PHILADELPHIA – Jewish Democratic Council of America board member Jill Goldenberg has knocked on dozens of doors across diverse neighborhoods in Pennsylvania and Michigan since September, engaging with likely Democratic voters about turning out for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats down the ballot.While Goldenberg has knocked on doors in heavily Jewish communities, she said she hasn’t engaged in all that many conversations with voters about Israel.“The most important issue for Jewish voters is democracy; second is abortion; third is the economy,” Goldenberg told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday while walking through a neighborhood in northeastern Philadelphia. “And [Jewish voters] continue to care about Israel, and they know that Democrats stand with them on that issue.”It really comes down to values and who shares the Jewish community’s values, she said.Goldenberg said canvassing and persuading likely Democratic voters to turn out to the polls is about understanding and empathy.
“It’s about understanding that someone else cares about [you] and about being authentic,” she said. “So if you don’t know what they care about, you share what authentically matters to you.”Goldenberg recounted how, on Saturday, she knocked on the door of a Jewish voter in her 90s who was committed to voting for Harris but was skeptical of Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, who’s running for a fourth term.
Democratic voters supporting Israel
Goldenberg shared with the voter that she cared deeply about Israel, and the voter said she cared about Israel, too.“You know Bob Casey is reliable, right? He’s such a strong supporter [of Israel],” Goldenberg told the voter, who said she didn’t know Casey’s record on Israel.Over different canvassing weekends, Goldenberg said she had some conversations with Jewish voters who expressed, “I don’t love [Harris], but I’m going to vote for her because I can’t stand what I think [former president Donald Trump] will do to our country.”Goldenberg said her response is always, “A vote for Kamala is a vote for democracy and sanity. However you got there, thank you for it.”When it came to persuading friends and people in her personal life of Harris’s support of Israel, Goldenberg relied on the trust she built as a former president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston and former Jewish Federation board member.Goldenberg explained how she was able to say to friends, “You know me. You know that I am a staunch Israel advocate, and I am telling you, [Harris supports Israel].”Though Goldenberg realized she hadn’t needed to offer anyone in her life that kind of reassurance since the Democratic National Convention in late August, which took place exactly one month after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and Harris launched her campaign.Featuring Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin, parents of slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, in primetime from the convention stage was that reassurance, she concluded.Goldenberg described Republican’s efforts to mislead American Jews on Harris’s record on Israel as “despicable,” as she believes the misinformation and disinformation are calculated to drive a wedge into the Jewish community.
“And Israel needs every single friend she can get,” she said pointedly.
“To smear her in ways that are just lies,” Goldenberg continued. “Harris is such an advocate and an ally, and I trust her. I do not trust him.”
She accused Republicans of blatantly lying about Harris’s record, who she is, and what she’s done for the Jewish community.
The more disinformation that comes from the Right, the less likely it is that this Jewish community feels safe, she added.
“[Harris] makes us feel safe,” Goldenberg said. “The disinformation is designed to scare and put fear into the Jewish community’s hearts.”
JDCA communications director Jacob Spiegel, who was out canvassing with Goldenberg on Sunday, acknowledged there was a learning curve with Harris entering the race late, and the Jewish community both wanted and needed to learn her record on Israel.
“And then once they did, they were convinced,” he said. “I think we’re going to see that in the vote totals, too. It’s going to come out the same that it has for years for Democrats.”
Neither Goldenberg nor Spiegel experienced any pushback or uncomfortable encounters when canvassing wearing Jewish Democrat shirts or buttons with Hebrew.
Goldenberg laughed, recounting how, on Saturday, one woman noticed her “Jews for Kamala” button and said, “This is a very Jewish neighborhood. I’m not Jewish, but you’ll do well here.”
On Sunday, Goldenberg and her husband, Sidney, along with Spiegel and JDCA’s communications manager Sara Grostern, canvassed through a diverse, Democratic stronghold neighborhood.
They connected with a handful of voters who said yes, they’ll be turning out to the polls on Tuesday, and yes, they’ll be voting Democratic all the way down the ticket.
One woman walking down the sidewalk with her daughter and granddaughter stopped the group after noticing their Harris shirts.
“My grandkids are Puerto Rican,” the woman said, unprompted. “Nasty. He’s nasty. And I’m Jamaican. We’re not doing that.”