| Friends,
The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) has been working hard to heal the divisiveness that the Trump administration is fomenting in our community and country. On Wednesday, JDCA strongly condemned neo-Nazis marching in Washington and running for office, and urged Republicans to endorse their Democratic opponents. Later in the week, we responded to news that President Trump may finally appoint a Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism, after failing to prioritize the issue for far too long. We also learned this week that Russia attempted to divide the Jewish community by manipulating public opinion on Israel during the 2016 election. JDCA continues to demand that Congress take action to protect our democratic institutions, secure our elections, and hold Russia accountable.
Join JDCA in TAKING ACTION on these and other issues today. Read on and learn more… |
| Jewish Dems Condemn Neo-Nazis Marching In Washington And Running For Office. |
| We are deeply concerned that the Unite the Right rally in Washington this weekend will be another display of the racism, anti-Semitism, and bigotry that has grown in our country during the Trump administration. Meanwhile, no less than nine neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Holocaust deniers have announced they are running for office in this election cycle as Republicans. These are not “very fine people” – as President Trump has called them – and they have no place in Congress. It’s time for Republicans to put principle above party and endorse the Democrats running against Republican neo-Nazis and those who sympathize with their agenda in the midterm elections. We encourage all Americans to join the JDCA in resisting bigotry and anti-Semitism, and uniting for political change in November. Read our statement here. |
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Responding to Reports of Anti-Semitism Envoy – Too Little Too Late? |
| This week, amidst reports that President Trump was preparing to fill the long-vacant State Department post of Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism, Halie Soifer, JDCA Executive Director, questioned why Trump has taken so long to make the appointment. “Given President Trump’s blatant refusal to condemn neo-Nazis and their supporters in the immediate aftermath of Charlottesville, the fact that the Trump administration took so long to fill this post comes as no surprise,” Soifer told the Jerusalem Post. “We hope the new envoy will convince President Trump to take concrete actions to combat anti-Semitism wherever it manifests itself. Until this point in his presidency,” she added, “Trump’s silence in the face of hatred has been deafening.” |
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Taking Action Against Russian Trolls Manipulating Public Opinion On Israel. |
| We learned this week that Russian trolls disseminated tens of thousands of social media posts focused on Israel during the 2016 election. These posts, aimed at dividing the Jewish community and manipulating how Americans view Trump’s relationship with Israel, prove that Russian meddling in our democracy has targeted specific demographics and focused on specific issues, including Israel. The majority of those posts positively portrayed Trump’s approach to Israel and negatively portrayed Secretary Clinton and President Obama’s approach. |
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| This information reinforces the unequivocal findings of the U.S intelligence community that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, tipping the scale in favor of then-candidate Trump. Despite these findings – which were made public in January 2017 – Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress have done nothing to protect our democratic institutions from ongoing Russian interference. Congress must immediately provide the resources needed to strengthen election security and defend against future attacks, including in the 2018 midterm elections.
Read JDCA’s statement on election security here and join with JDCA to tell Congress it’s time to TAKE ACTION to protect our democracy from foreign interference and hold Russia accountable. |
| 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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