By Keshet
We at Keshet know that the stakes could not be higher for the 2024 presidential election — for LGBTQ+ people, Jews, all who hold marginalized identities — truly for all of us living in the United States. This election is a struggle between two vastly different visions of the future. One, a democracy in which our rights as LGBTQ+ people and as Jews are protected and where we can flourish, where we are all made B’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image; and another, a Christian nationalist theocracy, in which only a very small minority are deemed worthy of rights.
The vision for the latter has been systematically laid out and made public in Project 2025. And it is terrifying. There are those who claim the lack of a strategic political plan limited the effectiveness of Donald Trump’s first presidency; Project 2025, which was authored by a group that includes 31 individuals who have served in the Trump administration at various levels, attempts to rectify that.
Project 2025 is a 900+ page strategic plan, coordinated by The Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and a key architect of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislative agenda we have seen pushed in state houses across the country. Project 2025 is a public declaration of a plan to transform our country into a socially conservative nation. Within the first few pages of the playbook, its authors declare that LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive freedom, separation of church and state, and diversity and equity must be erased as they conflict with Christian nationalist beliefs.
The implementation of Project 2025 would pose tremendous threats to the legal protections, healthcare access, educational opportunities, social acceptance, and economic stability of all LGBTQ+ Americans. We are already seeing this awful reality play out — and are fighting back against it — in states that have passed the laws Project 2025 aims to make the law of the land. Specific anti-LGBTQ+ policies outlined in the plan include:
Rollback of Anti-Discrimination Protections: Project 2025 aims to redefine “sex” under federal law to exclude gender identity, which would eliminate protections for transgender individuals under civil rights laws. With the rollback of federal protections, LGBTQ+ individuals across the country would face increased discrimination in hiring, firing, workplace conditions, and public accommodations like hospitals, hotels, and airports.
Restrictions on Gender-Affirming Care: Project 2025 includes policies that restrict access to gender-affirming healthcare. This could involve banning or severely limiting best-practice medical treatments supported by all major medical groups and authorities, which would devastate the physical and mental health of LGBTQ+ youth and adults.
Removal of Curriculum and Safe Spaces: Project 2025 advocates for “rejecting gender ideology and critical race theory” in education. This could lead to the removal of LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula and the reduction of safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students in schools as well as denying vital education about the history and current realities of race and racism in this country for all students.
Project 2025 seeks to erode the separation of church and state, strip away individual liberties, and empower White supremacists. When our government trends toward extremist White Christian hegemony, all people who hold minority identities, including Jews, suffer the consequences. Project 2025 policies that deny rights to religious minorities include:
Rolling Back Civil Rights Protections: For Jewish Americans, this could mean reduced safeguards against religious discrimination in workplaces, schools, and public spaces. An example of one of the more overt manifestations of this risk includes the proliferation and passage of Chaplain Bills, where Christian clergy replace specially trained guidance counselors in public schools, as well as the mandate for scripture and Christian religious symbols to be displayed in public schools and other public places. These practices are already being proposed in various states, which Keshet has been working to defeat.
Dismantling Key Protection Against Antisemitic Violence: The Department of Justice and the FBI are the leading agencies tracking and stopping antisemitic attacks. According to Project 2025, the DOJ would become a political arm of the White House, prosecuting the president’s political enemies. The FBI would be eliminated. Domestic counter-terrorism efforts would be greatly curtailed, if not ended entirely. As Jay Michaelson asked in The Forward: “The overwhelming majority of antisemitic attacks, from the Tree of Life on down, are perpetrated by right-wing Christian Nationalists. With the FBI and DOJ hobbled, who will prevent the next massacre before it takes place?”
Project 2025’s success hinges on public support for its agenda. It has already provoked strong opposition from advocacy groups, civil rights organizations, and affected communities. Policies that are perceived as too extreme or that infringe upon rights and protections enjoyed by diverse communities will face significant opposition.
An important overarching note of hope: It is essential to remember that equality and nondiscrimination policies — including those that protect LGBTQ+ people — are extremely popular among Americans across all political parties, races, and religions. According to a 2023 Public Religion Research Institute study, 76% of Americans supported policies that protect LGBTQ+ Americans from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodation.
There is a lot in the Project 2025 plan, so remember this: Christian nationalists want to impose their narrow religious beliefs on all of us. Project 2025 would directly harm Jews, end LGBTQ+ rights, assert control over people’s bodies, and use the education system to indoctrinate and harm our children.
Our ability to mobilize will impact public perception. Too few people know about Project 2025 yet polling shows that the more people know about Project 2025, the more they oppose it. Warning even one person about the threat can make a difference: Who do you know who cares about the issues Project 2025 targets (basically everything!)?
Let’s share the message: This election is a choice between visions of two different futures. Which one do you want?
We know that organizing our people and taking action to affirm our values and our rights is the only way forward. We invite you to join us and ensure that your communities understand what is at stake right now for LGBTQ+ people and the Jewish community. Learn more about how to defend our rights here!
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