Shabbat shalom, may this Sabbath bring all of us safety and good health, protection and rejuvenation.
Sometimes words can become strong political actions, and they too can have a place in this war. Thursday, the Trump administration announced that it will prevent Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas from traveling to New York to address the UN General Assembly next month for the second year in a row. Abbas reached out to Turkish President Erdogan, asking him to intervene and persuade President Donald Trump in an attempt to reverse the decision, but for now, the ban is staying on this terrorist who is committed to the destruction of Israel from entering the U.S.
We all need to be paying more attention to the candidates running for office both locally and nationally. Not just those getting a lot of publicity, like Abdul Mohammed El-Sayyed, the Islamic candidate for Michigan who has publicly said repeatedly that the Islamic goal is to validate "progressives" in order for them to vote for Islamic candidates who are devout Muslims so that Muslim values can take hold in America. But other candidates who are emulating Mamdani and El-Sayyed's campaign strategies hope for Mamdani's success and seek to change the foundational values and practices of America (including fomenting attacks on Jews).
Here in California, State Sen. Aisha Wahab officially won the congressional race in the state's 14th district, defeating the more moderate Melissa Hernandez with a result of 53% to 47%. This was the election replacing Eric Stalwell, and it is in the southern area of Alameda County. Wahab constantly and consistently accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and repeatedly demanded that the U.S. stop helping Israel in any way. Candidates like Wahab and El-Sayyed are running for office on all levels of government from the most local to the most national. They are all running under a DSA platform, which is attempting to control the Democratic Party, and which is committed to abandoning Israel in all ways.
But it is not just the candidates on the political left. Republican candidates like Dan Blizarian are also committed not only to abandoning Israel but to publicly condemning Jews and actively and specifically supporting "Hitler's solution.”
Right or left, it is imperative that all of us do everything possible to prevent the vitriolic Jew-hatred on both the extreme left and extreme right from gaining power. For history has shown that Jews are the canary in the coal mine, and the more Jew-hatred is accepted in this country, the more likely this country, as we have known it, will not survive.
This week's Torah portion teaches us what to do "when" we go to war, not "if,” but "when.” We are to be compassionate, yes, but only AFTER we achieve victory. If circumstances are such that we must go to war, we are required to go fully so that it can be totally finished quickly. Then, and only then, we are to be compassionate.
Midrash Tachuma, repeated by Maimonides, teaches an important quote for us all to remember in these challenging times: "He who is compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the compassionate."
Let us all remember that teaching as we experience the political machinations of both parties, of domestic policy, and of the politics of the world.
Chazak u'Baruch and Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Michael Barclay
August 21, 2026
8th of Elul, 5786
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