O pinion
Joe Biden: For Decency, For Democracy, for America
BY JILL ZIPIN
IN 1980, Gov. Ronald Reagan
stood across from President
Jimmy Carter and asked
Americans, “Are you better off
today than you were four years
ago?” As I contemplate that
question in terms of 2020, I can’t
help but think that the soon-to-be
President Reagan would be
appalled by the state of the party
he once led and by its president
and standard bearer today.

The Republican Party is one
consumed by intolerance and
injustice and has created the
highest deficits in American
history while fumbling from
crisis to crisis. The party of
Lincoln, as Republicans are fond
of reminding us, is now led by a
commander-in-chief who creates
policy 280 characters at a time
and refers to respected statesmen
by childish nicknames. President
Donald Trump has left our
country sicker, poorer and more
divided than ever. And we, as
American Jews, feel the brunt of
so much of this.

We need a leader who is
committed to leading. A leader
who is committed not just to
ending the pandemic’s grip on
us and restoring the American
economy, but also committed
to restoring decency, honesty
and compassion to our nation.

That’s why I’ve cast my ballot for
former Vice President Joe Biden.

We are a nation torn asunder
by the deepest political divisions
since the Civil War. We need a
president who knows that there is
more that unites us than divides
us. We need a president who
knows we are better when we
lift each other up instead of tear
each other down. Biden will heal
the nation’s wounds and bring
us together. A united America is
good for Jewish security, and good
for the security of all Americans.

Joe Biden is a mensch.

He and Sen. Kamala Harris
will champion a government
for which we yearn — one of
responsible leadership, respect
for all Americans, justice and
compassion. They will restore
the soul of our nation and
preserve our democracy, and it
is in democracy that we as Jews
thrive best. Make no mistake
about it, in this election, the
most important election of our
lifetimes, it is democracy itself
that is on the ballot.

Biden will meet the challenge
of the COVID-19 pandemic
with healing and truth. Biden
values science and listens to
experts. He will ensure that all
those with preexisting condi-
tions receive the medical care
that they deserve. He will grow
and expand the Affordable
Care Act so no American goes
without health care.

He will address systemic
racism with empathy, repair
a battered economy, protect
Social Security and Medicare
and deal with climate change
to secure our planet’s future
for our children and grand-
children. He will work with
Congress to repair a broken
immigration system, knowing
that the United States is a
beacon of hope and freedom to
those who seek a better life for
themselves and their children.

Women will not be denied
control of their own bodies, as
Biden knows whether to bear a
child is a woman’s decision not
a governmental one.

Biden will not wink at white
supremacists and anti-Semites.

He will not see “very fine people”
in torch-carrying mobs chanting
anti-Semitic, racist, sexist and
homophobic slogans. We will not
have a president who is unable,
when asked during a presiden-
tial debate, to renounce white
nationalists or the Proud Boys,
a group the Anti-Defamation
League describes as extremist,
some of whose members endorse
white supremacist and anti-Se-
mitic ideologies.

Biden — who decided to
enter the presidential race
because of Trump’s outrageous
Charlottesville comments —
for over 40 years in public life
has unequivocally condemned
hatred against Jews regardless of
the source. He has not hesitated
to take on those on the left whose
modern form of anti-Semitism
takes the form of rejecting Israel’s
legitimacy as the nation state of
the Jewish people.

Biden is a longtime friend
of Israel. He will follow policies
that guarantee the security of
the Jewish state — based on his
convictions, not political expedi-
ency. Biden has a long record
of support for Israel and his
commitment to protect Israel’s
security and strengthen our two
nations’ partnership is deeply
personal and unshakable.

As vice president, Biden helped
ensure unwavering support for
Israel’s security. As Sen. Harris
said during a virtual fundraiser
in August covered by Jewish
Insider: “During the Obama-
Biden administration, he was a
key advocate in securing support
for lifesaving technologies [like
the] Iron Dome, David’s Sling,
The Arrow — three anti-rocket
and missile defense systems. And
Joe has also helped shape the
unprecedented $38 billion-a-year
memorandum of understanding
for defense assistance to Israel
that was signed in 2016 … the
largest military aid package in
See Zipin, Page 24
Disagreement Shouldn’t Mean Disunion:
Fair and Free Elections Are a Jewish Value
BY ARLENE FICKLER, RABBI ANNIE
LEWIS, RABBI ERIC YANOFF
WE ARE LIVING in a
moment of deep division and
disagreement. Political polar-
ization in our country is more
pronounced than at any point
in our lifetimes. We watch
people using social media to
dehumanize those who hold
different viewpoints, and we
worry about the threat of polit-
ical violence in our city as the
election draws near. Within
our Jewish community, there
is fundamental disagree-
ment about which candidates
22 OCTOBER 29, 2020
and policies are best for the
American Jewish community,
for Israel, for the United States
and for the world.

However, disagreement in
itself need not tear us apart.

Rigorous disagreement is an
essential element of a healthy
democracy and is central to
how we develop our ideas in
Jewish discourse. Our rabbinic
tradition teaches us that it is
possible for us to disagree and
still respect each other’s essen-
tial humanity. We write today
with the hope that our shared
commitment to this country
and its guiding values is deeper
than our divisions. At a time
when the division is so great,
it is more important than ever
to protect the mechanisms and
institutions of our democracy,
particularly the principle of a
free and fair election where
every eligible American can
vote, knowing that their vote
will be counted.

We recently began the Torah
again, rereading the story of
creation. The Torah’s depiction
of each day of creation ends with
a common refrain: “And God
saw that it was good.” Following
the second day, however, this
description is missing. The
JEWISH EXPONENT
midrash suggests that this is
because on the second day of
creation, disunion was brought
into being, as God separated
water from water, like from
like, introducing division into
the structure of the world.

Thus, our tradition cautions
that division and disunion can
lead to disarray, chaos and the
disintegration of relationships.

Our tradition also recog-
nizes that disagreement can
be a powerful force for positive
change, what the rabbis call
mahloket l’shem shamayim,
disagreement for the sake
of heaven. Mahloket is at the
See Fickler, Page 24
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