"Don’t Trust Donald Trump With Israel’s Security"

A dispatch from Pittsburgh and the presidential campaign trail.

It’s less than a week until Election Day and there couldn’t be more on the line for our country and our future. That’s why I’ve decided to head to the field and canvass in the place where I grew up: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I’ve been coming back here for almost every presidential election since 2000 to volunteer on behalf of the Democratic presidential nominee. This time, I came earlier than ever, because this is a must-win election.

As I’m sure you’ve heard, Pennsylvania is one of the most, if not the most competitive swing state in the country. Its 19 electoral votes are a key prize for both of the main presidential candidates, and this state is truly a toss-up. Jewish mobilization in Pennsylvania is key to this election, as there are 300,000 Jewish voters in the state, a state that Joe Biden won by just over 80,000 votes in 2020.

And as I’ve gotten to reconnect with the Pittsburgh Jewish community, I felt that it was important to explain why I thought - and think - that not only is Kamala Harris the best choice for America, but that she’s also the best choice for those voters who care about Israeli security. I shared these views in an opinion piece for The Times of Israel, which is also pasted below.

Here’s a photo of me speaking at a Jewish canvass kickoff event:

Lastly, as we all know, Pittsburgh was the scene of the most violent act committed against Jews in the history of the country at the Tree of Life synagogue in 2018. That’s why it was especially heartening to attend a groundbreaking speech by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff about antisemitism in America, the way forward on how to counter it, and why Kamala Harris is the right person to lead that fight. It was a brilliant speech that should give American Jews confidence that, when Harris wins, they’ll continue to have a true ally in the White House.

That’s it for now, but I plan to send more updates from the field as we head into this most consequential of presidential elections. And please, as I’m sure you’ve heard it many times before, remember to vote!

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“Don’t Trust Donald Trump with Israel’s Security” - The Times of Israel

When Hamas launched its horrific attacks against Israel last October 7^th, Vice President Kamala Harris strongly proclaimed her “unwavering” support for Israeli security and its fight against the terrorists. She has lived up to her word.

Since that time, the Biden-Harris Administration has provided nearly $18 billion in arms to Israel to defend itself, has backed Israel at the United Nations, and has directly defended Israeli security by shooting down Iranian ballistic missiles not once, but twice.

Under her leadership, support for Israeli security has been unflinching and will continue if she becomes president. The same cannot be said for Israeli security under a second Trump term.

Just remember, when former President Trump was Commander in Chief, Iran’s regional aggression expanded, with Trump turning a blind eye to Iranian attacks against American troops, including an Iranian missile attack that harmed nearly 40 American soldiers on Iraqi territory. Trump also unleashed Iran’s nuclear program, which had been verifiably limited, isolating us from our allies and enabling Iran to enrich uranium without constraint and with no backup plan to stop it.

And this doesn’t even mention the risks to Israeli security that a Vice President J.D. Vance would pose. Vance voted against supplemental military aid to Israel during the past year. He did so in a package that included military aid for Ukraine, demonstrating strong isolationist tendencies. And just the other day, he argued that American Jews were “more militaristic” than Israelis, while simultaneously arguing that the interests of Israel and America might not be aligned in the future, implying that American support for Israeli security might not be rock solid to him. One must wonder if it’s more like quicksand.

These gaps between the two presidential candidates are significant. On the one hand, there’s a candidate for President – Harris – with a demonstrated track record of strong support for Israeli military aid and a willingness to deploy American power against physical threats coming from Iran. On the other hand, there’s a candidate for President – Trump – who’s turned his back on attacks against Americans committed by Iran and whose pick for Vice President questions whether Israel should be getting security assistance at all.

What Israeli security leaders need from the United States is a reliable ally, one whose word is our nation’s bond. But can anyone truly say that Donald Trump is trustworthy on issues of national security, especially towards Israel? Frankly, is he trustworthy at all?

Remember, this is a man who spent his four years in office cozying up to Russia and undermining NATO. He still to this day pushes the same anti-American lineabout our allies that he did while in office, undermining our diplomacy and national power. And this is also a man who failed to rein in Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran when he was president, leaving the Biden-Harris Administration to pick up the pieces. His word is anything but his bond.

But there’s also one more, darker component to the question of trust that we must now, unfortunately, confront.

This is the issue of Donald Trump’s apparent fascination with Hitler.

It was recently reported that Trump shared his feelings of admiration for Hitler’s generals with his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, a trusted retired Marine four-star general. We all must know, deep in our bones, that anyone who is a fan of anything related to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime that committed genocide against the Jewish people can never be trusted with the security of the Jewish people.

It’s therefore simply impossible to reconcile the idea of Donald Trump admiring Adolf Hitler’s generals with the notion that he would support the Jewish state’s security. These two positions just don’t align.

However, the good news is that on the other side, Vice President Harris not only has a strong track record of direct support for Israeli security, but that she also personally cares deeply about the Jewish people.

Remember, while Donald Trump was dining with antisemitic white nationalists like Nick Fuentes and holding hate rallies infused with antisemitism at Madison Square Garden, Kamala Harris was empowering her Jewish husband to lead her administration’s effort to write the first ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and to put up a mezuzah on her official residence.

This is the kind of track record that lets us know exactly how she’ll support Israel. Because for her, it’s personal.

So if you’re a strong supporter of Israel and think that Donald Trump will be there for Israeli security, you’re falling for a another of his tall tales, just like the lies he continues to tell about the 2020 election.

Israeli security depends upon having an American ally it can trust. And only one candidate in this election fits the bill. Her name is Kamala Harris.

This piece originally appeared in The Times of Israel.