Hymie’s, a popular Philadelphia Jewish deli, raised some Jewish hackles when it served as the scene of the Republican Jewish Coalition’s closing ad — featuring Jewish actors playing older women who, after supporting Democrats, were switching their votes to Donald Trump.
So 10 days later, a Democratic organization stepped in to film a pro-Kamala Harris ad at the same deli, featuring real Jewish people from Pennsylvania — one of seven swing states both parties are closely focused on ahead of Tuesday’s close-fought election.
Former Gov. Ed Rendell, the state’s Democratic governor from 2003 to 2011, launches the Harris ad by sitting in a booth and contemplating his favorite Hymie’s offering, a turkey special. “They’re the best,” he says.
Lita Cohen — who served as a Republican in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1993 to 2002 — says her preference is the lox and bagels, but adds immediately, “I’m very upset with that recent Trump ad that stereotypes Jewish people,” a reference to local unhappiness with the deli for allowing the RJC to use its premises.
“Me too, it was really offensive,” says Silvi Specter, whose grandfather was U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, a longtime Republican who late in his career became a Democrat to help pass President Barack Obama’s health care reform.
Ken Silver, a past chairman of the Montgomery County Republican Party, leans in from another booth. “It’s been years of this!” He mentions Trump’s response to the 2017 neo-Nazi Charlottesville rally, in which Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
“We can’t have four more years of Trump embracing antisemitism, chaos and violence,” Rendell says. “It’s not good for our country and it’s sure not good for Israel.”
The Patriot Majority ad was shared by Michael Smerconish, a Pennsylvania-based political commentator on CNN and Sirius XM. “It was inevitable — here’s the Kamala Harris rebuttal to a pro-Donald Trump RJC ad running in swing states, filmed in the same suburban Philadelphia deli (Hymies) but featuring locals, including Gov. Ed Rendell,” Smerconish said.
The ad is paid for by Patriot Majority USA, a political action committee founded 14 years ago to counter the rise of the Tea Party, which was then in the early stages of becoming very influential within the Republican Party. The PAC did not return requests for comment; nor did Specter, who is now a marketing consultant.
Each ad seeks to identify the other party’s nominee with extremes: the RJC ad ties Vice President Kamala Harris to the anti-Israel protesters roiling campuses. “Oy vey,” one of the three actors says. “Trump I never cared for, but at least he’ll keep us safe.” That ad ends with the three women raising their mugs to a vote for Trump.
The RJC acknowledged that the women, whom it referred to as “bubbies,” are actors but said they were all Jewish and voting for Trump. It would not make them available for interviews.
The Patriot Majority ad similarly ends with all four people in the ad united in purpose. “I’m glad we all agree, Harris for President,” Rendell says as he reaches across the table and clutches Cohen’s hand.
Can anyone tell me Kamala’s accomplishments to be president other than she’s a Democrat? Placing an incompetent in the WH will affect everyone of us, Jewish or not.
Re: Hymie’s, the Philly Jewish Deli Featured in a Trump Ad, Is Now the Setting for a Harris Spot
This is the most irresponsible article I’ve seen in the Jewish exponent.
First, please get your facts straight. The author repeated the Charlottesville lie without any fact check. Trump NEVER called the neoNazis and white supremacists “fine people”. His full quote was shown on C-span, and it included: “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally”. The “fine people” referred to the demonstrators who simply objected to dismantling the Robert E Lee statue. But his condemnation of the neo-Nazi’s was left out of news reports, so eager was the media to portray Trump as a white supremacist and anti-Semite.
Your Rendell quote: ““We can’t have four more years of Trump embracing antisemitism, chaos and violence,” — What a vile falsehood! Embracing anti-semitism? Please!! You don’t have to love his personality or some of his cringe-inducing remarks, but Israel was much safer under his presidency. His sanctioning of Iran’s oil exports and freezing its bank accounts ensured Iran did not have the cash to support its proxies. Had the current administration not reversed Trump’s Iran policies, Hamas and Hezbollah would never have acquired the resources for the October 7 atrocities in Gaza or the endless rocket attacks from Lebanon.
Moreover Trump, during his presidency, called out the UN for its one-sided villification of Israel, halted funding the agencies (like UNWRA) that were most egregiously anti-Israel, declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel, moved the US embassy there, insisted on Israel’s right to defend itself, recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights, issued an executive order to withhold funds to universities tolerating anti-Semitism, and facilitated the Abraham accords. Some anti-Semite!
And “chaos and violence”?? Again, please!! Has the current (outgoing) administration lifted a finger to put a stop to the pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic activity on college campuses? The encampments? The harassing of Jewish students? Please let me know.
And might I remind everyone that Trump dramatically increased his support among Jews in the recent election. His share of the Jewish vote in New York was 43%. So clearly not everyone agrees with Mr. Rendell’s characterization, I mean character assassination.
It’s fine for the Jewish Exponent to show both sides of a dispute about a pro-Trump ad. But including a long-debunked lie about Charlottesville, as well as an egregiously vicious lie is not worthy of you. Please do better.
To Shoshana: I, too, sent in a rebuttal to the “Hymie’s” article. Although my response refuted the debunked Charlottesville lie, your response was far more explicit and better than mine. I did not see either of our responses in this week’s edition. I wish the Exponent would print your rebuttal so that people will realize that there are those of us who appreciate reading facts rather than selected words which only promote more fuel to an already misguided agenda. Thank you, Shoshana.