JNS: Georgia candidates for Senate trade jabs on Israel, anti-Semitism

By Jackson Richman

The Jewish Democratic Council of America endorsed Warnock and Ossoff, who is Jewish, both in the general election and ahead of the runoffs, and hosted a Dec. 8 virtual event that also featured Ossoff.

Warnock, the pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., preached, also said, “I am a staunch ally and supporter of Israel, and I echo without reservation Dr. King’s perspective that Israel’s right to exist as a state and in security is incontestable.”

In addition to holding the event (its super PAC cannot give directly to the candidates in accordance with election law), JDCA PAC has been fundraising and spending money in campaigning for Warnock and Ossoff. It is spending close to $200,000, the council’s CEO, Halie Soifer, told JNS.

According to Soifer, JDCA has put out digital ads and sent direct mail pieces to more than 50,000 homes in Georgia. It has also been making an estimated 50,000 phone calls and sent 50,000 text messages to nearly 100,000 Jewish voters in the state. The organization isn’t doing door-to-door canvassing, as requested by the campaigns due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.

In response to the criticism Warnock has gotten for his past statements and actions on Israel, Soifer cited his position paper and remarks during the JDCA event. “He’s made it clear that he strongly supports the U.S.-Israel relationship, he strongly supports the full implementation of the MOU [from 2016 between the United States and Israel worth $38 billion over a decade in defense assistance].”

“He does not support any cutting or conditioning of aid,” she continued. “He opposes BDS. So he’s made it clear that he shares our views when it comes to Israel.”

In response to Warnock comparing Netanyahu to Wallace, Soifer said “what he has said in the past, frankly, is also aligned with the view of the majority of Jews in that the majority of Jews consider themselves pro-Israel and are critical of at least some of the current Israeli government’s policies. Just as we can be strong patriots and be critical of our own government’s policies, so, too, can we be pro-Israel and criticize or question some of the Israeli government’s policies.”

She dismissed the criticism of Warnock’s support for Wright and called it “guilt by association claim from many years ago,” saying it’s not “relevant” to the runoffs.

Rather, what is far more relevant, said Soifer, is Loeffler’s ties to House Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has trafficked in anti-Semitic, and other racist and conspiratorial remarks, and has also heralded QAnon.