At a time of Jewish introspection, Donald Trump offers hope

By Jason Dov Greenblatt

NEW YORK (JTA) – As my family and I prepare for Rosh Hashanah, we look back with grateful hearts for the brachot, blessings, in our lives. To me, a meaningful observance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur requires taking stock of life’s hard-earned victories and heartfelt woes, its wondrous gifts and unceremonious misfortunes, its underappreciated blessings and unfulfilled potential.

As Jews, we have the opportunity – indeed, the obligation – to renew ourselves in mind and soul at this time of year. Sometimes the hardships we have faced over the past year or the significant unrest in today’s world can make the promise of hope implicit in Rosh Hashanah seem elusive. Yet just as it has throughout Jewish history, the cry of the shofar summons us to spiritual clarity, renewing our faith in a brighter tomorrow and calling on us to craft it together.

Ever since I was a child, Unesaneh Tokef, the piyut that has been a part of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services since the 13th century, frequently runs through my mind during the month of Elul. The story behind the piyut, as described in the machzor that I use, is jarring and powerful. It fills me with emotion and motivates me each year when I read it.

As I reflect on my own year gone by and prepare for 5777, three verses from the Unesaneh Tokef continuously echo through my mind, more so than in any other year:

“Who will rest and who will wander?

Who will be safe and who will be torn?

Who will be calm and who will be tormented?”

Since the last blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, so many people around the world have not been at rest because of the hatred that terrorist organizations seek to spread. Too many have been forced to wander the earth as their homelands have been torn apart. Too many lives have been tormented by violence abroad and on our very own shores.

Though it is painful for us to recall these events, we must not forget the horrors that we have seen, lest we become immune to atrocities. We have seen jihadis storm a Parisian music hall taking the lives of concertgoers. We have seen a Palestinian attacker murder a 13-year-old Israeli girl, Hallel Yaffe Ariel, while she slept inside her home. We have seen the murder of an 84-year-old priest, Father Jacques Hamel, while he was leading church services in Normandy. We have seen coordinated bombings across resort cities in Thailand.

We have seen a shooting spree in a crowded mall in Munich. We have seen the slaughter of people in an Orlando nightclub. We have seen the bombing of an airport in Istanbul. We have seen Palestinian terrorists gun down a rabbi and father of 10, Michael “Miki” Mark, while he was driving with family members along a highway. Terrorists have stabbed and fired at innocent civilians, shot missiles at and bombed cities and towns, and mowed down people in vehicular attacks in many places around the world, resulting in so many innocent lives lost and forever impacting the lives of their loved ones.

But in spite of all this unrest and torment, I have also seen so much that gives me hope over the past year. Ever since Donald Trump asked me to serve as co-chairman of his Israel Advisory Committee, I have been a witness to the deep passion and unity among Jews of all kinds, who together with so many non-Jews care deeply about the safety and security of Israel. I have seen and heard of people who are able to ignore the hatred and violence that surround them and focus on our shared humanity.

Additionally, I have met many remarkable Americans who possess a deep passion for our country. The stories I have heard over the course of Mr. Trump’s campaign have reinforced my gratitude for the abundant blessings of American liberty. We should never forget how fortunate we are to live in the United States – a country of great freedom, tolerance and respect for all its people. How blessed we are to be able to live and raise our children in a country where we are free to live as Jews, practice our religion to its fullest and contribute to the betterment of the broader society at large, hand in hand with all of the great citizens of this blessed country.

Yet in our own country, too, we can dream bigger. We can, during this time of introspection, hope, pray and work toward a brighter tomorrow. We can build a future where all Americans are offered the tools and opportunities to succeed in life. We can resolve in ourselves to elect a president who refuses to accept the status quo, a president who dreams big and has the talent and skills to make those dreams a reality. A president who agrees that the security of our nation and the security of Israel are matters of the utmost importance.

As the High Holidays draw near, stirring hearts and minds toward meaningful, positive change, so, too, does a presidential election offering Jews and non-Jews alike the chance to shape the future of our nation in a manner consistent with our highest values and aspirations. Democracy, not unlike Judaism, places the responsibility for improving the world squarely on the individual. We do so through the concrete actions we take, lending substance to those ideals.

May Hashem bless all of us with a year of good health, happiness, peace and tranquility. May this be the year where mankind merits the fulfillment of the prophecy “Nation shall not lift sword against another nation, nor shall they learn war anymore.”

Jason Greenblatt is executive vice president and chief legal officer of The Trump Organization, co-chairman of Donald J. Trump’s Israel Advisory Committee, and co-founder of the parenting and family website www.inspireconversation.com.

Hillary Clinton has the temperament, experience and judgment to be commander-in-chief

By Stuart E. Eizenstat

WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA) – I support Hillary Clinton for president because I have seen her work up close – as first lady, senator from New York and secretary of state. She has the temperament, experience and judgment to be commander-in-chief and our country’s representative to the world. And I know she has a deep commitment to the State of Israel and a special sensitivity to help Holocaust survivors.

During his first term, President Bill Clinton appointed me his special representative for Holocaust issues to provide belated justice for Holocaust victims and their families. With his and Hillary’s strong support, I helped recover $8 billion for slave and forced labor, unpaid insurance policies, Nazi-looted art, and property restitution and compensation.

As senator from New York and then as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton continued her intense efforts for Holocaust victims and survivors. In my service as special adviser to the secretary of state on Holocaust issues, she supported me when we advanced a number of new initiatives to help survivors.

Having worked across four U.S. administrations, I’ve seen firsthand that every president needs a temperament that can endure great pressure.

Hillary Clinton has it. Donald Trump does not.

With his dangerous combination of impulsiveness, erratic behavior and emotional outbursts when he is criticized, Trump would be a disaster in the Oval Office.

Trump even confuses our allies and foes. He has expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin’s leadership style; he is considering recognizing Russian control of Crimea, which it brutally invaded; and has suggested Russia conduct cyber espionage against his political opponent at a time when the U.S. government is increasingly concerned that Russian intelligence is seeking to interfere in our election.

Trump has also upset our NATO allies by putting conditions on our longstanding obligations to come to their defense if they are attacked. It is critical to American global leadership and influence that our allies know they can depend on us to honor our obligations. This was recognized recently by 50 former senior Republican officials who said Trump lacks the “character, values and experience” to be president, and “would put at risk our country’s national security and well-being.”

This election is not about partisanship, it’s about our values as a nation. Hillary Clinton believes that at a time of great challenge at home and abroad, our diversity is a great source of our country’s strength. That’s why she says we’re “stronger together.”

Trump, on the other hand, seeks to inflame one group against another. Given our own history, American Jews have a special concern with this approach – especially when it comes to his plans to round up and expel over 10 million immigrants and their children. And in a chilling echo of the immigration barriers that Jewish refugees found when they sought safety from Hitler’s clutches in World War II, Trump said he wants to bar all refugees who are Muslim from our shores.

One of the greatest contrasts between Trump and Clinton is over Israel and U.S.-Israel relations. The United States is Israel’s only real ally, and having the right person in the Oval Office is crucial to Israel’s security.

Trump has made no effort to study and learn from the peace process, and has only the most fleeting relationship with Israeli leadership. He has even said that he was “a neutral guy” when it came to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. At one point, Trump even suggested that Israel should repay the U.S. for the military aid it provided.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has always been among Israel’s strongest supporters. In the wake of the continued knife attacks  on innocent Israelis, she publicly demanded that the Palestinian leadership stop inciting their people to violence, publicly condemn terrorism and end the pernicious practice of paying rewards to the families of terrorists.

She has strong relationships with leaders like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom she played a major role in negotiating the 2012 Gaza cease-fire, and supported vital U.S. assistance to Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system. Clinton has set out a concrete plan to take the U.S.-Israel relationship to “the next level.” And she called for the expeditious completion of a new 10-year defense memorandum of understanding to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative defensive advantage; the memorandum was signed last week.

Her plan includes a pledge to work shoulder to shoulder with Israel to combat the rising terrorist threat in the region.

Clinton has called for tougher sanctions on Iran for its support of terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, to curb its ballistic missile development, and to cut the flow of Iranian funds and arms to Israel’s enemies. She has pledged to take swift action, including militarily if necessary, if Iran attempts to obtain a nuclear weapon.

And Hillary will do everything in her power to combat the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions effort to marginalize Israel.

Israel will have no better friend in the Oval Office than Hillary Clinton, and I enthusiastically support her.

During the Clinton administration, Stuart E. Eizenstat was the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, undersecretary of commerce and of state, deputy secretary of the Treasury, and special representative of the president on Holocaust issues. During the Carter administration, he was the president’s White House chief domestic policy adviser.