Published: 21 December 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
THE YEAR 2020 will long be remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertain road from the unsuccessful impeachment to the electoral defeat of President Donald Trump. But it was also a landmark year for American Jews who made headlines and held public attention in a variety of ways. Here are some of the highlights.
Let’s start with the minor but significant accomplishment of Scarlett Johansson, becoming only the 11th actor to be nominated for two Oscars in the same year. One of these was for her supporting role in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, a welcome send-up of Nazism in a year when the twin threats of anti-Semitism and fascism are all too real. Both the American Johansson and the New Zealander Waititi are, of course, Jewish (Johansson’s other nomination was for Best Actress in Marriage Story).
January saw US Congressman Adam Schiff take the lead in the Trump impeachment hearings. Schiff became a celebrity among Democrats and earned the sobriquet “Shifty Schiff” from Trump. He was joined by fellow Jewish committee chairs Elliot Engel and Jerrold Nadler.
Engel had the misfortune to return to headlines in June when he became a casualty of the Democrats’ progressive insurgency, losing his primary to Jamaal Bowman, an African-American public school administrator.
What has not been said about the epochal figures Bernie Sanders and Ruth Bader Ginsburg? Sanders moved the Overton Window - the range of policies considered politically acceptable - far to the left in his second run for the presidency, an effort that struck fear in the hearts of the corporate interests otherwise known as the establishment.
Unlike Jesse Jackson and Ralph Nader before him, whose presidential runs had little lasting impact, Sanders has inspired fiercely progressive candidates who have now joined him in Congress and a grassroots movement that continues to develop nationally.
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In life, Ruth Bader Ginsburg revolutionised the legal status of women and became an essential liberal voice on the Supreme Court. Her death opened the door to Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell placing a sixth conservative justice on the US Supreme Court. Some faulted RBG for not having retired while Obama was in office. But she is hardly to blame for the Democrats’ failure to defeat a degenerate like Donald Trump in 2016.
Sanders was one of a record-setting five candidates with Jewish roots in this year’s Democratic primaries. Joining him were former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Colorado Senator Michael Bennett, billionaire Tom Steyer, and self-help author Marianne Williamson. "I’m going to harness love for political purposes and, sir, love will win," Williamson declared in a direct challenge to Trump.
Later, when Biden spoke of the power of love in his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination, Slate columnist Tom Scocca concluded that it was “Williamson’s message the Democrats would be carrying into November.” Is love a Jewish value? Let us hope so!
"I’m going to harness love for political purposes and, sir, love will win," Democrat candidate Marianne Williamson declared in a direct challenge to Trump.
Though always newsworthy, in the context of 2020, Woody Allen’s troubles hardly amount to a hill of beans. In March, the Hachette Book Group rescinded its agreement to publish his memoir, Apropos of Nothing, which was eventually picked up by Arcade Publishing.
To the best of my knowledge, his latest film, Rifkin’s Festival, has not been screened in Australia or the US. But Allen got a boost from his son Moses Farrow who, earlier this month, told the Guardian there was “absolutely” no possibility that Allen had abused Dylan Farrow as the latter has charged, and which has become an article of faith for the #metoo moment.
Each April, Jews celebrate Moses bringing plagues upon ancient Egypt. The feeling may not be quite so positive as we recall Jared Kushner’s role in April, downplaying the Covid pandemic on behalf of Trump. Kushner gave assurances that the pandemic was under control and there would be no second wave. It is impossible to overstate the tragedy resulting from the inaction of Trump and his enablers like Kushner and policy adviser Stephen Miller (also Jewish).
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Joining Kushner in the 2020 Hall of Shame is Mark Zuckerberg. This year saw the release of the Netflix film The Social Dilemma, which unmasked the insidious ways that Facebook and other social media companies manipulate their users. In March, Facebook was sued in Australia for violations of the Privacy Act.
In October, censorship concerns landed a US Senate subpoena on Zuckerberg’s desk. Finally, in December, the US Federal Trade Commission, joined by 46 states, launched an anti-trust suit against Facebook.
Yet Kushner and Zuckerberg look saintly next to Harvey Weinstein, of whom little need be said other than that, in February, he was convicted of sexual assault and rape. The 68-year-old Weinstein is now serving a 23-year prison sentence.
On a more positive note, Doug Emhoff, also known as Mr Kamala Harris, took his place as part of the most diverse couple to appear on a national ballot. The happy marriage of Indian/African-American Harris with Jewish Emhoff was a welcome contrast to the divisive bigotry of the Trump Administration.
Jews of lesser prominence have also played significant roles in 2020 politics. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey became a leading figure in the response to the George Floyd murder. On November 24, Biden announced Antony Blinken as his nominee for Secretary of State. Recently, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has taken the national stage in rebuffing Trump’s challenges to the Pennsylvania election. Michigan AG Dana Nessel has played a similar role in her state.
https://the-jewish-independent.vercel.app/panel5/democrat-candidates-georgia-senate-vote-offer-bridge-decency/
As 2020 comes to a close, Jewish Jon Ossoff and African-American Raphael Warnock have their eyes set on victory in the upcoming Georgia Senate run-offs. Joe Biden’s ability to pass legislation and have his nominees approved hinges on their success.
Has there been a more prominent year for Jews in US history? None even comes close.
*Readers can enjoy the Harris-Emhoff Chanukah message
READ MORE
Two Jewish Wisconsin judges denounced a Trump lawsuit. Now anti-Semites are harassing them (JTA)
To understand red-state America, he urges a look at red-state Israel (NYT)
An Israeli sociologist argues that Trump voters, like Netanyahu supporters in Israel, have legitimate reasons to find liberal values threatening
Main photo: Scarlett Johansson in JoJo Rabbit, Bernie Sanders and Ruth Bader Ginsburg
