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In the United States, violence is feared on Election Day, and Jews may be targeted

Far-right groups see the election as an "apocalyptic moment" and want to secure another Trump term.

Among the targets that may be marked are also the Jewish communities, which have already been linked in conspiracy theories by supporters of white racial supremacy.

"Fear that many of them will be directed against the Jews"

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• United States

• Elections

• Donald Trump

• The jewish community

JTA

Monday, 12 October 2020, 15:19

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In the video: Update on thwarting the kidnapping attempt by the Michigan governor (Photo: Reuters, Editing: Shaul Adam)

Ryan Greer used to spend his days trying to prevent people from being dragged into extremism and joining ISIS.

Now, Greer and some of his former colleagues, who fought alongside him in terrorism, are concerned about a threat closer to the domestic arena: violence by supporters of white racial supremacy in the United States.

As Election Day approaches, Greer believes, the threat becomes more real.

Greer said far-right groups see the November 3 election as an "apocalyptic moment" in which the fate of their country is at stake, and he is concerned that among the targets that will set up groups willing to take up arms to secure Donald Trump's victory will also be members of the Jewish community.

"We do not necessarily predict that there will be a civil war, but we are very much afraid that there will be some acts of violence," said Greer, who currently serves as director of the League's Anti-Defamation Assessment and Strategy Program.

"As connection theories gain momentum, there is a fear that many of them will be directed at Jews."

Far-right protesters at Richmond rally in August (Photo: GettyImages)

Officials involved in the security of the Jewish community believe that these elections, and the period after them, will be especially dangerous for Jews, due to the explosive combination of conditions that has matured in recent months: elections take place after months of occasional street protests and even murder;

The ongoing epidemic has led to an increase in postal votes, and therefore the final results of the election may not be known for days or even weeks;

And the president has repeatedly questioned the integrity of the electoral process, refusing to commit to a quiet transfer of power and choosing not to condemn organizations that support white supremacy.

After refraining from condemning during the confrontation with Joe Biden, Trump did explicitly condemn white racists in an interview with Fox News later this week.

"We are concerned about everything from simple hit tactics, through trampling attempts, as we have seen across the country in protests and civil gatherings, to proactive threatening incidents," said Michael Masters, CEO of the Safe Communities Network, which coordinates security for Jewish institutions across the United States. "Of all the domestic violent extremist organizations, those whose motive is racial and ethnic, especially the white supremacy extremists, they are still the most persistent deadly threat in the United States."

Recent law enforcement reports confirm this.

Refused to condemn supporters of white racial superiority in the confrontation with Biden.

Trump (Photo: Reuters)

The Department of Homeland Security reported last week that white racial superiors pose the most real threat in the United States and noted in a report that such groups are characterized by hatred of Jews.

In a threat assessment released last month, the State of New Jersey State Department of Homeland Security and Preparedness outlined several scenarios in which controversial elections could lead to "racist-driven extremists, turn minorities and government officials into goats," leading to violence and loss of life.

A recent report by the Institute for the Study of Network Spread, which tracks the spread of hate on the Internet, documented how violent groups in "militia circles," as he puts it, are using increasingly violent rhetoric - and affecting a larger circle of supporters.

On Thursday, the FBI announced the unveiling of a group of anti-government extremists suspected of plotting to kidnap Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The trauma still exists.

The scene of the attack in the synagogue in Pittsburgh (Photo: Reuters)

Masters' organization now focuses on securing Jewish institutions where polling stations or those that will serve as vote-counting sites will be set up.

He estimates that there will be hundreds of polling stations inside or near Jewish institutions, and fears that these will become hotbeds of extremist violence.

Masters has been involved in the security of synagogues for years, especially since the shooting attack on a synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

But securing synagogues on Election Day will be a particularly complicated task.

A large number of unfamiliar people will enter the building, the doors will remain open, and it may be a building that has not been used at all since the corona plague broke out in March.

"They may open for the first time (since the onset of the epidemic), or they may open their doors in a way that is contrary to the established security procedures and protocols established over the years," Masters said.

"There can be a combined threat both because of the fear of the potential for violence around election-related sites, along with the fact that they are also Jewish institutions and organizations, which may increase their attraction as a target in the eyes of some figures."

More on Walla!

NEWS

The FBI thwarted a plan to kidnap the Democratic Michigan governor before the election

To the full article

Casey Miller, a senior information analyst at the Legal Center for the Poor South, said extremist groups may feel more empowered to act after watching a Trump-Biden confrontation last week in which Trump told the Proud Boys, a far-right group, "take a step back and wait ".

Many teams of this type will not agree to get an election result other than a Trump victory, Miller said, and they are willing to use violence to ensure that happens.

"Within the far right, there is a growing convergence around the idea that we are heading for a civil war or that we are on the brink of some large-scale civil uprising," Miller said.

"An explosive situation has arisen where there are people with guns, who feel like they are acting on behalf of the president and feel like law enforcement welcomes what they are doing."

Miller added that while Jews may be at risk, she also fears that non-white communities may be at risk, especially in swinging countries where far-right groups may try to restrict their voting.

"A lot of times they suspect people who are immigrants who vote, so who will they look for? Probably non-white people," she said.

"I think we need to be especially aware of the dangers that exist in polling stations where there is a large non-white population."

Fear of a snowball

Greer worries that election day violence could produce a snowball effect, with extremists on the left and right clashing, leading to a violent confrontation, as happened in the deadly shooting this summer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Portland, Oregon.

Such incidents may in themselves lead to further confrontations and further shootings.

To try and prevent these scenarios, the Anti-Defamation League has asked local officials to assure voters that the election will be fair and to call for non-violent response to the election results.

Clearly, such inquiries will not affect the hard core of extremist group members, but Greer hopes that marginalized people will listen to them.

Meanwhile, the network of safe communities is urging Jewish institutions to monitor entry and exit points in community buildings, and even consider setting up checkpoints to protect those waiting in line to vote against possible car bombings.

"It's hard to believe this is what needs to be taken into account to enable people to exercise their basic right to vote in this country by 2020," Masters said.

"It's hard to believe this is what needs to be taken into account to enable people to exercise their basic right to vote in this country in 2020"

Although Greer is careful to point out that extremism exists on both sides of the map, he says that far-right political conspiracies have already led to the murder of Jews in Pittsburgh, a dynamic that may well occur again this year.

"The person who did this believed in theories about a religious Jewish conspiracy related to immigration policy," Greer said of the Pittsburgh shooter.

"This is a political concern that led to an antisemitic conspiracy theory that led to the largest attack on Jews in American history. It is quite conceivable, when there is a political crisis, a similar set of conspiracy theories whose specific target is Jews."

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