Cindy Grosz
Cindy GroszC.G.

Welcome to the last few days of 2021!

We thought 2020 was bad, then we got 2021. So as the saying goes, “Before Moshiach, comes a very bad time.”

The last week of 2021 we hear from rabbis, organizations and public figures requesting last minute contributions with tax deductions and filings about your money and generosity.

I received so much response about my recent blog about rabbis' misplaced adulation religious-wise about Doug Emhoff that my follow up ties nicely and gives you a homework assignment — research and ask questions. There is so much “fake news” out there that sounds believable that the only person you should trust is yourself, that is, if you do your own investigations.

Tips

There is no black and white in the world today. There are so many shades of gray. You must decide how dark you like your shade.

Here is an example. Last month, multiple Jewish organizations, rabbis and “celebrities” joined in Times Square, New York for a huge Hannukah celebration. The emcee was Eboni K. Williams, reality star of The Real Housewives of New York. I bet many of those who organized the event never watched an episode or read the headlines of the disaster last season was ratings wise, so much so that the show is on indefinite hiatus.

I have known Eboni K. Williams since 2017. Beautiful and outspoken, she is not an anti-Semite. I promise you that. The Eboni I know is so different, it’s sometimes scary watching her on that show. Her storyline was filled with Black Lives Matter rhetoric and a Shabbat meal so embarrassing that non-Jews now think our Friday night dinners are a joke.

There have been multiple Jewish stars through the years, including Jill Zarin, Jules Wainstein, Aviva Drescher, Cindy Barshop, Elyse Slaine, Barbara Kavovit, plus Harry Dubin, Jacques Azoulay and through marriage, Heather Thomson. Bethenny Frankel’s father was Jewish and her mother converted, and her Jewishness was part of her storyline.

I have yet to see a Black Lives Matter event emceed by a Zionist Jew. I have yet to hear an apology from their leadership for desecrating Jewish businesses. Research everything I share and rethink those donations. Why can’t these Jewish leaders support our own? I can’t tell you how many people reached out to me about this event.

Republicans and Jews

As a proud Jewish Republican, I can promise you, not every Republican (even Jewish) has Israel and American Jewish constituents as a priority. It’s sad, because they ran or promoted themselves as the voice for Jews and did and said all the “right” things to convince you they were for you? But, are they really? Only time will tell. Lucky for us, we will find out sooner rather than later.

Follow paper trails and press from the past few years. It’s all out there about anti-Semitism and Jew hate, some tied to Republican leadership. Let’s look at Rockland County, New York. Lawrence Garvey is still the chairman despite an anti-Semitic video in 2019 and the November 2021 public outrage of a man speaking of Jew hate at a public hearing.

Jews in Monsey are lost. They have to deal with a progressive Democrat Congressman, Mondaire Jones, and a Republican leadership marred by Jew hate.

That’s not the only county dealing with this conflict.

I am often asked to give my thoughts when news breaks on anti-Semitism and Republicans. Here they are: I can not support anti-Semitism from my party if I want it to end in the Democrat party. I am not willing to be a hypocrite.

Social Media

Finally, everyone is a Jewish “Brand Ambassador.” That’s scary. I know of several Instagram accounts run by people who are begging you for attention. They say one thing on a post, then actually do another secretly. They photoshop, they edit and they beg people for attention. They don’t have the contacts they claim they do. But, they post often enough to make people believe that their voice counts. It doesn’t. They can be dangerous, as many follow them, only to find out the truth when it’s too late.

I don’t care if I upset the establishment, I care about the truth!

So, before you give that last dollar of charitable donations or pledge support to any candidate ask yourself, “How should this person earn my money, support and vote?”

Cindy Grosz is an award-winning former teacher. She is the author of Rubber Room Romance. Grosz is the host of Cindy’s Political Corner which can be downloaded through iHeartRadio, Spotify and all major podcast outlets. She is the chair of Jewish Vote GOP. She ran for Congress in 2020 and was an advisor for the National Diversity Coalition for Trump. She can be reached at [email protected]