As Jews prepare to celebrate Passover’s theme of freedom, Israel and the United States face the prospect of autocratic rule. I always took solace in knowing that if American democracy fractured I could move to Israel. Now it appears I might not have a country to live in that shares my deep reveren ce for rule of law and freedom of expression. President Trump’s pressure campaign on Columbia University, and his attempt to deport pro-Palestinian protesters, could help free Jewish college students from the antisemitism that was unleashed after the Oct. 7 terror attack. A Columbia antisemitism task force report detailed horrific instances of intimidation, violence and social exclusion visited upon many students who displayed their Jewish heritage, or expressed support for Israel. Walking around my Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn, amid “Free Palestine” signs, and pedestrians draped in Palestinian keffiyeh scarves, the Israeli flag displayed in my window seems especially lonely. It is tempting to embrace the president’s moves against pro-Palestinian activism. Yet, I feel Jews are being used to advance an agenda that has nothing to do with antisemitism, and everything to do with Trump’s bid for political dominance. In targeting Palestinian activists, and an institution that embodies the “woke” ideology his supporters despise, I suspect that the president aims to solidify his base, while testing the public’s tolerance for suppression of MAGA’s opponents. His bullying tactics around campus protests echo his efforts to bend law firms, the news media, and businesses to his will. In wrapping his Columbia gambit in an anti-antisemitism package, Trump has placed liberal-minded Jews like me in a box. Criticizing Trump’s power grab in this instance feels like an abandonment of Jewish college students. Perhaps I should just say thank you and take a win against Jew-hate. A friend’s question summarized my doubts about speaking out. “Why should Jews be the only minority on campus who can be abused without consequences?” Nonetheless I sense that something sinister is afoot. I fear that by focusing on antisemitism, Trump is associating Jews with his intimidation tactics and strong-arming. I worry that no matter our politics we will be seen as his accomplices, and catch the blowback from the disasters that MAGA brings America’s way. My distrust of Trump is anchored in his track record of personally courting white supremacists and neo-Nazis, spreading conspiracy theories featuring antisemitic tropes, and insinuating that Jewish-Americans have dual loyalty. This history evinces the president’s willingness to stoke the embers of Jew-hatred to his advantage. Many of my co-religionists see Trump as a friend of the Jews, because of his support for Israel’s extremist government. Yet, there is a long list of antisemites who support Israel. The list includes far-right European politicians, representing parties with antisemitic roots, who attended a recent antisemitism conference in Jerusalem. Several Jewish participants, including the Anti-Defamation League’s CEO, withdrew from the conference in protest. This “pro-Israel antisemitism,” as political scientist Jelena Subotic labels the phenomena, only extends to an illiberal Israel; an extremist Jewish state, bent on dominating Palestinians. Trump, and his ideological partner, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, are clearly on board for that type of Israel. After firing the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Netanyahu mimicked his American counterpart: “[I]n America and in Israel, when a strong right wing leader wins an election, the leftist Deep State weaponizes the justice system,” he said. Israel’s attorney general is next on Netanyahu’s chopping block. The mind-meld between Trump and Netanyahu deeply unsettles me. I have long been active in organizations that oppose the occupation of the West Bank. I also have many Israeli relatives and visit them often. I marched with some of them prior to Oct. 7 in a pro-democracy protest. More recently, I joined them in a rally to end the war and bring the hostages home. The focus of my Jewish-centric persona — my liberal-Zionist identity — would be shattered should Israel complete its march towards becoming a non-democratic state. I hoped that Israel would become the light among the nations of biblical prophecy, and that America would live up to the freedom promised by our Founders. The dream I once had for my two countries is edging towards a nightmare. In this perilous time for America and Israel, Trump’s uncritical embrace of Netanyahu’s government, his role in freeing hostages from Hamas’ hell, and his response to campus antisemitism may seem like a salve. But remember one of the lessons of the Passover story: Pharaohs are never good for the Jews. Krull is a lawyer and writer. ...read more read less