Forward: Jewish Democrats launch a new group one year after Trump’s win

The new group is called the Jewish Democratic Council of America, and it will bring to the cause new donors and a new approach, one that emphasizes Jewish Democrats’ pro-Israel credentials. Its founding board members, who are currently also the funders, include well-known Jewish political donors and activists such as Florida’s Michael Adler, Marc Stanley from Dallas, former Massachusetts state treasurer Steve Grossman and Dede Feinberg, former chair of the Jewish Federations of North America.

Every Jewish Democratic organization faces the same dilemma: Is there a need for a separate Jewish group when Jews already overwhelmingly vote Democratic and are already an integral part of Democratic politics?

In 2017, the answer is definitely yes, said JDCA Chair Ron Klein, a former two-term Florida congressman, speaking to donors and activists at the hotel ballroom on Capitol Hill where the launch event was held Wednesday night.

“Today, under President Trump and a Republican congress pushing very right-wing positions on many issues the Jewish community cares about, we have a new calling,” he said.