since the assault on the Capitol, America has been in the grip of a moral crisis. Across the country, there has been shock and revulsion at the actions of President Donald Trump and his most avid supporters, who tried to overturn the election and attacked the seat of American democracy.
Many Trump supporters have stepped away from the precipice. Senior Republican leader Mitch McConnell has led the way, saying that the mob was “fed lies” and “provoked” by Trump.
All this seems to have passed by large parts of American Orthodox Jewry, who polls show voted for Trump by enormous margins — perhaps over 80 per cent.
Yes, some individuals have accepted that their man went too far. But the majority, particularly amongst the strictly Orthodox, seem to be digging in. There were reportedly at least eight buses of Orthodox Jews attending the protests at the Capitol. A handful of Trump loyalists have publicly decried the violence, but not the movement. On social media, Orthodox Trump supporters are still vocal — and everywhere.
This section of the community has allied itself to a wacky fringe which is being rejected outright by every decent American. And they are still defending a leader whose personal and ethical shortcomings are finally embarrassing even those who stuck by him during his presidency.
They are driving American Orthodoxy to its own moral — perhaps even existential — crisis, even if they don’t realise it yet.
How they reached this point has been widely analysed. Trump’s pro-Israel policies seem to be the number one reason Orthodox Jews support him.
But there is also unquestionably a cultural affinity. Many Orthodox Jews simply do not identify with and are even frightened by the preoccupations of the left, including gay rights and transgender rights. Perhaps it’s not so shocking that they can overlook the president’s misogyny when the community routinely resists anything associated with feminism and sexual predators are all too often protected.
Meanwhile, it is simply not true that they admire Trump “despite” his boorishness. Much of the Strictly Orthodox community is culturally isolated from other Americans, essentially living in a parochial bubble. For years, large sections of this community have received minimal secular and scientific education.
Of course they relate better to Trump’s false folksy persona than to Obama or Biden’s more sophisticated, urbane characters.
All these factors also make them vulnerable to the crazy conspiracy theories which are currently rife in Trumpland — like QAnon, the anti-vaxxer movement and the belief that COVID-19 “isn’t real”.
And it’s the reason why these Orthodox Trumpists don’t seem to appreciate why Americans are aghast at the Capitol riots. With such a narrow secular education and experience, they have limited appreciation for the wider context of democracy and democratic norms. It’s the perfect storm.
So the Mitch McConnells of this world, who essentially had a marriage of convenience with Trump, seethe at him for betraying American values and turn their back on him when it becomes prudent to do so. But people like Heshy Tischler of Brooklyn — an activist with a popular communal radio show, who is a true Trump believer — cannot let go.
It’s not dissimilar to the way that Israelis have continued supporting Trump even as his support drains domestically. They, too, see the situation through a narrow, parochial prism, in their case focused entirely on Israel. And they, too, cannot properly appreciate the blow to America’s democratic traditions — especially given that Israel’s own democratic norms have steadily eroded recently.
Both groups are badly misreading American public mood. They fail to understand that while Americans might forgive those who supported Trump during his term, they will never forgive those who stood by him as he tried to launch a coup. Unless they shift course fast, large parts of the Orthodox community will find themselves pariahs in polite society, in Jewish communal affairs and in wider political discourse.
This is the recipe for further radicalisation and a descent into irrelevance. How many good people will be attracted to Orthodoxy when it means being associated with political misfits? What will it mean for American Orthodoxy’s influence and voice, when its internal discourse is dominated by people on the fringe of the fringe?
And how can the Orthodox community have anything to say about ethics, when large parts of it continue to support a leader with no moral compass - even after he’s been widely rejected and repudiated by the electorate?
A period of cheshbon nefesh — or soul-searching — is in order. Without it, the American Orthodox community will pay the price for supporting Trump, years after he left the White House.
