Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2012 presidential nominee, was the one of the few Jewish candidates to ever run for President. Stein, a former physician, has been involved in politics since 1998 and has consistently been a loud voice in favor of social reform. Her 2012 campaign focused on issues including environmental sustainability and the increasing cost of education. While Stein did not receive as much media attention as her competitors, she successfully encouraged some members of the younger generation to get more involved in The Green Party and its politics, evidenced by a spike in Green Party membership and volunteers. New Voices spoke with her recently about running for president, representing Jewry, and her next steps.
New Voices: Why did you decide to run for President?
Jill Stein: The short version was that the President would put Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security on the chopping block. I said, we can’t let that go unchallenged. I had to fight for social justice, and I got involved in the Green Party for the first time, on a national level.
Even before this, I had been involved in the social system as a mother and a doctor. There was a skyrocket in many diseases, like asthma [and] obesity among others. I said to myself, genes don’t just change overnight. There has got to be something in our social structure pushing this, like air pollution, for instance. I didn’t feel comfortable sitting in a chair and prescribing pills. I discovered our elected officials didn’t prioritize issues like these. I had to do something.
Has your Jewish background influenced you to get involved politically?
Absolutely. My mother was a big influence on me. I grew up in a Reform synagogue where there was a strong sense of social responsibility as a Jew. My mother instilled in me an understanding of the Holocaust. I was apart of the first post-Holocaust generation, and my grandparents fled the pogroms. Standing up and speaking out has been ingrained in me as a Jewish value.
How did you feel representing the Jewish faith as a Presidential candidate?
It was wonderful. It felt like a real honor to be recognized as a person of Jewish identity. I was privileged to be able to represent Jewish identity and social responsibility. I was inspired by the interest of the Jewish community, particularly young Jews and Jewish women. They can raise the bar for social justice and sustainability. In my mind, sustainability is intertwined with Judaism. We are a people of creation and it’s our responsibility to protect it.
How did your experience in college influence you and impact your decision to run to President?
College is always a very eye-opening and expansive experience. I attended [college] during the Vietnam opposition and Civil Rights movement. It was very eye-opening. I participated in the “occupy” of the 1960s. We held a strike, and occupied an administration building in response to the war. I participated in it all.
Growing up, I thought it would be fun to marry a politician, and in college I started to see myself as a participant in the political arena. I learned to speak up for social welfare. My college years were real breakthrough years in my understanding of democracy and the role I play in it.
Do you have any advice for college students that you wish you heard when you were in college?
Even truer today, we grow up in a power structure and the younger generation is made to feel powerless. This is even truer today when college students are trapped in an economic system throwing students under the bus with the high costs, climate problems and struggling economy. Young people are off the agenda and struggles of young people are off the campaign.
My message to the young people is that you do have the power. If young people are to stand out and speak out, young people could dramatically transform the political landscape with power, numbers and experience. This could demonstrate the unfair economy and political system. Young people have the numbers. There are 45 million of them. Young people could vote in their own interests to make higher public education free, which it should be.
You should know our young people are most precious resources and deserve to be treated like it. They should be number one on the agenda and not off the list.
I would urge people to find the political party that has your interest in mind that secures the economy and climate we deserve. These are rapidly slipping through our fingers, and it’s more important now than ever to stand up for rights of young people. If we stand up for them, we support a just society and secure future.
What’s on tap for the future?
I’m weighing options right now. The campaign was a big success in terms of tripling vote count for the Green Party, bringing in volunteers and establishing chapters. We tapped into a deeply felt need and struck a resonant chord with young people. I will continue building the movement. The form is not quite clear but the direction is to keep building the movement. It’s alive and well, and we will continue fighting for a just, sustainable, socially responsible and green society we deserve.
