The differing testimony from two Holocaust survivors, both from New York, is emblematic of the splintering views among Jewish voters after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that has not only brought back painful memories of World War II but a new wave of antisemitism.

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A new ad from former President Donald Trump’s campaign attempts to push back against comments from Vice President Kamala Harris calling the GOP nominee a “fascist.” It features a Holocaust survivor who said the allegation disgraces his murdered family members.

Auschwitz Survivor, Jerry Wartski: “I know more about Hitler than Kamala will ever know in a thousand lifetimes. For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my 75 years of living in the United States.” pic.twitter.com/KXwCr9Gz8L

— Dan Scavino Jr.🇺🇸🦅 (@DanScavino) October 25, 2024

“Adolf Hitler invaded Poland when I was 9 years old. He murdered my parents and most of my family,” said 94-year-old Jerry Wartski, an Auschwitz survivor and retired New York City real estate investor, in the ad released last week.

“I know more about Hitler than Kamala will ever know in a thousand lifetimes. For her to accuse President Trump of being like Hitler is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my 75 years living in the United States,” Wartski added. “I know President Trump, and he would never say this. And Kamala Harris knows it. She owes my parents and everybody else who was murdered by Hitler an apology for repeating this lie.”

The Trump campaign released the ad after Democrats compared Trump to Hitler last week, pointing to a New York Times interview with Trump’s former chief of staff, retired Gen. John Kelly, who said the former president’s actions fit within the definition of a fascist. Another report from the Atlantic last week said Trump praised Hitler for having generals who were loyal to him, an account the former president’s campaign has denied.

Harris has not directly called Trump “Hitler” but said she thinks Trump is a fascist and quoted Kelly.

Democrats found a new opportunity to appeal to Jewish voters after Trump held a mega-rally at Madison Square Garden that was condemned for racist remarks and for harkening back to a 1939 Nazi event at the arena. Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY) said Trump evoked “Hilter’s white nationalism” and posted a video of a constituent who is also a Holocaust survivor.

Last night—evoking Hitler’s white nationalism—you said “America is for Americans and Americans only.”@stephenm spare me the lectures on your fascist rhetoric.

Listen to my constituent Elizabeth Bellak—a Holocaust survivor—explain why you and your boss are dangerous to the U.S. https://t.co/Cu5IJjimLF pic.twitter.com/Xhldbud8XG

— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) October 28, 2024

“When I heard that Donald Trump wanted to — I don’t know if he wanted to follow him, but that Kelly who worked with him said that [Trump] admired Hitler,” said 93-year-old Elizabeth Bellak, who is a Holocaust survivor. “So, if he admired Hitler, who was a fascist, so what — he wants to do the same and to be Hitler?” she questioned.

Bellak said Trump does not care about America and that all he cares about is “vengeance against people who are against him.”

“When he is saying he wants to take the army and prosecute the people who are against him, this is something unbelievable. I just don’t want the old fears to repeat here,” she said. 

A large majority of Jewish people have consistently voted for Democrats, but the Israel-Hamas war is highlighting the divide within the party over Israel policy. Republicans believe the spike in antisemitism unleashed by last year’s attack in Israel that has led to widespread protests will erode Jewish support for Harris.

The Republican Jewish Coalition released a final ad that shows three Jewish women talking about Israel being under attack and the threat of rising antisemitism on college campuses. The organization is spending $15 million on advertising across battleground states this cycle, the most spent during an election in the group’s history.

One woman said she has never liked Trump, but “at least he’ll keep us safe.” Across the table, another woman said she has never voted Republican in her life, but she’s voting for Trump because Harris is “busy defending the squad.” 

“You don’t have to like Donald Trump, but Donald Trump will keep the Jewish community safe,” said Sam Markstein, national political director for the RJC. “There is this collective angst and anxiety and fear, frankly, permeating and palpable in the Jewish community like never before. 

“So, whether you are a Republican who is getting out to vote proudly for Donald Trump or if you’re a Democrat Jewish voter who’s never voted for the Republican in your life, we’re seeing this across the board that there’s an accelerated movement toward the Republican Party this year,” he said.

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A poll conducted by the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, showed Harris led Trump, 67% to 31%, among likely Jewish voters. Polling conducted for the Jewish Democratic Council of America found Harris led Trump, 71% to 26%, among Jewish voters in seven battleground states.

Markstein is making the case that Harris’s embrace of the “fascist” rhetoric is turning off voters, specifically Jewish ones.

“This closing message now is this deranged lunacy that Trump is Hitler. I think they’re actually turning off a lot of the same undecided voters that they actually need to win over. I think it’s a big tactical mistake, I think they are going to bore on this for whatever reason, and I think it’s going to backfire on them,” he said.

“It’s just morally wrong and reprehensible, and frankly, it desensitizes us to real antisemitism, which is skyrocketing to unprecedented levels here at home,” he added.

Meanwhile, JDC PAC’s final ad, titled “Our Choice,” includes footage of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks with images of the 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville along with other neo-Nazi protests.

“This is a difficult time for many Jewish Americans, a time filled with uncertainty,” the ad’s narrator says. “Our choice will impact our families and our democracy for years to come.”

The spot also touches on comments Trump made in mid-September in which he asserted “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with” his loss if Harris were to win on Election Day.

“Donald Trump is openly scapegoating Jews,” the narrator says, followed by comments from Harris in which she says: “That is antisemitism, and that is unacceptable.”

Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, who is Jewish, believes Democrats’ final message is effective and that “Donald Trump did bring this on himself.”

“While I don’t generally approve of or think it’s helpful for the Jews in any way to throw around ‘Hilter this or Hitler that,’ the former president brought this on himself by saying favorable things about Hitler and the people that surrounded Hitler,” Reinish said. 

“Nobody pulled this out of thin air. This was detailed by former senior staffers, many of whom are extraordinarily high-ranking military figures entrusted with national defense and safety,” he added, alluding to Kelly’s comments from the New York Times story.

Harris has attempted to connect with skeptical Jewish voters, deploying her Jewish husband to critical battleground states. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff gave a speech on Monday in Pittsburgh, miles away from the synagogue in which the worst attack on Jews in U.S. history occurred, claiming that Trump would turn on the Jews “on a dime.”

“Donald Trump demands loyalty, but he is loyal to nothing but himself,” Emhoff said. “If it suited his personal interests, Trump would turn his back on Israel and the Jewish people on a dime.”

Emhoff declared that he and Harris were committed to “extinguishing” antisemitism, calling it an “epidemic of hate.”

“There is a fire in this country, and we either pour water on it or we pour gasoline on it,” he said.

While the majority of Jews live in states that aren’t considered traditional battlegrounds, such as California, New York, New Jersey, and New York, they represent about 2% of the population of Pennsylvania and Arizona, which are hotly contested. Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina also have significant Jewish populations, large enough to swing the election.

“If he wins, Jewish voters will play a key role in a winning coalition for Donald Trump,” Markstein said.