How Trump Is Using Jews to Undermine Democracy

In 1936, Stalin poured funding into Jewish cultural centers and pretended to give Jews an autonomous homeland—Birobidzhan in Soviet Russia. However, his true goal was to counter Zionism and delay the establishment of a truly secure Jewish state by offering an alternative. It was never really a Jewish state, since less than 10 percent of the population was Jewish at its peak, and even then, it lacked almost any running water, agriculture, or infrastructure. Most of all, it failed to prevent millions of Jewish deaths in the Soviet Union; by 1945, an estimated 2.5-3.3 million Soviet Jews had been killed in the Holocaust because of Stalin’s non-aggression pact with Hitler.

As ethnic groups watched the totalitarian USSR break promises and murder the families they once claimed to support, people across the Soviet Union watched their rights and their control over their lives slip out of their hands and into those of their fascist leaders. These broken promises were a ploy in a larger authoritarian shift.

Today, President Trump has amassed Jewish support through his support of Netanyahu’s military action against Hamas and by taking aggressive action against advocates for Palestinians on the left, as seen through his deportation of Mahmoud Khalil. In doing so, he has constructed an illusion of fighting antisemitism. In reality, he’s threatened Jewish safety, American democracy, and the future of a Jewish state.

Take the White House tweeting “SHALOM MAHMOUD,” using the Hebrew word for goodbye—as well as hello and peace—to taunt Khalil’s deportation. In directly aligning his own policy against foreigners with the Jewish community, he manipulates Jewish voters into supporting him while at the same time gaining an excuse to further his own aims.

Trump’s plan relies on the rise of antisemitism on the left that has pushed many Jews to the right. Living in my New York City bubble, for most of my life I have rarely, if ever, personally experienced antisemitism. However, the Israel-Hamas war has allowed many people to express antisemitic rhetoric under the facade of advocating for Palestine. Many of my peers have offhandedly made comments reinforcing Jewish stereotypes, while others have reposted content comparing Zionists and Jews to Nazis, featuring swastikas alongside Israeli flags. As rates of antisemitic violence in the U.S. and on college campuses have risen, Jews across the country have felt a new wave of hate from all ends of the political spectrum.

Trump’s strategy, similar to Stalin’s approach with Birobidzhan, is both deceptive and insidious and should raise alarm bells for all Americans; his ephemeral empathy for certain groups only serves to distract from his aggressive and regressive domestic policy agenda. This tactic is useful in nations prone to protest, like the U.S., allowing ill-intentioned leaders to engage in periods of radical change with minimal dissent. Given the free press and high levels of education in America, it is difficult, even for Trump, to quell opposition. Therefore, he seeks to confuse rather than to silence.  

Trump recently met with some of the Israeli hostages released by Hamas. This small display seeks to send an image of Trump as some “savior of the Jews” in order to resonate with and deceive Jewish people in the U.S. who have felt alienated by a rise of global and domestic antisemitic and anti-Israel activity. The ceasefire deal already agreed upon by Hamas and Netanyahu would entail the complete release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in stage two of the ceasefire deal. However, following Hamas’s threats to call the hostage deal off, Trump erased any remaining hope for a ceasefire and hostage return with an ultimatum demanding immediate hostage return, which was not in the original deal, or else “all hell is going to break loose.”  He followed this with a bizarre promotion of a U.S. takeover of Gaza. Then, he proclaimed “unwavering support” for Netanyahu’s right-wing government and its attacks on Gaza. Trump has crafted an image of being a radical supporter of Israel. In reality, he’s only a supporter of Israel’s right wing coalition; his interest in Jews and Israel is founded on convenience and strategy.  

Meanwhile, Trump’s feigned sympathy toward Jewish concerns is exacerbating antisemitism throughout the U.S. and the world. He holds Jews and Israel closely—and often out in front of him—shielding himself from the backlash of his isolating global agenda.

However, too many Jews remain in denial. About 26 percent of the American Jewish community voted for Trump in 2024, and 28 percent approve of his campaign to fight antisemitism.  

Trump’s political regime, like many fascist regimes throughout history, works as a cohesive machine: each action, change, and policy contributes to a larger plan, ultimately working to reward a powerful inner circle of elites rather than bettering the lives of Jews in America. When our needs aren’t met by the left, it’s crucial that we find ways to work within our democratic parties and advocate for change rather than turn a blind eye to the rising tide of fascism in the U.S.