Views

6 | JULY 9 • 2020 

editor’
s note

How We Cover Elections
M

ichigan’
s statewide 
primary elections are 
coming up on Aug. 
4, and we at the Jewish News 
encourage all our readers to 
vote in them. 
We especially 
advocate for the 
use of mail-in 
and absentee bal-
lots as a safe and 
healthy alterna-
tive to the physi-
cal voting booth, 
as our state’
s 
reported coronavirus cases 
appear to be on the upswing as 
of this writing. 
All registered Michigan 
voters should have by now 
received their vote-by-mail 
applications, and you have 

until the Friday before the elec-
tion — this year, July 31 — to 
request a mail-in ballot. You 
can also request one in person 
at your clerk’
s office any time 
before 4 p.m. on Election Day.
Next week we’
ll have some 
coverage of our area’
s major 
contested Congressional pri-
maries from “
the Jewish angle.
” 
But when it comes to the 
smaller local races, we won’
t be 
covering them as prominent-
ly. This is in keeping with an 
established JN editorial policy 
to minimize local campaign 
coverage. 
We abstain because we lack 
the resources to profile every 
single candidate in every race 
on the ballot, and covering 
local elections in which some, 

but not all, of the candidates are 
Jewish is tricky business for us. 
Our readers do not necessarily 
cast their ballots exclusively for 
other Jews; in fact, in the past, 
many have backed Gentile can-
didates over Jewish ones. We 
don’
t feel it’
s our job to tell any-
one to vote for or against Jews, 
nor do we feel we “
owe” cov-
erage to the Jewish candidates 
simply because they’
re Jewish. 
And sometimes there are no 
Jews running for positions in 
heavily Jewish areas. 

We recommend going to 
vote411.org, which gathers 
information about all the can-
didates on the ballot, to read 
up on the choices in your local 
races and make an informed 
decision. You will still see us 
occasionally report on certain 
aspects of local races, such as 
reported instances of anti-Sem-
itism. (See page 20 for one such 
story.) 
In general, we do believe 
it’
s important for members of 
our Jewish community to seek 

League (ADL) recently reported 
that the American Jewish com-
munity experienced the highest 
level of anti-Semitic incidents 
last year since tracking began in 
1979.
Right-wing conspiracy the-
ories are claiming on internet 
sites that George Soros, the 
liberal billionaire and Holocaust 
survivor, is funding the pro-
tests against police brutality. 
President Trump has stoked 
anti-Semitism and Rudy 
Giuliani, a strong Trump ally, 
retweeted a message calling 
Soros an “
anti-Christ.
”
The internet is awash with 
anti-Semitism, and NPR 
reported that Israeli researchers 
have tracked a global trend of 
anti-Semitic hate speech blam-
ing Jews and Israelis for the 
coronavirus.
It has all been met by silence. 

The irony is that, to our cred-
it, we always have helped others. 
In the 1960s, we went to the 
South in droves to help Black 
people in their civil rights battle. 
We assisted labor unions, the 
LBGT community, women — 
and now Jewish organizations 
and individuals are joining tens 
of thousands to demand action 
against institutional racism in 
the aftermath of George Floyd’
s 
tragic death.
When Black people, union 
leaders, gay rights activists and 
other minorities fight for their 
rights, they are labeled “liberals.
” 
When Jews confront anti-Sem-
itism and take controversial 
positions and promote activism 
they are labeled “
conservatives,
” 
and the characterization is not 
meant to be positive.
Why not launch a major 
high-profile campaign to force 

Facebook, Twitter, et al, to enact 
more controls to stem anti-Sem-
itism and hate speech? Why 
not call for a boycott of rapper 
Ice Cube’
s music in light of 
his recent anti-Semitic tweets? 
We do not have to reinvent 
the wheel; all we have to do is 
adapt the playbook from other 
minorities. 
Overall, the response for 
stronger resistance is generally 
met with arguments that “it will 
be counterproductive and do 
more harm than good.
” Well, it 
did not do more harm for oth-
ers who have suffered from rac-
ism, bigotry and humiliation.
The Black community 
learned this lesson with the Civil 
Rights movement. Guided by 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and 
other Black leaders, they learned 
how to bring about change and 
to make racists come to grips 

for their bigotry.
Dr. King heard the same com-
plaints; fortunately, he did not 
listen. He understood what was 
required to promote change.
We generally are content with 
writing letters to the editor, issu-
ing press releases, holding con-
ferences to “build bridges.
” 
Activism not only produces 
results, but it also gives a warn-
ing to other bigots that they will 
pay a price for their hatred.
Although Rabbi Hillel the 
Elder’
s quote on this issue has 
almost become a cliché, repeat-
ing it one more time won’
t hurt: 
“If I am not for myself, who will 
be for me?” 

Berl Falbaum is a West Bloomfield vet-

eran political journalist and author of 11 

books, including Not One Normal Day, 

Trumpedia: A Tome of Scandal, Lies, 

Corruption and Much More.

WHAT IF ... continued from page 5

Andrew Lapin

continued on page 8

