Mitch Kates: Anniversary of Hamas slaughter reminds Jews of stakes in election

This week, Pennsylvania 434,00 Jewish residents are mourning the one-year anniversary of the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — by Hamas. Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis during the attack, slaughtering babies, committing sexual violence, burning whole families alive and taking 240 civilians hostage. One year later, Hamas is still holding over 100 men, women, and children — including seven Americans — captive in the terror tunnels in Gaza.

Which presidential and Senate candidates are best suited to defend the interests of Israel and American Jews: Kamala Harris and Sen. Bob Casey, or Donald Trump and David McCormick?

Last month, Casey, who has a long legislative history of steadfast support for Israel, opposed a bill to block arms sales to Israel, saying: “I remain committed to standing with Israel and its right to protect itself while we also work to bring the hostages home … .” In April, he voted to approve a foreign aid package including $15 billion in Israeli military aid and nearly $61 billion for Ukraine, home to 40,000 Jews.

In contrast, during a recent interview with KDKA-TV, McCormick admitted he has invested in Rumble. It is a social media platform where the Anti-Defamation League reports: “Holocaust denial videos are used to attract views and to convince audiences of a purported global effort by Jews, Zionists or the elite to support Israel, dominate public opinion and exert social control by limiting the topics open to free public discourse.” Rumble has hosted anti-semites like Nick Fuentes, who has been banned from other social media sites. He attended the violent neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, which Trump said “had some very fine people on both sides,” he has openly praised Hitler, has dined with Trump and repeatedly denied the Holocaust.

Despite this sordid history, McCormick invested up to $5 million in Rumble and refused to tell KDKA if he would pull his investment in Rumble because of its antisemitic content: “I did invest in that … I’m not going to talk about my specific investments.”

JD Vance, who called Trump “America’s Hitler” in 2022, also has invested up to $200,000 in Rumble.

Instead of offering a plan to fight antisemitism at the Israeli-American Council National Summit last month, Trump said: “If I don’t win this election — and the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that if that happens…voting for the enemy.” Trump has described Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as being “like a Palestinian,” and in an August post on his social media site, Truth Social, called Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro a “highly overrated Jewish governor … Shapiro has done nothing for Israel, and never will.”

In contrast, Harris has been vocal about the dangers of antisemitism and has called to not become “complacent in the face of hate and antisemitism,” says the American Jewish Congress, She has expressed her support for the State of Israel and argued that Israel should never be a partisan issue. She has condemned anti-Israel bias at the United Nations. The first resolution she co-sponsored as a member of the U.S. Senate was a resolution that objected to UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity. Harris is a supporter of the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She also opposed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) bill, saying she “strongly supports security assistance to strengthen Israel’s ability to defend itself. She has traveled to Israel where she saw the importance of U.S.-Israeli security cooperation firsthand.”

Many years ago, when I was a professional wrestler, I stepped into the ring as “Jason the Terrible,” wearing a hockey mask and a green jumpsuit. My character was a nod to the ’80s slasher movies, where the goal was to entertain and terrify. It was all an act.

I thought about my days in the ring when Trump visited Erie in late September and suggested that police should be allowed “one really violent day” to address rising crime, which he attributed largely to migrants, with many comparing the idea to the dystopian concept of “The Purge.” It was not an act.

As a Jew and a student of history, I recognize the danger in Trump’s allusions. Pogroms. Kristallnacht. These aren’t abstract concepts — they’re violent, historical events that targeted Jews — and other historically marginalized groups. Trump’s words, whether intended or not, echo those horrors.

As Pennsylvania Democratic Party executive director, I’ve seen firsthand how fragile our democracy can be. On Jan. 6, 2021, like millions of other Americans, I watched in horror as Trump’s words incited a murderous, violent insurrection.

Trump stands for violence and division. In contrast, Harris and Democrats like Casey stand for unity, love and freedom, and reject violence everywhere. The choice is clear.

Mitch Kates is a Ben Avon resident and vice chair of Democratic Jewish Outreach PA (DJOP), a collective Jewish voice to speak for the principles which many Jews cherish and would like to see more strongly represented in our national government.