Biden’s Jewish American Heritage Month Message

This week marked the beginning of Jewish American Heritage Month – a celebration of the Jewish people and the integral role we continue to play in the history, success, and story of America. We are thankful for President Joe Biden’s recognition of this important month, and we want to share the President’s Jewish American Heritage Month proclamation.

Jewish Americans have played a pivotal role in defining American and democratic values throughout history. Jewish American Emma Lazarus penned the famous poem on the Statue of Liberty, which welcomed millions of immigrants to the United States. The Jewish League for Women’s Suffrage joined suffragists to fight for women’s rights. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish Americans served in the U.S. military in WWII. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and other Jewish leaders joined with African Americans to demand racial equality. Today, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff has emerged as a representative for our community in the White House and as a leader in the fight against antisemitism.

In the lead-up to the 2024 election, Jewish Democrats continue to lead in defense of our shared American and Jewish values. We are fighting for democracy, reproductive freedom, freedom of religion, equal justice, gun safety reform, and the protection of our planet. At JDCA, we’re proud to serve as the political home and voice of Jewish voters in support of Democrats who share our core values.

We envision a just and equitable society, safe and secure Jewish communities, and strong and vibrant democracies in the United States, Israel, and around the world. Jewish Americans overwhelmingly support these values, and by supporting our work today, you can help us advocate for policy, educate and mobilize Jewish voters, and elect Democrats, all consistent with our core values.

This week, Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy visited Israel, gave an address to the Knesset, and offered to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regardless of whether or not he’s invited to Washington by President Joe Biden. We spoke out against McCarthy’s attempt to use Israel to advance Republicans’ political agenda. Last week, we spoke out after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis falsely asserted that ‘Florida has led the way on combating the scourge of antisemitism’ while speaking in Jerusalem — a statement that is simply not true.

From Donald Trump to Ron DeSantis to Kevin McCarthy, there has been a long record of Republicans using Israel as a political wedge issue to score cheap political points. We will continue to call out their hypocrisy.

For this week’s installment of our Meet the Members series, we are featuring Congressman Mike Levin (CA-49). Take a look at what Rep. Levin shared with us on what makes him a proud Jewish Dem:

In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, join JDCA in standing up for our core Jewish and Democratic values by joining our movement today.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hon. Ron Klein
Chair, Jewish Democratic Council of America

Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America