Of course, I was inspired by the prospect of a proud American Jew running for national office. But I was already dreading it: dreading the prospect of three months of overt and covert antisemitism on the Right, of defending Shapiro’s record to left-wingers holding him to a higher standard than non-Jewish politicians, and of more bilious and frankly antisemitic rhetoric liberal Jews coming from Donald Trump.
I’m not alone in feeling this way. After I posted a similar “sigh of relief” on social media, several friends chimed in. Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, a poet-rabbi in Massachusetts who cofounded the innovative Jewish resource center Bayit, wrote “I’m deeply relieved not to be facing the spike in antisemitism that would have accompanied Shapiro. Both for myself, and for many of those whom I serve, this feels like one profound anxiety that has now been released.”
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