And They're Off!

The following is my latest column in The Jewish Link of New Jersey, in which I take a look at the most recent developments in the 2016 presidential race:

AND THEY’RE OFF!

By: N. Aaron Troodler, Esq.

After months of speculation and conjecture, the race is officially underway. The starter pistol has been fired, the starting gate has opened, and the candidates have begun their run around the track. The 2016 presidential contest has formally commenced.

With much anticipated formal campaign announcements, newly unveiled websites, and fresh logos, a number of recently declared presidential candidates have hit the road to take their case directly to the voters.

On the Republican side, there is no shortage of declared candidates, with several others waiting not so quietly in the wings. Conversely, on the Democratic side there is but one confirmed entrant in the presidential race, setting up what may be one of the most anti-climactic primary seasons ever.

The first one to throw his hat into the ring was Ted Cruz, a Senator from Texas. With his ultra-conservative views and close association with Tea Party figures and ideals, Cruz will have an extraordinarily difficult time trying to get the various factions in the Republican Party to coalesce around his candidacy. Even if lightening was to strike and he somehow secures his party’s nomination, the Democratic candidate running against him in the General Election would quickly embrace the opportunity to paint his or her GOP opponent as a conservative radical who is completely out of touch with mainstream America. Running for president may boost Ted Cruz’s national profile, but it will not earn him a ticket to the White House.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the next Republican to jump into the race. A libertarian who preaches fiscal conservatism and is a strong advocate for smaller government, Paul is also aligned with the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party. As he tries to appeal to mainstream Republicans in an effort to garner their support, Paul runs the risk of alienating his base if he deviates from his conservative ideals in a substantive manner. It is a tough balancing act that I believe will fall short.

Perhaps the most intriguing candidate to enter the race thus far is Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. With his youthful exuberance, unbridled optimism, and boundless energy, Rubio is a candidate that is worth watching as he works to build a broad coalition within his party. With a pledge to look ahead and not dwell on the past, Marco Rubio is not only taking a dig at his once-mentor Jeb Bush and the 67-year-old Hillary Clinton, he is also endeavoring to blaze a trail to a better and stronger America that he hopes will lead him straight to the White House.

In the “I am strongly considering running for president” category, there is an array of other Republicans, all of whom believe that they are capable of being the standard bearer for the GOP and in the best position to retake the White House.

The aforementioned Jeb Bush, a scion of a powerful political family that has already seen two of its members take up residence in the White House, is expected to enter the race. With a vast fundraising network and a famous last name, it is anticipated that he will be a serious contender, though Jeb has his work cut out for him if he wants to successfully paint himself as his own person and not just another “Bush.”

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is another likely GOP presidential hopeful who has the ability to capture the spotlight as well as support. After recently leading a trade mission to France, Spain and Germany in a not-so-subtle effort to buttress his foreign policy experience, Walker is talking and acting like a person who is preparing to formalize his candidacy for the presidency.

New Jersey’s own Chris Christie is ramping up his presidential exploratory efforts as he inches closer to a formal announcement. With a recent trip to New Hampshire where he held a town hall style meeting, Christie is testing the presidential primary waters and assessing if his blunt approach to retail politics is the fresh approach that Republican voters in key states are looking for.

In addition, there is a long list of other Republicans who are purportedly contemplating running for president, including Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Rick Perry, Dr. Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina, although I do not believe that any of these folks has the wherewithal to break through what it is already a crowded and competitive GOP field.

On the Democratic side, there are a number of people who are reportedly considering a presidential run. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, and former Senator and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee have all expressed interest in running. Vice President Joe Biden is often mentioned as a possibility, although I do not think that he is serious about a White House run at this point. The problem for all of these Democrats is that there is another Democrat that has already staked her claim to the spotlight. That Democrat is Hillary Clinton.

With her much-anticipated announcement this week that she is indeed running for president, Hillary arguably locked up the nomination before a single vote has been cast in a primary. Almost immediately after she made her candidacy official through a web video, the endorsements started rolling in from scores of other prominent Democrats.

As she attempts to avoid the missteps that felled her 2008 presidential run, Hillary and her army of supporters are going to desperately try to dispel the widespread notion that this is a coronation and not a campaign. Securing a presidential nomination is not about entitlement; it is about exerting an extraordinary effort to sell oneself to the voters. As a former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Hillary is undoubtedly qualified to lead. However, the devil is in the details, and many voters are waiting for Hillary to articulate her vision for the future of this country before they commit to supporting the presumptive Democratic nominee.

With Hillary a virtual certainty to be on the ballot in the general election, it is the Republican contest that has the ability to captivate the nation in the months ahead. Should he decide to run, Jeb Bush has the ability to catapult to the front of the GOP pack. That being said, he should keep looking over his shoulder at the candidate that I believe is capable of shocking the Republican establishment.

In 2008, a young and relatively obscure senator named Barack Obama came out of nowhere to win his party’s nomination, and ultimately the presidency. In 2016, there is again the possibility that a young and relatively obscure senator could come out of nowhere to win his party’s nomination. That senator’s name is Marco Rubio.

With several candidates already having declared their candidacies and others sure to follow, the 2106 presidential race has officially begun. Hang on to your seat – this should be an exhilarating (and exhausting!) ride.

N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political consulting firm. Visit him on the Web at TroodlersTake.blogspot.com, www.PaulReverePR.com, or www.JewishWorldPR.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @troodler

Merci Beaucoup

The following is my latest column in The Jewish Link of New Jersey, in which I reflect on my recent trip to Paris and examine the challenges that face the French Jewish community and European Jewry in light of the frightening rise in anti-Semitism there:

MERCI BEAUCOUP

By: N. Aaron Troodler, Esq.

I did not even get a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower. Not only did I not see the Eiffel Tower, I also did not see The Lourve, Champs-Elysees, Musee d’Osray, or the Arc de Triomphe. Though it was my first trip to Paris, I did not see any of the sights that this enchanted city is famous for. What I did see, however, was something that was far more important and meaningful than French tourist attractions.

My inaugural trip to Paris, which was professional in nature, lasted less than twenty-four hours. I landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport, and before I knew it, I was back at the airport early the next morning to catch my return flight to the United States. My trip may have been a whirlwind, but it was magical in a spiritually uplifting way.

It is a tumultuous time for the Jewish community in France. In January, just days after the brutal attack at the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in which twelve people were killed, an Islamic extremist entered the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket near Porte de Vincennes and began a day-long siege during which the gunman murdered four Jewish hostages.

In February, approximately 300 graves were desecrated in a Jewish cemetery in Sarre-Union, and there were swastikas drawn on headstones in Jewish cemeteries in Challans and Issoudun.

It was only three years ago that a gunman opened fire in a Jewish school in Toulouse, killing a teacher and three children.

Anti-Semitic attacks in France have risen drastically. In fact, there were twice as many anti-Semitic attacks in 2014 than in 2013.

The situation has deteriorated to the point that Prime Minister Netanyahu made a public plea for French Jews to leave their country and emigrate to Israel.

It was against this frightening backdrop that I made my first journey to France.

My first stop in Paris was not a famed Parisian landmark; rather, it was Les Docks de Paris, a convention center located on the outskirts of the city. It was there that my French spiritual journey began and ended.

Thousands of people filed into the cavernous convention hall with much anticipation and amidst a great deal of security. They were gathering to celebrate the conclusion of the seven-year cycle of the Daf Yomi B’Halacha, in which participants worldwide engage in daily learning of Jewish law. Dirshu, an organization that encourages Torah study in a wide array of subject matters with a particular emphasis on review and retention of the material learned, organized a worldwide siyum celebration, with events being held in the United States, Israel, England, South Africa, and France.

When the world-renowned rabbinic figures featured at the event entered the room and took their places at the tiered-dais, the band began to play and the crowd broke into festive song. People were clamoring to see the rabbis and excitedly taking pictures and videos on their cell phones in order to record the moment for posterity.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, the attendees heard remarks from a number of prominent rabbis. There was a great deal of inspirational singing and dancing throughout the program. It was truly a celebration to behold.

When Rabbi Dovid Hofstedter, the founder of the Dirshu organization, rose to speak, he received a tremendous ovation from the capacity crowd. In my view, that incredible reception was a heartfelt expression of gratitude to a child of Holocaust survivors who brought this momentous event to their community in order to help lift the cloud of uncertainty that has been hovering over them as they struggle to cope with the anti-Semitism that has plagued them.

“The first thing that we have to remember is that God is with us and we cannot be afraid,” Rabbi Hofstedter told the crowd.

The event that day was a true celebration of the resiliency and resurgence of the Jewish people. As members of the French Jewish community grapple with frequent attacks intended to break their spirit, this momentous event gave them a unique opportunity to present a unified front and demonstrate to the world that they will not succumb to the hate.

On the same day as the Dirshu event, residents of Paris went to the polls to cast their votes in the local elections. As Rabbi Avraham Weill, the Chief Rabbi of Toulouse, entered his local polling place, he was stopped and told that he needed to remove his yarmulke. Although the situation was ultimately resolved and he was permitted to vote while wearing his head covering, the mere fact that this occurred is undoubtedly a cause for alarm and a stark reminder of the bigotry that exists.

Europe in 2015 is a far different place than Europe was in the late 1930s and early 1940s, yet the underlying anti-Semitism that was exhibited in horrific and unspeakable ways during the Holocaust exists even today, seventy years later.

Jews should not have to walk through the streets of Paris with the fear that they may be targeted and attacked solely because they are Jews. European Jewry may be alive and well despite Hitler’s ruthless attempt to destroy them, but they are under siege.

In the face of growing anti-Semitism, do European Jews need to remain vigilant at all times? Of course. Should European Jews pick up and flee their homes and countries, as has been suggested by some? The answer, in my opinion, is absolutely not.

After witnessing the mass gathering in Paris, during which French Jews gathered to celebrate their faith in a proud and public fashion, I was reminded just how strong and resolute the Jewish soul is. European Jews steadfastly refuse to allow the racism and hate that they encounter to adversely affect their religious observance or negatively impact their Jewish identity and pride.

Anti-Semitism is gaining traction in Europe and bigotry is rearing its ugly head all too often, yet our Jewish brethren in Europe refuse to succumb to the hate. I felt extremely privileged to observe the unyielding nature of the French Jewish community as they assembled to celebrate Jewish learning and Jewish life, despite the anti-Semitism that lurks in the shadows.

I arrived in Paris with a touch of apprehension. I left Paris with a great degree of spiritual satisfaction. To the French Jewish community, I say “merci beaucoup.”

N. Aaron Troodler is an attorney and principal of Paul Revere Public Relations, a public relations and political consulting firm. Visit him on the Web at TroodlersTake.blogspot.com, www.PaulReverePR.com, or www.JewishWorldPR.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @troodler