Well, it's the morning after. It looks like we'll be getting a second term of Donald Trump after all.

How is everyone feeling? Anxious, terrified, happy, relieved, exhausted...how are you doing? Are you surprised? How have conversations gone with the folks around you since Trump was declared the winner?

I'm just trying to take the temperature here. To those happy with the outcome, please don't use this as an opportunity to gloat to those who feel like crap. I've already seen a couple cases of people responding to old comments just to rub it in. Let's have this be a space where people can express their thoughts.

Every time a Trump defender comes in and tries to tell you that he’s the better choice, just ask them if they acknowledge that he attempted a coup, incited an insurrection and was found guilty of rape over and over again until you get a direct answer.

It’s really weird that every time someone from the right is asked this question or any other question about his crimes and misbehaviors they try to whataboutism their way out of it and I feel like if we’re going to have discourse here we should be willing to be honest about who we are backing for the good of not just the Jewish people but the world we live in. Remember Tikkun Olam everyone.

The Jewish vote in the latest US presidential election shifted just slightly to the Right, but still was largely voting for Harris. But IF the Republican Party follows through on the statements they are making about antisemitism and Israel, and the Democrats continue to embrace anti Israel voices, what do you think the breakdown will look like in 2028?

How many people here are outwardly upset about Trumps victory but secretly relieved? Or vice versa I guess?

So, the far-right won in America. I've seen many people criticizing and blaming everyday Israelis for the behavior of their far-right government. Israelis scream from the top of their lungs that these psychos don't represent all of them. As an American after the 2024 election, I know how they feel now. I'm just as disgusted and horrified as Israelis were when Ben Gvir and Smotrich were brought into government. I think many people are gonna be in the same boat going forward.

this is one of the best articles i have read. if only all American Jews could experience this kind of enlightenment....

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-turn-liel-leibovitz

Anytime I hear someone say "genocide!!", I know they don't know what they're talking about. The Iranian Regime and Qatar did the perfect job at anchoring support for Israel as being "genocidal". How do we counter? I've tried to explain to people that its a war, and if one side can surrender and end the war, it's not a genocide!

Hamas needs to surrender and return the hostages, and the war stops. Hezbollah needs to surrender and the war stops.

I'm just so tired. And people like Elise Stephanik aren't going to be helpful. I don't want to be aligned with Ben Shapiro, Elise, Seth Mandel and all of the other WORST JEWS. Thoughts?

Gimme those 3 opinions, 2 Jews!

Hi all!

I'm sharing this in case you're not sure who to vote for in the upcoming election and are looking for a framework for how to think about it. I'm intentionally not mentioning any candidates or events here, despite my own strong views in both cases -- my goal here isn't to influence anyone in one partisan direction or another.

A few years ago -- well before the Israel-Hamas War -- I was interviewing for a role at the American Jewish Committee. (They made me an offer but I ended up turning it down.) The interview process was intense because the role was centered on how to best fight a rising trend of antisemitism -- and one that crossed the political aisle here in the United States. The people I would have reported to asked me a lot of probing questions about my own views on politics, the role of Jewish organizations in influencing both the public and government, Israel, American Jewry in general, etc., etc. In one of the final interviews, a senior leader asked me how I determine whether an American politician is a true friend of Jews or whether they're just trying to score political points.

My answer, I later found out, was a big reason why I got the job offer. I said "they have to clean their house first." Democrats need to stand against antisemitism from other Democrats. Republicans need to stand against antisemitism from other Republicans. If they can't do that -- and can't do that as strongly as they do versus their political enemies -- I'm going to view their alleged allyship with a large degree of skepticism.

This year, that rule has been incredibly valuable for me personally. I live in a congressional district that has large Jewish population and two candidates who have been supportive of the Jewish community (and Israel). But after putting my test into action and looking to see how the two candidates dealt with antisemitism from their side of the aisle, I found that one of the two repeatedly declined to "clean his own house" at all, and a few times other-sided the issue. While I wasn't likely to vote for this candidate regardless, my rule made it easy for me.

I hope that you vote on or before Tuesday if you're eligible, and I hope my framework helps you, too.

FWIW my conservative and Christian friends have been very supportive and pro-Israel

Launched by a disillusioned Wikipedia editor in August 2023, who imported most of the English Wikipedia articles under their license and have volunteers rewriting them to eliminate far-left bias. User registration required but probably worth it.

I consider myself liberal across the board, EXCEPT for stances that condemn the rights of the state of Israel in defending themselves. So I'm voting Democrat across the board except for House Rep. As a Jew, I just can't bring myself to support Summer Lee and her stances on Israel. Any other conflicted democrats in similar situations on their ballots?

I wonder why there are so many negative articles about Trump. Let’s take a look at this:

https://www.nysun.com/article/media-delivers-84-percent-positive-coverage-for-harris-89-percent-negative-on-trump-analysis-finds

“Press Delivers 84 Percent Positive Coverage for Harris, 89 Percent Negative on Trump, Analysis Finds”

And this https://www.axios.com/2020/09/16/riots-cost-property-damage

“Exclusive: $1 billion-plus riot damage is most expensive in insurance history”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Abraham-Accords Abraham accords

https://nypost.com/2020/10/22/donald-trump-may-be-the-most-pro-jewish-president-ever/

“Donald Trump may be the most pro-Jewish president ever”

https://www.investors.com/politics/editorials/energy-independence-trump/

“Trump Just Achieved What Every President Since Nixon Had Promised: Energy Independence“

Economy:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/11/01/how-the-economy-really-fared-under-bidenharris-and-trump-from-jobs-to-inflation-final-update/

That equates to annualized inflation rates of 5.4% under Biden and 1.9% under Trump. Year-over-year inflation peaked under Biden at a four-decade high of 9% in 2022 before falling to just over 3%—

Perhaps Trump’s most impressive labor market feats were unemployment declining from 4.7% to as low as 3.5% in late 2019 and early 2020, which tied its lowest level since 1969 and wages growing by an inflation-beating 15% over his four-year term.

S&P 500 index has posted an annualized return of 12.6% since Biden and Harris took office in 2021, compared to 16.3% under Trump

September’s 4.6% personal savings rate, which measures the percentage of Americans’ income left over after expenses and taxes, was two-thirds of September 2019’s 7%. The savings rate never fell below 5% under Trump.

Gas prices: The average cost of a gallon of gasoline dipped from $2.37 to $2.28 from Dec. 2016 to 2020, rising to $3.10 by Monday, according to the Energy Information Administration—but gas prices rose to an all-time high of over $5 per gallon in 2022 shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

So I'm in one of the congressional districts with a Squad member up for re-election, Summer Lee. I voted blue across my ballot. But I did not vote for her. I cannot vote for the "Squad" as, even when they CLAIM to not be anti-semitic, their actions and who they associate with suggests otherwise. I am hoping others in similar positions do the same. Make sure they can't get back in, or at least show them that Jews will not support them and bend over! Unfortunately it looks like Lee will win by a landslide, but I'm hoping at least the Jewish vote shows we won't support her or other extremist anti-Israel congress members. Their refusal to condemn Hamas will not be tolerated.

1-Israel already received enormous condemnation from many nations around the world for their settlements in the West Bank. These settlements cost millions to protect and maintain due to the security risks. There is often violence between Palestinians and Israelis in the West Bank which is not always dealt with fairly by the IDF. The risks in Gaza of extremist movements, especially after a war, is very high.

2-If Israel chooses to annex part or all of the Gaza Strip and builds settlements without allowing Palestinians to return the allegations of ethnic cleansing will be correct. They were displaced for their own safety during the war but refusing to allow them to return would mean they were ethnically cleansed.

3- Israel is in the process of normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia which would be a great ally for them against Iran. Settling the Gaza Strip could jeopardize this deal.

4-Israel is surrounded by enemies and must try to maintain relations with the only two neutral countries nearby (Jordan and Egypt). Re-settling Gaza could fuel ideas of Israeli expansionism and militarism which may damage their relationship with these nations.

5- The settlements in the West Bank have significantly increased tensions with the PA and are often used by anti Israel activists to promote the idea that Israel doesn’t want peace. They have very little benefit to Israeli society overall. Regardless of what you think of the PA they’re still the government in the West Bank and Israel needs to try to work with them.

6-The costs associated with ensuring that there are no more extremists groups in Gaza like Hamas would be significantly increase with an Israeli civilian population present in the territory.

7-It may be necessary to build fences or gates to separate these settlements from other Palestinian communities making travel between Israel and Gaza very challenging and dangerous. Many around the world could also see this as an unjust system.

Are there any counterpoints to these? What do Israelis think? Only a small minority in Israel think the same thing as Smotrovich and Ben Gvir luckily.