Article

JDCA Leads Calls to Action on Capitol Hill

June 16, 2023

This week, over 160 JDCA leaders and activists from 13 states were engaged in dozens of virtual meetings with members of Congress and their staff in our third annual Week of Action. We brought our voices and values to Capitol Hill and led important calls to action on key issues to Jewish Americans.

We engaged Members of Congress on four main policy issues: (1) combating antisemitism and right-wing extremism; (2) defending democracy; (3) protecting abortion access and reproductive rights; and (4) protecting the social safety net and strengthening the middle class. Among other legislative asks, members of Congress were urged to support the Early Voting Act; the SNAP Access for Medically Vulnerable Children Act; the Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons (HEAL) Act, and the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. We were thrilled with the level of support and additional co-sponsors received, and we will continue to ensure support for these pieces of legislation.

JDCA Priorities on Capitol Hill

As the political home and voice of Jewish voters in support of Democrats who share our core values, JDCA’s annual Week of Action is a chance to advocate for our shared vision of a just and equitable society, safe and secure Jewish communities, and strong and vibrant democracies in the United States, in Israel, and around the world. Our advocacy in Congress is critical to our progress, and we’re grateful for Democratic support of our legislative agenda.

In our third annual Week of Action, Jewish Dems met with congressional offices including: Senators Ben Cardin (MD), Mark Kelly (AZ), Alex Padilla (CA), Gary Peters (MI), Jacky Rosen (NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Tammy Baldwin (WI), John Fetterman (PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Jon Ossoff (GA), Raphael Warnock (GA), Tim Kaine (VA), and Sherrod Brown (OH), as well as Representatives Greg Landsman (OH-01), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Kathy Manning (NC-06), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), David Trone (MD-06), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07), Josh Harder (CA-09), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-15), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Susan Wild (PA-07), Dina Titus (NV-01), Ruben Gallego (AZ-03), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Lucy McBath (GA-07).

Our Week of Action may be over, but our work to advocate for policy, educate and mobilize Jewish voters, and elect Democrats continues. Please join the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) for a virtual conversation with outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides on Tuesday, June 27, at 11:00 A.M. ET/8:00 A.M. PT. Our discussion will focus on Nides’s tenure as U.S. Ambassador, U.S. policy toward Israel, current events, and the movement to defend Israel’s democracy, among other topics. We hope that you will join us.

Tom Nides

Thank you for continued partnership.

Shabbat Shalom,

Hon. Ron Klein
Chair, Jewish Democratic Council of America

Halie Soifer
CEO, Jewish Democratic Council of America