John, I have two big things to share with you today. 

First, our campaign has been endorsed by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).

I’ve been organizing with JFREJ for the past three decades – against Giuliani, against stop-and-frisk, against the evictions of senior and low-income tenants. But there’s never been a more urgent time than now. To protect our immigrant neighbors. To fight the fascist in the White House. To fight against antisemitism and Islamophobia and hate of all kinds. And to end U.S complicity in Israel’s destruction of Gaza.

That’s why I am also announcing my support for H.R. 3565, the Block the Bombs Act, sponsored by Rep. Delia Ramirez. You can read about my decision in an Op-Ed published in The Nation today. Last week, The Nation took the unusual step of turning its entire home page over to coverage of the ongoing calamity in Gaza. While the world’s attention has turned away, and as the remains of the last Israeli hostage returned home (bringing at last some small measure of closure to the grieving families October 7th), Israel’s bombs are still falling, paid for by U.S. taxpayers. Hunger persists, as aid only trickles in.

The Block the Bombs Act bans the Department of Defense (or whatever Trump's lackeys are calling it now) from selling Netanyahu's government the catastrophic weaponry it has used to kill tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, so many of them women and children, and level the vast majority of hospitals, schools, and homes there.

John, we deserve leaders in Congress with moral clarity who will not be complicit in Israel's destruction of Gaza. This bill (and legislation like it) brings us closer to that principle. 

I also know how support for this bill will draw the attention of opposing groups like AIPAC, which has a track record of spending big to defeat progressive candidates in races like this one.

Well… AIPAC spent over $2 million in a race last week for the special election for New Jersey's 11th Congressional District and **lost.** If you'd like to keep spoiling AIPAC's plans with their deceptive dark-money ads, can you chip in any amount today?

I want to take a step back and speak more about why this matters to all New Yorkers.

John, working families in the city and across America are told far too often that there isn't enough money in the richest country in the world. 

We're told we can't fund affordable healthcare, better schools, or affordable housing. And yet, when their tax dollars pay for the 2,000 pound bombs that have leveled the hospitals and schools of Gaza, our leaders fall silent. 

Over the past two years, I have frequently joined weekly vigils in Union Square with Israelis for Peace, demanding both an end to the war in Gaza and the return of every hostage. We’ve heard from too many Palestinians and Israelis whose lives have been ripped apart, and we chant that our futures are intertwined. Because they are.

As a proud Jewish New Yorker, the values I hold — most notably that every human being is created b’tzelem Elohim, in God’s image — give me a particular obligation in this moment to speak up for the lives of Palestinians. 

That's why when I am elected to Congress, I will join 60 of my colleagues in co-sponsoring the Block the Bombs Act and fighting for its passage. This bill will not just protect more Palestinians from being killed. It will also push Israel to live up to Jewish and democratic values. 

And of course, as we aim to rebuild a U.S. foreign policy based on human rights, respecting sovereignty, and building multilateral coalitions to end forever wars, one of the most important places to start is by ending our complicity in the genocide in Gaza (and yes, after spending time, at my daughter’s introduction, with the words of Rafael Lemkin, the Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor who developed the term, I am quite sure that he would view Hamas’ attacks on October 7th as reflecting genocidal intent – and that he would consider Israel’s destruction of Gaza to be a genocide). 

John, to build a just and safe future for Israelis and Palestinians, and to move towards a U.S. foreign policy that aligns with our principles and our interests (instead of Trump's), it's time to block the bombs. 

As we attempt to rebuild our nation's credibility and check Trump's power, it's more important than ever for us to show that people-powered campaigns like ours can win when it matters. We just watched AIPAC waste millions in NJ-11 — can you help me make them burn even more money by chipping in to support our campaign today?

In solidarity, 
Brad