Tag Archives for Kristallnacht

Seeing Echoes of 1938 in Trump Administration

Published in Providence Journal on Oct. 18, 2025

As the nation-wide “No Kings” protest looms, I write with urgency and deep concern about the growing threats to America’s democratic institutions. At this point, expressions of worry are not enough to stop our 259-year-old democratic republic from drifting toward authoritarian rule. We see attacks on voting rights, efforts to weaken the independence of the courts, court rulings being ignored, and attempts to discredit the press—warning signs that cannot be brushed aside. Finally, we will see bold, visible action take place on Oct. 18th, with protests taking place in over 1,650 communities across all the United States, the District of Columbia and International. 

It was reported that the previous “No Kings” protest in June attracted about 5 million participants. Some say that this number could double, mobilizing up to 10 million people to participate. Elected officials – at local state and federal levels should join the protest in their local communities.

During an 80-minute press event in the Oval Office to announce the federal government’s tighter control of law enforcement inside the Beltway, President Donald Trump startled many Americans with a comment suggesting that perhaps the country might “like a dictator” in the White House. He quickly added that he was not a dictator, but rather a man of “great common sense.” 

Despite Trumps denials, his actions and the tone of his speeches and social media posts stroke division in ways that resemble the stages of the Nazi’s autocratic takeover of Germany.  It’s hard to believe his denials with his behavior of undermining democratic institutions that he claims to defend.

Still, the idiom “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” comes to mind. Americans should be forewarned.

Trumps sending the National Guard into Democratic cities, without the consent of state governors, who oppose his policies, clearly is a sign of autocratic behavior.  Governors and federal and state lawmakers in these states call these actions political over reach and the weaponization of the Justice Department.

History reminds us of the danger of hesitation. In the late 1930s, as the Nazi regime consolidated power, by taking control of the Reichstag (the German parliament) and enacting legislation that significantly undermined democratic processes.  

At that time too many German leaders just stood by.  Their silence fueled violence and oppression and allowed it to grow unchecked. That tragic failure shows the cost of waiting until it is too late.

Does this not sound familiar today?

I often wonder what I would have done during Kristallnacht—the “Night of Broken Glass” in November 1938—when mobs attacked Jewish homes, synagogues, and businesses even desecrating cemeteries. Would I have stepped forward to protect my neighbor or even attempt to stop the destruction? The horror of that night was enabled not only by the Brown Shirts or SA (Sturmagteilung), SS (Schutzstaffel), local police, and ordinary German citizens who carried out the rampage but also by the many who just looked away in the face of destruction.

Today we see disturbing echoes: immigrants packed into detention centers, families torn apart, and even U.S. citizens taken by masked ICE agents without warrants. These actions weaken our nation’s constitutional protections and send a chilling message that no one’s rights are secure. Such practices do not belong in a free society and push us closer to authoritarian control.

Eighty years later, I have the opportunity to raise my voice, to sound the alarm, to draw the similarities between then and now. The responsibility to resist does not rest solely on the shoulders of elected officials, but also with citizens who can no longer remain silent. This is our time to defend our constitutional democracy with courage and clarity. Future generations will remember whether we stood firm—or stood by and watched.

 Albert Einstein so aptly observed: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

The millions of Americans participating in the “No Kings” protest have united to resist authoritarianism and defend our democracy. Will you join this movement, or will you remain silent.

Religious Groups Urge House to Combat Antisemitism and Racism

Published in the Woonsocket Call on July 1, 2019

For the second year in a row, the Rhode Island General Assembly’s Senate Judiciary Committee heard a resolution, introduced by State Senator Donna Nesselbush (Democrat, District 15, Pawtucket), calling on lawmakers to denounce and oppose white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups. The resolution was co-sponsored by Senators Samuel Bell (Democrat, District 5, Providence), Joshua Miller (Democrat, District 28, Cranston), Gayle Goldin (Democrat, District 3, Providence) and Ana Quezada (Democrat, District 2, Providence),

The initial resolution, introduced in 2017, urged state police to consider White Nationalists and Neo Nazi groups as terrorists. Because of First Amendment concerns expressed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island that resolution was held for further study, and the language was reworked this run so as not to run afoul of free speech concerns.

Senate Moves to Fight Antisemitism and Racial Intolerance Head On

At the May 30 hearing, Nesselbush (Democrat, District 15, Pawtucket) pushed for passage of S0829, a resolution calling on Rhode Island to “denounce and oppose and the totalitarian impulses, violent terrorism, xenophobic’ biases, and bigoted ideologies that are promoted by white nationalists and neo-Nazis.” She reminded the Senate panel that Rhode Island was founded on Roger William’s principles of religious tolerance, and the state should denounce any type of white supremacy or neo-Nazism and take a stand for religious freedom and tolerance.

Nesslebush’s Senate resolution unanimously passed in Senate Judiciary Committee and ultimately on the Senate Floor. With its passage, no further action is required and the resolution will be transmitted to the Secretary of State, who is charged in the resolution with transmitting certified copies of the resolution to President Donald J. Trump, the members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, and Governor Gina Raimondo.

When asked about a House companion resolution that denounces and opposes White Nationalists and Neo Nazi groups, Larry Berman, the House’s Director of Communication, says that Rep. Jean Philippe Barros (Democrat, District 59, Pawtucket) had planned to introduce one but “because it was getting late in the session” he was unable to get his bill introduced. It should be noted that Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio allowed Nesselbush to introduce her Senate resolution recognizing its merit and importance to the Jewish community.

Calls for the House to Confront the Boldness of Hate Groups

As the House is poised to release its anticipated state budget, religious groups and supporters of Nesselbush’s resolution, call for the lower chamber to take a strong stand to denounce and oppose White Nationalists and Neo Nazi groups.

As President of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island, being active and serving as Rabbi at Temple Beth-El, Rabbi Sarah Mack, says it’s not too late for the to take a stand against antisemitism. “As Jews, we fight against bigotry and extremism because as a people we have experienced the danger of hate firsthand. While it is important to focus on extremism in all of its forms, we appreciate this resolution that calls attention to white supremacists, neo-Nazis and their hateful agenda. Because of this, I am so thankful to the Senate for passing this resolution, and I beseech our House leadership to do the same.”

Adds Adam Greenman, President and CEO of the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island, “we are committed to combating hatred in all forms. This resolution would give our state the opportunity to stand up against groups that promote anti-Semitism, white supremacy and other forms of toxic and dangerous rhetoric. We ask those in the House of Representatives to join us in supporting this resolution.”

Rev. Dr. Donnie Anderson, Executive Minister, of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, notes the importance for the House to support Nesslebush’s Senate resolution to fight hate. “In recent years hate speech has found a new platform in social media and is flourishing in the current political climate. This explosion of hate DEMANDS a response from our political leaders. Rhode Island is blessed with wonderful interfaith leaders who interact on a regular basis and have built an atmosphere of caring, respect and trust. This group consistently and often speaks against hate, but we need to hear from ALL of our political leaders. We urge passage of this timely and thoughtful resolution.”

Steve Ahlquist, a reporter at UpriseRI, a Rhode Island news web site covering progressive issues, testified in support of Nesselbush’s Senate resolution, gives his two cents about the importance of politicians combating hate groups. Ahlquist stressed, “Though this resolution is largely symbolic and does not have the force of law, it is important nonetheless that our elected officials ally themselves with Rhode Islanders most at risk of white supremacist violence. It has been documented by myself and others that these groups have twice come to our state to engage in violence, and have promised to return. Residents of Rhode Island need to know that our elected officials will have our backs when they are confronting these hate groups.”

“Our elected officials should be eager to repudiate white supremacy and neo-Nazism. There has been violence done and violence planned in Rhode Island by hate groups visiting our state. There has been and hate crimes at synagogues and mosques. The Senate passed a resolution with ease. It is truly the least we can expect from the House to follow suit,” says Ahlquist.

Rhode Island Religious Community Takes a Stand

For years, it has been reported that antisemitism is becoming firmly entrenched in the Ocean State. In 2017, the Providence Journal reported that the New England chapter of the Anti-Defamation League recorded 13 incidents of antisemitism in Rhode Island. Nazi swastikas were painted on a Providence building, at Broad Rock Middle School in North Kingstown, and even at a Pawtucket synagogue in Oakhill, just a five-minute walk from my house, reported Rhode Island’s largest daily.

When I testified for passage of Senate Resolution 0829, I told the Senators that I often wondered what I would have done if I stood on a street in Germany in 1938 seeing all those windows broken (during a two-day pogrom, referred to as Kristallnacht. Would I have the courage or the gumption to go up to somebody dressed in a brown shirt with a swastika armband and stop him from hitting an elderly Jew?
Hopefully yes, but who knows.

But, on May 30, 2019, at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, I sat beside Sen. Nesselbush and Steve Ahlquist as we “took a stand,” calling on the Committee to pass S 082. Knowing the wisdom in denouncing and opposing the hateful philosophy of white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups that is becoming all too common in Rhode Island, the Senate took its stand.

After all, Rhode Island was founded by Roger Williams on the principle of religious tolerance, and we’re the home of America’s oldest synagogue, the Touro Synagogue, in Newport. What does it say to the nation, and especially to the state’s Jewish, racial, ethnic, LGTBQ communities if the House does not take an opportunity to oppose and denounce hate in their own backyard?

Hopefully, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello will reconsider allowing a resolution, with no fiscal cost, to be introduced to give House lawmakers, like their Senate colleagues, an opportunity to oppose white nationalists and neo-Nazi groups. It is important for both chambers to take a legislative stand to combat the rising incidence of antisemitism and racist incidents. The resolution serves the purpose of sending the message, hate groups who are planning to come to Rhode Island to cause violence are not welcome here.