The Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) stands today by the leadership of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington (JCRC), and particularly CEO Ron Halber. Halber, who gave voice to real and genuine concerns about the policies and rhetoric of US Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, was subsequently subjected to a personal attack by the Senator’s team.
This comes at a time when Maryland’s Jewish community experiences rising levels of antisemitism, and particularly in the areas adjacent to Washington, D.C. In Montgomery County Public Schools, many of which are under the jurisdiction of the Congressional district represented by the Senator during his time in the House of Representatives, antisemitic incidents have become a norm, often ignored or even encouraged by members of the school staff. In the University of Maryland, a rally demonizing Israel was held on the first anniversary of the Hamas’s October 7th attack, the deadliest day for Jews since the holocaust and largest massacre of Jews in their ancestral homeland, Israel, since biblical times.
Yet, instead of standing with Maryland’s Jewish-American and Israeli-American communities, the Senator has repeatedly chosen to side with those who agitate and promote hate.
EMET’s President & Founder, Sarah Stern stated: “Over the last two years Senator Van Hollen has repeatedly chosen to step up his harsh, and at times hostile, rhetoric towards the worlds’ one Jewish state. While Jewish Marylanders indeed hold diverse religious, cultural and political views, the vast majority of them agree that Israel has a clear right to defend itself from those seeking its destruction, and to pursue offensive measures when its people are targeted, slaughtered and taken hostage.
It is no surprise that these Jewish Marylanders, who make up the vast majority of our community, have become unwelcome in the Senator’s office in recent years. Jews who cater and pander to hateful rhetoric, antisemitism and ignorance are the real apologists, not Ron Halber.”
EMET is a think tank and policy shop that specializes in the Middle East, and its impact on Western civilization.
