Like Jews everywhere, Halie Soifer celebrated last week’s release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages held in Gaza. As CEO of the decidedly partisan Jewish Democratic Council of America, she went one surprising step further: The dyed-in-the-wool progressive Democrat praised Donald Trump.
“I’m enthusiastically giving him credit for achieving this breakthrough,” she told J. “If it means a return of all hostages, then he deserves an abundance of credit.”
That’s as far as she’s willing to go. Otherwise, Soifer considers Trump an anti-constitutional authoritarian who is dismantling the federal government and twisting the rule of law to enact policies of revenge and retribution.
The mission of her organization has always been to elect Democrats, a task she now considers essential in rescuing American democracy.
Post-election studies show that Jews voted overwhelmingly for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, with the Jewish Electorate Institute concluding the Democratic candidate took 71 percent of the Jewish vote (other polls showed a tighter race, though all showed Harris the clear winner among Jewish voters).
Soifer’s organization seeks to build on that in the 2026 midterms, flipping Congress from red to blue as a check on Trump. The JDCA endorses only Democratic candidates, as long as they are in alignment with the Jewish values championed by the JDCA. Among them are tzedek (justice), ahavat ha’ger (welcoming the stranger), tikkun olam (repair of the world) and ahavat Yisrael (love of the Jewish people), meaning “thriving, safe, and secure Jewish communities in the U.S., Israel, and around the world,” according to the JDCA mission statement.
While Soifer was in the region for an event in Los Altos with a JDCA affiliate, the Jewish Democratic Coalition of the Bay Area, she spoke with J. to drill down on her views regarding the fraught political climate, the dangers she sees in the Trump administration and the momentous news coming out of Israel.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Now that Israel has welcomed home the last of the living hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7, what are your thoughts about the ongoing consequences of that terrible day?
Like so many American Jews with deep ties to Israel, we are all living with a sense of collective trauma. We may never fully recover. We’ve seen that is the case with Israelis. The sheer devastation of that day will never leave us, and the aftermath of that will never leave us, including politically. We’ve seen increasing divisions regarding [American] policy toward Israel, a range of views we’ve never encountered before. We know the majority of American Jews are pro-Israel, but many also disagree with the policies of the current Israel government.
We’ve also seen an increase of antisemitism in America, including violent incidents. We’ve seen a White House that has exploited the rise of antisemitism to pursue its agenda of defunding universities and deporting foreigners without due process. This too has been a great challenge. The actions of this administration run counter to core Jewish values, whether persistent attacks on our democracy and freedoms, or policies regarding immigration, health care and what I would describe as a very mixed policy regarding Israel. The return of the hostages doesn’t blind us to the fact that American Jews despise this president. His policies are antithetical to our core values.
And yet you give him credit for the release of the hostages and the apparent end of the Gaza war.
I’m enthusiastically giving him credit for achieving this breakthrough. If it means a return of all hostages, then he deserves an abundance of credit. But it doesn’t change the fact that he is taking our country toward authoritarianism. He’s abusing the rule of law to pursue a policy of political retribution, and he’s threatening our fundamental freedoms. While he has helped Israel move forward, it does not change his abysmal record here in America.
With Republicans controlling every branch of government, how do you and the Democratic Party plan to fight back?
The most effective way to push back is to take this fight to the ballot box and to defeat those MAGA Republicans who have been complicit in enacting Trump’s agenda, whether cutting 17 million off of Medicaid benefits, or refusing to renew the [Affordable Care Act] health care subsidies for tens of millions of Americans. We are doing what we can to be sure they are defeated. And we are winning. Democrats have won nearly every special election this year, or overperformed. I also think Democrats in Congress are using the tools they have to push back. When you don’t have control, it is quite limited in what those tools are. While Democrats agreed to fund the government in March, the shutdown is a result of Democrats fighting back, refusing to go along with the GOP agenda.
In California, we have Prop. 50 on the ballot, which would require a redistricting plan that will surely benefit Democrats. How do you feel about Gov. Newsom’s plan, as well as his social media strategy of lampooning Trump?
Prop. 50 is a demonstration of Democrats fighting fire with fire, given the Trump gerrymandering crusade to redraw districts in their favor in a non-redistricting year, another demonstration of their manipulation of democracy. While I wish we weren’t in a situation to play this game, for too long Democrats have not fought back with equal measure of tactics. If they’re going to steal five seats in Texas, there will be redistricting [jn blue states]. With regard to Newsom’s incredibly effective social media strategy, it’s another demonstration of fighting fire with fire. In some ways it’s satirical, but it’s great he’s broadening the engagement politically. The message to MAGA is how ridiculous [Trump] is.
Has it been harder for your organization to be politically liberal and pro-Zionist at the same time, given the left’s generally more strident criticisms of Israel over the last two years?
We are a proud pro-Israel and democatic movement. We are confident in our core beliefs, our support of Israel’s security and future as a Jewish state, a sentiment shared by the vast majority of Jewish Americans. At the same time, we know many do disagree with the policies of this Israeli government and the way this war has been prosecuted. We see a rising number of Democrats voicing similar concerns. Yet Democrats have demonstrated the ability to see Israel’s security beyond just this war in Gaza.
A consequence of the war in Gaza has been a dramatic upsurge in anti-Zionist sentiment on the part of young people around the world, and very much so in this country. What are your thoughts about that, and how do you plan to counter it?
We do see a generational divide. There are various reasons that go beyond the war in Gaza. Most young people today have become politically aware in the age of Netanyahu and Trump, whereas I first went to Israel when [Yitzhak] Rabin was prime minister. The foundation of my love for Israel was forged in a different moment. I regret that young people over the last eight years haven’t had that experience. As an organization, that is something we are cognizant of and working on. Every election year, we bring on about 50 new employees on college campuses, who work with our partner organizations to honor election work, and become part of our movement. We have a youth voter network with which we try to expand outreach and engagement.
How do you stay optimistic during such an uncertain time in American political history, and a time truly frightening to liberals like yourself?
I am hopeful. We know the most effective way to change the trajectory of this country and to defend our democracy is to use the most fundamental tool of that democracy: that is, to vote. That record of overperforming in the 2025 elections gives me hope that Democrats will continue this momentum. We’re focused on winning elections.