a Russia-hater, the president thought, he’ll start a war by shouting “Let’s hang all the Russians.” He called for speakers again, and another’s hand went up. But he’s antisemitic, the president thought. He’ll shout “Let’s drown the all the Jews.” He called a third time and yet another’s hand went up. Ah, the president thought relieved, an environmentalist! The president gave him the floor. “Comrades!” the environmentalist shouted: “The forests are dying, the rivers are drying up! Where will we hang the Russians? Where will we drown the Jews?”
MYRON SUGERMAN:
Jerry, There’s no such thing as anything but full 100% support for Israel, that means support for Bibi, the greatest Leader since Menachem Begin and David Ben Gurion, understanding and accepting the Doctrine of the Iron Wall, understanding and accepting the Menachem Begin Doctrine of the Pre-Emptive Strike, understanding and accepting the philosophy of Rabbi Meir Kahane, that means no Pay for Slay, that means sovereignty over Golan, Judea, Samaria, that means Capital Punishment for an Arab who throws a Stone against a Jew, that means support for the so called Israeli Settler who risks his and her life every day so that in future years to come, we will have sovereign land for the great influx of Jews who will be making Aliyah, that means zero compromise on the safety and security of every citizen of Israel, this also means Gaza will one day be completely ours, and that means one day Southern Lebanon up to the Litani River will be Sovereign Land that belongs to Israel. As for Turkey, Erodgan needs to know the Section of Syria which is populated by our friends, the Druze, is territory and People who come under protection of the State of Israel, that means also an intelligent campaign to encourage the Haredi, the Extremist Religious Jews to assume responsibility of doing more than just impregnate their wives, mootch money off the Tax payers, study Gemara and smoke cigarettes
Affectionate greetings and Blessings of Good tidings to our friend Jerry Verlin
p.s. Josh Shapiro would be agreeing with you and me if he wasn’t aspiring to be President of the United States of America, so
Vainglory, Hubris, false Pride, Ego and Power supersedes Principle, he thinks he can fool us by saying he supports Israel but down with Bibi, wait till he announces his candidacy for President and hears the noise from the Crowds, the next day he’ll be calling Nefesh B’Nefesh
ME (Jerry): Myron, thanks for this. You cover the other election elephant in the room, making a strong case for Bibi. I focused on the U.S, Midterms, as they’re the ones in which we grassroots U.S. Jews vote. I fear that if there’s no significant dent in U.S. Jewish support for the Dems, after all they’ve done these days to convince us of their hostility to our People’s homeland, their Jewish constituency’s influence in Dems’ policy setting will be not taken seriously – i.e., nil – from now on.
STU BYKOFSKY:
How does Dersh know 7,000 Jews voted for Hitler? 1933 exit polls? Votes were not secret?
ME (Jerry): A good question, Stu. And what percent was that of the Jews who voted? However many there were, we’ll see Nov 3 how many of us U.S. grassroots Jews of today are their spiritual descendants.