• The RJC released
a statement today on Israel’s plan to extend Israeli sovereignty
in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley:
The government of Israel is now planning to take steps, as put
forth by President Donald Trump’s “peace to
prosperity” plan, to extend Israeli sovereignty in parts of Judea,
Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. It has long been understood that the
areas under consideration would become part of Israel under a
negotiated peace settlement. Tragically, such a settlement has been
impossible because the Palestinian leadership has never given up their
goal of destroying Israel. A full 53 years after the 1967 war, it is
time for Israelis in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria and
the Jordan Valley to have the same full rights and status as their
fellow citizens in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
President Trump’s historic “peace to prosperity” plan offers a
realistic and implementable opportunity for solving the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It provides a framework for creating
economic opportunity and greater freedom for the Palestinian people,
and for ensuring the security of Israel.
We support Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s efforts to extend Israeli sovereignty over areas
in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. These efforts represent the
first steps in a process that can include negotiations, working with
moderate Arab states in the region, and working with the US and other
Western allies to bring a stable, lasting peace to Israelis and
Palestinians.
Republicans are strong and vocal supporters of our cherished
ally Israel and they respect the sovereignty of the State of Israel.
The RJC is grateful for their words and their actions. We will be
making a major lobbying effort to encourage Republicans in the Senate
and House to express their support for the government of Israel and to
support Israel’s extending sovereignty over parts of Judea, Samaria,
and the Jordan Valley in order to promote the security of its citizens
and the stability of the region.
•
RJC's Neil Strauss was quoted
at length in this article from the Jewish News Service about the
effects of the pandemic and lockdown on political groups'
efforts:
On the other side of the aisle, the Republican Jewish
Coalition has been campaigning to re-elect Trump and other
Republicans, in addition to new GOP candidates to Congress. The
organization’s National Victory Team “has been conducting extensive
Jewish outreach after seamlessly transitioning to virtual grassroots
efforts,” RJC spokesperson Neil Strauss told JNS.
RJC has so far “executed 11 successful National Days of
Action, with hundreds of RJC volunteers participating across the
country, supporting President Trump and the GOP,” he said.
Conducting business digitally has been beneficial, maintained
Strauss, who cited his organization’s “increased ability to reach more
voters at home” through “phone calls, text messages, email, digital,
social media, etc.”
“We’ve seen a dramatic spike in the percentage of voters we’re
able to directly connect with, compared to pre-COVID circumstances,
which makes these modes of grassroots outreach even more valuable.
Since March 1st, we have spoken to 106,968 persuadable Jewish voters
in specific battleground states using our cutting-edge technology, our
large investment in data modeling to discover Jewish voters—data no
one else has—and the best volunteers in politics.”
Despite the millions of jobs lost and businesses shuttered due
to COVID-19, the RJC’s political action committee, RJC PAC, has
experienced “very strong” fundraising, following “a slight downturn”
during the first few weeks that social-distancing guidelines were put
into effect across the country earlier this year, according to
Strauss.
...Also important to note is that those without access to
device or high-tech apps won’t be shut out of the technological
political campaign season, the aforementioned organizations told JNS.
“No matter where a voter may fall on the tech-savvy spectrum,
almost all voters know how to use and operate a basic phone system,”
said Strauss. “RJC is currently in the process of organizing special
tele-town hall events featuring high-profile VIPs that even the least
tech-savvy voters will be able to participate in.”
Additionally, continued Strauss, “streamlined programming,
along with other grassroots outreach such as direct mail, will enable
RJC to connect and appeal to all Jewish voters.”
Read
more of what Neil had to say about our outreach efforts
here.
• The RJC continues to speak out against antisemitism and
racism, as
noted by The Algemeiner this week:
The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on
Tuesday that it will not endorse or support [Marjorie
Taylor Greene,] a candidate in a safely Republican
district in Georgia who is leading in fundraising, as she has
trafficked in conspiracy theories and posed for photos with a former
neo-Nazi leader.
...RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks told JNS
that his organization hasn’t “been following this race, and it’s not
on our targeted list of races.” He added that if Greene wins, “we will
not be endorsing her or supporting her.”
