| Friends,
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) mourns the loss of Senator John McCain, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 81. Sen. McCain was a principled leader who put values above politics and served the country honorably for sixty years. His leadership and deep bipartisan commitment to America’s national security interests will be deeply missed. |
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| Also this week, JDCA announced an additional ten endorsements in the midterm elections – three Senate candidates and seven House candidates – bringing the total number of JDCA endorsements to 25. Additionally, JDCA condemned the Trump administration for defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and cutting aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Israeli government and security establishment has historically supported both sources of funding because it helped to secure populations on Israel’s borders, and JDCA is concerned about the potentially destabilizing impact of these cuts. Finally, JDCA launched a new campaign to oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, and announced a “back to school” briefing call on Tuesday, September 4 at 2:00 PM EST on education policy. Read on to learn more… |
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| Mourning the loss of Senator John McCain |
| Senator John McCain passed away earlier this week, nine years ago to the day – and of the same terrible disease – as his friend and another giant of the Senate, Ted Kennedy. Sen. McCain chose to vote his values over party in key moments, such as the 2017 vote to save the Affordable Care Act. As Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Sen. McCain led Senate efforts to support our military and other vital U.S. national security interests, including joint missile defense programs with Israel. Senator McCain taught us many lessons, not the least of which was the importance of bipartisanship on key foreign policy issues, such as support of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Sen. McCain will be deeply missed, including by Jewish Democrats. |
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| JDCA endorses ten candidates |
| This week, in its fourth round of endorsements, JDCA announced ten additional candidates in the midterm elections, bringing the total number of JDCA endorsements to 25. All of our endorsees support the Jewish Democratic values that JDCA promotes and are running in districts and states where the Jewish community will play a critical role in determining the outcome of the election. JDCA is proud to announce its endorsement of Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) for re-election, and Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) for election to the U.S. Senate. JDCA also endorsed seven House candidates: Colin Allred for Texas District 32; Congressman Matt Cartwright for re-election in Pennsylvania District 8; Katie Hill for California District 25; Andy Kim for New Jersey District 3; Katie Porter for California District 45; David Trone for Maryland District 6; and Jennifer Wexton for Virginia District 10. |
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| Condemning UNRWA defunding and Palestinian aid cuts |
| JDCA issued a statement condemning the Trump administration’s decision to defund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which provides critical humanitarian and medical assistance, as well as education programming, in the West Bank and Gaza. JDCA also condemned the Trump administration’s recent decision to cut funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA). While both UNRWA and the PA are flawed institutions in need of reform, Israel has historically supported this assistance because it helps to secure the population on its borders. JDCA condemns these cuts as yet another demonstration of Trump’s flawed foreign policy and is deeply concerned the cuts will destabilize an already weak Palestinian government, to the potential detriment of the United States and Israel. |
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| Upcoming briefing call on “education policy in the age of Trump – the Jewish perspective” |
| On Tuesday, September 4, at 2:00 PM EST, JDCA will host a “back to school” briefing call on education with Randi Weingarten, President of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers. Randi will discuss education policy under the Trump administration from a Jewish perspective, with a focus on privatization schemes, education funding, separation of church and state, student loans, and the safety of teachers and students. |
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| REMINDER: JDCA continues to look for midterm election volunteers and fall interns. Check out the full intern posting here, and fill out the volunteer form here, and sign up today.
Shabbat Shalom,
Ron Klein
Chair, Jewish Democratic Council of America
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