Growing up an observant Jew, no figure in modern religious history has played such a formidable role in my theological development than Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Chabad-Lubavitch.
Be it his cultivation of leaders, radical empathy, or staunch principles in the face of an ever-evolving society, the Rebbe has consistently been a voice of moral reasoning, even long after his passing.
The decision to mark the one year anniversary of the horrific October 7th Hamas attacks, which culminated in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, at the grave of Rabbi Schneersohn, was relatively simplistic.
Now more than ever, American Jewry needed a moment of existential solace and divine intervention.
That former President Trump would be joining the Jewish community at the gravesite to mark the solemn occasion was an unexpected, although deeply appreciated, gesture.
Although both Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz were equally invited to join the community in prayer and introspection, it was Trump who showed up.
As we were waiting to receive the former president, the importance of the moment was not lost on me.
To my left was Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, the elder statesman of Chabad-Lubavitch, whose guidance and commitment to Jewish values have steered the Chabad community since the Rebbe's passing. To my right was Jerry Wartski, an Auschwitz survivor who lived through the horrors of the Holocaust and moved to the United States to chase the American dream.
Standing in the middle of these living testaments to the powerful history of the Jewish People, I began to internalize the inflection point at which the American Jewish community finds itself. With rampant antisemitism on college campuses, the subways of New York, and the streets of Los Angeles, many in our community fear the repetitive wheels of history may be turning again.
As Trump arrived at the gravesite, he spoke to each dignitary, especially the family of Eden Alexander, the American Jewish civilian still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.
When I explained to Trump how his 2019 executive order on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act formed the basis of our lawsuit against Harvard University, the former president leaned into me, as if instructing us Jewish students on our next course of action, demanding: "fight" he said, "you have to keep fighting."
Indeed, since the attempt on Trump's life over the summer, our resolve has never been stronger. An attack on our American values, be it at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, or the hallowed halls of Ivy League universities, must consistently be met with a forceful response.
One way I will be fighting, in addition to holding Harvard University accountable in the court of law, will be by voting this November for the candidate who showed up when our community needed leadership most.
As I have related numerous times, I am not a Republican. In fact, I have only voted for Democratic politicians in the past. Moreover, I neither supported Trump in 2016 nor in 2020. Yet, as the carnage of terrorism in the Middle East and its dutiful supporters in the United States plague our country, I made the decision to support President Trump in 2024.
During his administration, the 45th president made good on a promise that was repeatedly broken by his predecessors; he moved the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to the historic capital of the Jewish State, Jerusalem. Through unprecedented sanctions, the Trump administration applied maximum economic pressure to the Iranian Regime, severely crippling its ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Trump continued to prove himself to the Jewish community, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israeli sovereignty, and was the first sitting American president to visit the Western Wall in a show of solidarity. Perhaps most remarkable were his accomplishments in achieving regional peace in the Middle East, ushering in the first Arab-Israel normalization treaty since 1994. These deals, now known as The Abraham Accords, formally established peace between Israel and the U.A.E, Sudan, Morocco, and Bahrain.
Most personally, it was Trump’s 2019 Title VI executive order that greatly expanded the federal protections for Jewish students. Today, the legal recourses and protections afforded to us students is a direct response to that executive action and could not come at a better moment, particularly as we continue to face a historic rise in domestic antisemitism.
While Kamala Harris has refused to meet with a single American Jewish student fighting for their civil protections, I will be voting for the man who has consistently been there for us.
I encourage all Jewish Americans to do the same.