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The RJC Weekly Newsletter

August 22, 2019


 

Your weekly look at the latest news, analysis,
and RJC activities around the country.


 

 




— Featured —

Reps.  Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).

More on Tlaib and Omar's Canceled Trip

The fallout from Israel's decision to bar entry to Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI)
andIlhan Omar (D-MN) continued this week. The two hosted a press conference
<[link removed]>
in Minnesota on Monday in which they repeatedly lied about their planned trip
and about Israel. They talked about the "occupation" and called for cutting off
military aid to Israel. 

 

The mainstream media noted Tlaib's tears
<[link removed]>
 at the press conference when she said that, "As a young girl visiting
Palestine to see my grandparents and extended family I watched as my mother had
to go through dehumanizing checkpoints," but no one asked her about the
hundreds of Israelis who werekilled in terrorist attacks
<[link removed]>
before those checkpoints were erected.

 

Few media outlets reported on the congresswomen's planned itinerary to
"Palestine", not Israel, nor on the group that was to be their host, Miftah.
Miftahpublished a blood libel article
<[link removed]>
that accused “the Jews [of using] the blood of Christians in the Jewish
Passover." It also publisheda neo-Nazi treatise
<[link removed]> against Jewish
"control" of the media andpaid tribute to suicide bombers
<[link removed]>
who killed Israelis.
<[link removed]>
 

Likewise, there was no media outcry when the two congresswomen circulated on
Instagrama cartoon by Holocaust-denying cartoonist Carlos Latuff
<[link removed]> -- who won a
prize from Iran in 2006 for his anti-Semitic work.
<[link removed]>
President Donald Trump outside the White House.

Trump Defends Israel

President Donald Trump made remarks on Tuesday about Reps. Rashida Tlaib
(D-MI) andIlhan Omar (D-MN), their call for cutting aid to Israel, and the
Democratic Party's move away from support for Israel. The last element caused a
media uproar: it is appropriate to examine that quotein context
<[link removed]>:

You should see the horrible things that Tlaib has said about Israel... Omar is
a disaster for Jewish people... That was all going to be a propaganda tour
against Israel...

 

Five years ago, the concept of even talking about this, even three years ago,
of cutting off aid to Israel because of two people that hate Israel and hate
Jewish people -- I can't believe we're even having this conversation. Where has
the Democratic Party gone, where have they gone that they are defending these
two people over the state of Israel? I think any Jewish people that vote for a
Democrat, it shows either a total lack of knowledge or a great disloyalty.

The RJC tweeted this response:
<[link removed]>
Yesterday, the President returned to his comments and explained what he meant
<[link removed]>
by "disloyalty." Again, the context here is important:

Reporter: To whom are they being disloyal, sir?

 

Trump: We have a group... they are anti-Semites. They are against Israel.
[Tlaib] had a plan to greatly embarrass Israel... it was very bad... They have
become the face of the Democratic Party.

 

And I will tell you this, in my opinion the Democrats have gone very far from
Israel. I cannot understand how they can do that. They don't want to fund
Israel, they want to take away foreign aid to Israel, they want to do a lot of
bad things for Israel. In my opinion, you vote for a Democrat, you're being
very disloyal to Jewish people and you're being very disloyal to Israel. Only
weak people would say anything other than that.

As a new firestorm erupted over the President's language, the RJC tweeted this
response:
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
— More public statements from the RJC —

The RJC was quoted in The Times of Israel
<[link removed]>:

Neil Strauss, a spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, defended the
president’s comments and said Trump’s critics were trying to distract from the
Democratic congresswomen — two of whom, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Michigan
Rep. Rashida Tlaib — last week were denied entry to Israel by Netanyahu’s
government in a move endorsed by Trump.
 
Trump’s comments come “from a place of genuine support and admiration as
evidenced by the fact that he’s the most pro-Israel president in history,” said
Matt Brooks, the group’s executive director. “I’m very pleased with this
contrast heading into 2020.”

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks spoke about Tlaib and Omar's planned trip on
Trish Regan's PrimeTime show on the Fox Business Network
<[link removed]>
. He said:

 

If you look at the itinerary of these two congresswomen, you will see that
this was not a good faith trip to go with an open mind and to meet with folks
and to learn about the different complex issues over the in region. They had
no meetings scheduled with the Prime Minister, no meetings scheduled with
anyone from the opposition parties, there was not a meeting with a single
member of the Knesset, there was not a meeting with any of the members of the
Israeli cabinet, or the military, or the intelligence folks. They came to
Israel specifically to use Israel as a backdrop for them to promote their
radical policy ideas.

 

Debra J. Saunders at the Las Vegas Review Journal reported on Tlaib's actions
<[link removed]>
after Israel initially blocked their trip, and reactions to the incident:

Thursday, Tlaib asked Israel for admission on humanitarian grounds so that she
could visit her grandmother who lives in the West Bank. She offered not to
promote boycotts against Israel during the visit.

 

On Friday, Israel said yes. And within hours, Tlaib announced she would not be
visiting her grandmother under Israel’s “racist” terms. Instead, she chose the
victim card.

 

...As far as Republican Jewish Coalition Executive Director Matt Brooks is
concerned, however, BDS is “a cover for anti-Semitism.”

 

“Being a member of Congress or an elected official is not a Golden Ticket for
you to travel in bad faith to a host country for the sole purpose of using the
country as a backdrop/platform to advance radical policy positions,” Brooks
tweeted.

 

Is Brooks concerned that Trump is making the issue too partisan? “I’m a
scrapper. I’m a fighter. I want a president who’s going to stand up and speak
out against anti-Semitism” and oppose BDS, he said.

RJC Political Director Sam Markstein

New RJC Political Director Eyes Shifting Trends, Saying Republicans Could Gain
Jewish Votes

Alex Traiman spoke with the RJC's new political director
<[link removed]>
,Sam Markstein, who will be leading our grassroots advocacy for the 2020
election:

The last time more Jews voted for Republican candidates than Democrats was
1920... And while Republican PresidentRonald Reagan temporarily shifted Jewish
trends somewhat towards Republicans—receiving as much as 39 percent of Jewish
votes in 1980—sinceBill Clinton took office, no Democrat has received less than
69 percent of Jewish votes.

 

New Republican Jewish Coalition political director Sam Markstein suggests that
voter patterns may be changing. “Today, people understand that President Trump
and Vice President[Mike] Pence are among the best friends Israel has ever had,”
Markstein told JNS.

 

He predicts that in the coming 2020 presidential election, “the president will
continue to outpace previous elections in terms of Jewish support,” adding that
recent focus research indicates that greater numbers of Orthodox Jews, as well
as a segment of younger Jews, are more likely to vote Republican than older
voters.

 

“A recent poll conducted by AJC [the American Jewish Committee] revealed that
nearly 60% of people believe that anti-Semitism is a growing problem on college
campuses,” said Markstein, suggesting that students may start asking hard
questions about which party is doing more to support Israel.

 

“Growing up, my parents were Democrats,” said Markstein. “They grew up in a
time when the Democratic Party was unquestionably pro-Israel. Now, Democrats
are calling into question their relationship with Israel.”

 

RJC is Hiring Field Staff for 2020 Outreach

The Republican Jewish Coalition is hiring field staff for our advocacy efforts
in support of PresidentDonald J. Trump’s reelection in various battleground
states.

 

If you (or someone you know) have relevant political experience and a strong
desire to make an impact at the grassroots level that willwin the White House
in 2020, CLICK HERE <[link removed]> for
details and application information.

— Tweets —
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I

— Events —

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE WITH REP. DOUG COLLINS

Sandy Springs, GA - August 25, 2019
RSVP <[link removed]>



BRIEFING ON ISRAEL AND IRAN WITH JONATHAN SCHANZER

Beachwood, OH - August 27, 2019
RSVP
<[link removed]>



LEADERSHIP BRIEFING ON RJC'S 2020 PLANS WITH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MATT BROOKS

Los Angeles, CA - September 4, 2019
RSVP
<mailto:[email protected]?subject=RSVP%20for%20Sept.%204%20event%20with%20Matt%20Brooks>



SAVE THE DATE: 2020 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP MEETING

Las Vegas, NV - March 13-15, 2020
REGISTER TODAY! <[link removed]>



— Connect —

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