Don’t Let Politics Pull Us Apart  

If I showed up at your shul, I would look like any other visitor. I wear a hat, I wear a suit, I can rarely be found without some sefer in my hands. I daven all tefillos, I’m koveia itim, and I’m involved in my community. I do all I can to keep halachah and to be the best Jew that I can be. You might assume that I’m like you, and you would probably speak and act as if that were the case.

However, I am also a Democrat, in a world where the prevailing political orthodoxy is to be Republican. Unfortunately, one’s political leaning has often gone far, far beyond mere political preference, with the assumption that every frum person must share the same politics. This has resulted in many painful interactions for those of us who disagree with the prevailing politics of Orthodoxy. None of my examples are unique to me: others have seen almost the exact same, and I have also drawn on the experiences of friends in diverse communities in writing this.

I’ve been warned to not let certain people know about my politics, lest I lose future invites to their Shabbos tables. G-d forbid that I should have criticism of the president; sometimes that is taken as more horrible than any aveirah! I know people who have been turned away by shadchanim because they don’t think anyone would even consider dating a Democrat. I have seen people praise teachers and educators for open bias in favor of Trump, all while falsely accusing me of brainwashing students. In fact, I take great pride in maintaining the political neutrality of my classroom. One person even went so far as to use my politics to try and get me fired, unsuccessfully, thank G-d. I’ve been told that because of my politics, I don’t know anything about the subject I have devoted my life to studying and have been on the receiving end of verbal tirades using words that any frum Jew should be horrified to use for any disagreements.

I know of at least one politically liberal student who was ridiculed and bullied by their classmates for daring to hold outside views. Those classmates then spoke lashon hara against them because of what they hear and are taught at home. People have accused me and other Democrats of wanting to murder newborns, of hating America, of wanting to see Israel destroyed — many things that are not even remotely true because they do not even know what Democrats believe and advocate for. That is passed on to their children, who think it’s justified to attack those whose political priorities are different from theirs, resulting in easily avoidable aveiros.