Local opinion: Republicans just can't quit antisemitism

The antisemitism coming from the top statewide Republican candidates in the 2022 election made for a scary time in our Arizona Jewish community. So, it was a major relief when all four candidates (Kari Lake, Abe Hamadeh, Blake Masters, and Mark Finchem) were defeated by candidates not spouting antisemitism.

After the November 2022 election, I “dreamed a dream” that the local and national Republican party would get the message that antisemitism was not a winning strategy. Unfortunately, it seems that putting the antisemitism genie back in the bottle is not in the cards for the 2024 election cycle. Republican antisemitism is becoming normalized, and they cannot seem to stop drinking from that evil well.

We learned Rep. Paul Gosar from Arizona had a link in his official newsletter that states “Jewish warmongers Nuland & Blinken ‘Are Dangerous Fools Who Can Get Us All Killed.’” The link was to Veterans Today, an outlet that provides a platform for Holocaust denial and antisemitic content, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Recently, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene defended Jack Teixeira, the Pentagon leaker who is on video shooting targets at a shooting range shouting antisemitic and racial slurs. Greene called Teixeira “white, male, Christian, and antiwar” and asked who is “the real enemy” in a tweet.

These comments by Greene and Gosar are just the latest in a long line of antisemitic comments and associations with white supremacists by the pair. In an alternative non-MAGA world, the Republican party would punish them for hanging out with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and saying things like forest fires are caused by Rothchild-funded space lasers. However, in the current Republican MAGA reality, they have both been rewarded with high-level committee assignments by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Greene on the powerful House Homeland Security Committee and House Oversight Committee, and Gosar on the House Natural Resources Committee, as well as the Oversight Committee.

Last January, Arizona’s new Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit used his first full day as Republican leader to introduce and praise Sen. Wendy Rogers at a political rally. Rogers is known for her hateful, antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

Of course, Greene, Gosar and Rogers are just echoing the antisemitism from the titular leader of their party Donald Trump. Last November, Trump hosted notorious antisemites Kanye West and Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. Recently, Trump used the antisemitic George Soros trope to attack D.A. Alvin Bragg for bringing charges against him. Since these things tend to go top down, four other House Republicans jumped on the antisemitic Soros bandwagon at a recent House Judiciary Hearing regarding D.A. Bragg.

There is also the antisemitism that is not being reported in the media. One hears the antidotes about the casual antisemitic comments made in the community by people we know and come in contact with. These comments that would not have been acceptable five years ago are creeping into everyday conversation.

So, what can Jews and our allies do about the normalization of antisemitism in the Republican party and in our community? We need to continue to loudly call it out and do what we can to stop antisemitism from becoming mainstream and acceptable in our society. We also need to send a strong message at the ballot box in 2024 that antisemitism is not acceptable. The 2022 governor and attorney general elections were extremely close. With Kari Lake and Blake Masters gearing up to run again, they need to be defeated in a landslide if they are the 2024 Republican nominees. We also need to call it out when we hear it in the community from friends, acquaintances and coworkers. We further need to call it out when those within our Jewish community publicly support antisemitic candidates.