'Pennsylvania's Jewish women will save us'

SOUTH HAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA – Jewish Democratic Council of America volunteers gathered outside the Harris campaign’s recruiting center in Bucks County Sunday morning, wearing “First Mensch” shirts and “Don’t Kvetch, Vote” buttons, armed with voter information materials and ready with lists of hundreds of doors to knock on.

Volunteers from all over the East Coast, largely New York and Washington, D.C., have packed the Philadelphia suburbs to ensure Harris wins the critical state.

An energetic Eva Wyner, the director of Jewish Outreach in Pennsylvania for the Harris campaign, said Saturday was the biggest voter contact day of the campaign in Pennsylvania, with more than 600,000 people knocking on doors.

“Now let’s turn up the volume and do more today. Thank you for coming from far and wide to knock on Pennsylvania’s door. In 2020, President Biden won by five votes per district,” Wyner said. “The voters you contact today will ensure that we send Vice President Harris to the White House as Madam President. We will all play a role when the first Mezuzah is placed on the doors of the White House.”

JDCA CEO Halie Soifer said she had never been more excited to choose someone in her life. Soifer, who served as then-Sen. Harris’ national security adviser recounted the 2017 trip to Israel with Harris, where she told a friend that Harris would one day become president.

Jewish Voters Urge to Vote for VP Kamala Harris (credit: HANNAH SARISOHN)

“I saw in her what we all see: this great commitment to our country, to our values, to being a leader that women especially seem to admire and respect,” Soifer said. “She respects us. We support her. She shares our values.”

Soifer said she looks forward to not only the Jewish community, but the entire country standing with Harris.

Jill Zipin, founder and president of Democratic Jewish Outreach PA, told The Jerusalem Post that she thinks Jews in Pennsylvania are feeling very good and that the polls do not reflect the excitement of the battleground state with the largest number of Jewish voters.

“Historically, Jews have voted for the Democratic party somewhere between 68 and 82%, with an average of around 70 to 72%. That’s where the polls show it is in Pennsylvania and other battleground states,” Zipin said.

What do Jewish voters consider most important?

While the Jewish community is concerned about Israel and anti-Semitism, Zipin explained that the vast majority of Jewish voters, and Jewish women voters, are generally concerned about democracy and abortion.

Stay up to date with the latest news!

Subscribe to the Jerusalem Post newsletter

Republicans are losing focus on democracy and the true importance of abortion as health care for their daughters, their granddaughters and themselves.

She highlighted how the Jewish community has signed up to door knockers and phone banks in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

“This election is an existential threat to American democracy, and they know that Jews won’t do well unless we have a democracy,” Zipin said.

Zipin is very concerned that Republicans will try to invalidate the election results on Wednesday if Trump loses.

But she also worries that Trump will repeat anti-Semitic rhetoric, blaming the Jewish community for his loss.

“He already blamed the Jews if he lost, so I’m sure he’ll do it again,” Zipin said. “If he did it before the election, if he didn’t win or lose, and if he loses, he’ll obviously do it again.”

Although Zipin does not expect violence from Republicans within the Jewish community if Trump loses.

“The Jewish community does not turn violently against each other, even when we disagree,” she said.

For a win for Harris, Zipin borrowed the phrase that she is “nauseously optimistic.”

“I think we all have a sense of optimism,” she said. “I think the women are going to save us, and in particular the Jewish women are going to save us, especially in Pennsylvania.”

Pam Wexler, an attorney who now lives in West Chester County, New York, grew up in Bucks County, where her family remained active in the Jewish community until her mother’s death in 2019.

Wexler said The mail she wanted to make a difference in these elections and indicated that it was natural for her family to do this through a Jewish organization.

“Honestly, we do most of the things we do in our lives through a Jewish lens,” she said.

Wexler traveled to Bucks County on Sunday with her husband and adult daughter to make canvas for the day.

“I can help by coming back to the county where I grew up and telling people, I grew up here and lived here,” she said.

Wexler believes Harris represents Jewish values and that “she will do the most for the Jewish community.”

She is also proud of how Harris encouraged the Second Gentleman Dough Emhoff to get involved in combating anti-Semitism, work she is also deeply involved in in her community.

According to Wexler, Harris is also the best person to unite and get the country back on track.

“We want to get back to treating people with civility and with kindness, respect and compassion for all people,” Wexler said. “And that is truly the strongest of Jewish values, B’tzelem Elohim.”