Calls to fear ‘Soros’ and the ‘globalists’ are nakedly antisemitic, and must be rejected

I am proud to be Jewish. When I was running for office earlier this year, I often spoke about my Judaism as a guiding principle and how it taught me to never be silent in the face of injustice. I ran for Congress to bring people together to combat hate in all its forms. During this election, I have witnessed explicit racism, misogyny, homophobia, and hate rhetoric directed at teachers, medical providers, political figures, community leaders, and anyone with a differing opinion.

Last weekend at my temple, I received the honor of removing the Torah from the arc and dressing it for the High Holy Days during a service called Selichot. This service is about getting ready to renew, confess, and do better. One of the prayers we sing as a congregation is about confession. In it, one of the things we confess to as a community is staying silent when it is our obligation to speak out.

We have a crucial election coming up, and hate is on the ballot. As a community and as a society, we have an opportunity to stand together and resoundingly reject these insidious attempts to divide us.

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I see candidates embracing people who wear swastikas and brandish various forms of Nazi paraphernalia. I see supporters of these candidates look the other way or make excuses while this blatant antisemitism is taking place. I see people repeating antisemitic tropes and inciting crowds. These crowds don’t explicitly say the word Jew — instead they say “Soros”, “Bloomberg”, or “Globalist Agenda,” as if these words aren’t equally documented as being guises for antisemitism.

These tropes and thinly veiled guises have been consistently levied against the Jewish people. There is a clear, unbroken line from invoking the Rothschilds in the 1900s to today — though the names have changed, the tactics are the same.

There are candidates who tout white nationalism and use fear tactics about Jews to win votes. Rachel Mitchell fearmongers about the “Soros machine.” Kari Lake rails against “the globalist agenda.” Mark Finchem propagandizes about “loyalty..to George Soros and Mike Bloomberg”.

We have seen this playbook before. And we know what happens when we stay silent.

This election isn’t about red and blue, but right and wrong. As a proud Jew, Arizonan and American, I implore my fellow citizens to stand against hate. We cannot tolerate antisemitism under the guise of “Soros.” Those who try to break us apart must be held accountable.

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