Kamala embodies the ethos we need over the next four years in the White House - opinion

In the fall of 2017, I took a big risk. After seven years of serving full-time as rabbi for my synagogue in Los Angeles, I decided to take a step back from the pulpit and into the wider Jewish community.

But as I was working to inspire future advocates for justice, so many in our community were feeling lost. The High Holy Days were approaching, the first of Donald Trump’s presidency. Members of our community had long welcomed an annual call from the president to commemorate their observance, but I, like so many, felt that my fundamental Jewish values were no longer reflected in our nation’s highest office.

So, in hopes of finding sincere allyship, we went out on a limb and reached out to our newly elected senator, Kamala Harris, and asked if she would be willing to join a special call led by JCJ.

To our surprise, she said yes. Though she didn’t really know our brand-new outfit, she knew that our vision for justice and fairness matched her own. She recognized a glaring need for moral leadership, and she stepped up to fill it. She wanted to be there to offer hope and guidance at a time when we were longing for both. 

If, as the saying goes, 90% of life is just showing up, Harris surpassed every expectation. In that moment – and countless instances ever since – she showed up for our organization, our values, and our cause. And I believe, as our next president, she’ll keep showing up on the issues that matter most to Jewish Americans.

When we are yearning for security – for ourselves and our loved ones – Harris shows up for us. In a time when antisemitism is on the rise, when our safety seems under threat due to our faith when we have been painfully and unavoidably reminded of how fragile we can feel, the vice president has persistently led the fight against anti-Jewish bigotry. 

She understands that our fears are palpable. However, she never limits her advocacy to momentary statements or empty tweets. She acts. She’s helped develop and implement our country’s first-ever national strategy to counter antisemitism. She turns toward us when others turn their backs.

As a Jew, I am reminded of the Talmudic teaching that to save one life is to save the world. This teaching extends beyond our community; it compels us to stand up for the rights of all people. Indeed, in a world where so many face discrimination and persecution, I believe that Jews are safest when all marginalized communities are protected. Harris embodies this ethos. The kind of ethos we desperately need over the next four years in the White House.

When we seek allies to preserve Israel’s place as a secure, democratic, enduring homeland for the Jewish people, Harris shows up again and again. Not just in rhetoric or lofty speeches, but in real-time action. Let’s be clear: if the vice president had stopped at clear statements condemning Hamas’s depravity on October 7, or at her passionate support at the Democratic convention for Israel’s right and ability to defend itself, or on myriad occasions in between – dayeinu, that would have been enough. 

But she’ll be the first to tell you that her words are not sufficient. She’d invite you to examine her policies and priorities: the multiple trips to Israel. The vociferous backing of Israel’s safety before and after the horrors of October 7. The key role in advancing $15 billion in vital aid for Israel. The forum she organized at the White House to shine a light on Hamas’s dark and vile acts of sexual violence. The meetings with hostage families and consistent calls to bring them home. 

What’s more, for Jews who embrace the teaching that our focus must never lose sight of the future, the vice president stands at the ready to harness the diplomacy required to forge a day after where real peace is possible and attainable.

Harris shows up for Jews and embodies values shared among Jews

When our values need a voice, Harris shows up for us. She is a champion of rights and protections for all people, pursuing so many of the same values to which I have dedicated my life as a rabbi. 

She shares our Jewish imperative to care for those in need and fight for economic justice. She envisions a country where we protect the most vulnerable and where everyone, regardless of their background, can succeed. She fights for a woman’s right to make decisions in the best interest of her body and her family, a Jewish value that is not only a matter of personal freedom but deeply connected to the preservation of life and dignity. 

At JCJ, we teach activists that they have the power and responsibility to lift up those who have been pushed down. I believe that our government should be a partner in that. So does Kamala Harris.

In the rich tapestry of Jewish tradition, there is room for a multitude of political perspectives. I don’t claim to speak for all Jews; indeed, our diversity is one of our greatest strengths. 

But as a Jew who cares deeply about the future of Israel, about justice, about the preservation of and respect for humanity, the choice for me is clear: I believe in the candidate who will keep showing up on behalf of the Jewish community and the best interests of the American people.

That presence will always be personal for me. In the High Holy Day season after our call in 2017, Harris took a few moments to reach out with expressions of “Shanah Tovah.” She doesn’t know this, but in those times of difficulty, frustration, and disappointment with politics, I proudly showed that text to my children. To remind them: there are allies. There is hope. With Kamala Harris in the White House, I know that good reason for hope continues.

The writer is the founding executive director of the Jewish Center for Justice. Previously, he served as a rabbi for University Synagogue in Los Angeles and as West Coast legislative director for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.