Introductory Note:

The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) is the Reform Movement’s Rabbinic association of more than 2000 ordained Reform Rabbis who serve the Jewish people in a variety of positions worldwide. I have been a member of the CCAR since I was ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (the Reform movement’s rabbinic seminary) in New York in 1979. I am gratified by the following statement of condemnation of Donald Trump’s antisemitic rhetoric and I urge that this statement be disseminated widely not only to the Jewish people, but to all those who may be taken in by Trump’s outrageous statements about the role of Jews in American society today in our relationship to this American election and to the people and State of Israel.

This CCAR statement is limited to what Trump said most recently in relationship to the election and Jews and does not note past statements, such as his calling “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville, Virginia when referring to Neo-Nazi demonstrators who carried torches and shouted outside a Reform synagogue “Jews will not replace us”. It also does not refer to Trump’s ongoing misogyny, racism and hostility to black and brown immigrants. Senator Rafael Warnock (d. Georgia) put it well when he noted in response to Trump’s antisemitic rhetoric on Sunday morning that there is so much hate in Trump’s heart that it constantly flows outward.

Note below that the CCAR does not take partisan political positions (as this statement says clearly), and when I served as the Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel of Hollywood in Los Angeles and before that in congregations I served in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, I did not do so either because both Democrats and Republicans were/are members of my congregations and I respect those who think differently from me regardless of political affiliation. However, I made an exception one time in 40 years – in the 2016 presidential election in which I endorsed Hillary Clinton for president against Donald Trump because it was clear to me then that Trump’s hatred of large numbers of Americans based on race, gender, ethnicity, and religion and his threat to American democratic traditions and norms disqualified him from serving as President of the United States.

Here is the CCAR’s Statement.

September 23, 2024

The Central Conference of American Rabbis is grateful that both major candidates in the 2024 United States Presidential Election, Vice President Kamala Harris and Former President Donald Trump—together with their running mates—have taken strong stances in response to antisemitism. Antisemitism is a significant and growing problem in the United States, finding a welcome home at both the extreme right and left of the political spectrum.

At the same time, the Central Conference of American Rabbis strongly condemn Former President Trump’s repeated claims that Jewish Americans who vote for Vice President Harris would do so only because they suffer from mental illness and that American Jews would be to blame if Former President Trump did not prevail.[i]

The former claim fails to recognize that Jewish Americans, like all voters, have a variety of issues, both domestic and internal, which inform whom they will support this election. We also denounce the claim that Second Gentlemen Doug Emhoff is not a good Jew.[ii] Jews practice Judaism in a variety of ways and it is not the role of our leaders to judge and disparage how people practice their religion.

We are most troubled by the inflammatory claim that American Jews will be at fault if Former President Trump does not win the election. Falsely claiming that Jews, who represent less than 3% of Americans, will single handedly determine the winner of the election plays into age-old antisemitic lies about Jewish power. Former President Trump’s rhetoric relies on what Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt has called the “antisemitic conspiracy myth” that Jews enjoy disproportionate power and exercise outsized control in and beyond America.[iii] This dangerous rhetoric seeks to target the Jewish community at a time of heightened antisemitism. It is part of a disturbing pattern of Former President Trump attacking those who disagree with him.

It should go without saying that American Jews, no matter which party they support, are loyal Americans. While we condemn these baseless attacks, we also encourage all Jews to vote in the upcoming election and to support non-partisan get out the vote efforts. Our democracy depends on the participation of all citizens of our country. 

Rabbi Erica Asch, President
Rabbi Hara E. Person, Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis