For all that America’s Jews feel safer on the side with the red ties and red hats, there are red flags there, too
fter the succah boards were put away, my washing machine had resumed its earnest chugging, and the euphoria of our nation’s Succos miracle began to feel more like a fact and less like a fantasy, I noticed a disturbing story in the news. Politico had obtained and published a private Telegram chat. Its members were young Republicans — aspiring future leaders and politicians — and their conversation was a noxious brew of racial slurs, violent language, and Nazi references.
When one member promised that the group would vote for the most right-wing person to lead the organization, a member responded, “Great. I love Hitler.” The response: a smiley face.
In another exchange, a member threatened that “everyone that votes no” in a vote for the chairman “is going to the gas chamber.”
The leak raised an immediate ruckus. Some of the chat members lost their jobs, some refused to comment, some apologized. (Predictably, some ascribed the leak to a rival looking to take them down.)
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