March 17, 2016 — New York, New York
AJC is strictly non-partisan. It abstains from taking stands on candidates and is content to let the electoral processes play out. But when the process is infected with threats of violence and disruption, it is not a candidate at issue; it is the viability of democracyitself.
Violence and threat of violence have no place in American politics. There should be no threats to disrupt political rallies and no threats to disrupt a convention ifa candidate is denied the nomination by his party’s convention. Too many democracies have failed, to be replaced by autocratic governments, when violence became a sanctioned political tool, especially by those who feel disenfranchised and choose not to await ordinary change at the ballot box.
We do not draw analogies to the rise of communism and fascism lightly,but both of those tyrannical movements rose to power replacing democratically elected governments,by virtue of threats of, or actual, violence against their opponents.
The political season is a long one, and in the heat of the moment, candidatesand their supporters say and do things they do not mean or which they phrase carelessly. We hopethat the violence seen so far is an aberration which stops now.Those who have resorted to, or sanctioned, violence need to repudiate it now. Nothing less than the survival of American democracy is at stake.
AJC, a non-partisan advocacy organization, does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office.
