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The RJC Weekly Newsletter

August 29, 2019


 

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


 

 




— Featured —

Rep. Omar and Tlaib

Talking about Anti-Semitism

The responses from leading Democrats to Reps. Rashida Tlaib (R-MI), Ilhan Omar
(D-MN), and their canceled trip to Israel - or "Palestine," as they called it
- raised serious issues for the Jewish community. The rising anti-Semitic and
anti-Israel sentiment and expression in the Democratic Party remained a leading
topic of conversation this week.

 

Israel's decision to bar Tlaib and Omar from the country was completely
justified, asEvelyn Gordon reminds us
<[link removed]>
in a piece atThe Algemeiner:

...In short, this was a trip that literally negated Israel’s existence. Yet
all the outraged reactions either ignored this fact or worse, treated it as
unexceptionable. 

 

...[E]ven some of the most pro-Israel voices in Congress insisted that wiping
Israel off the map is a legitimate opinion, one Israel must accept just as it
accepts disagreements over government policy. It shouldn’t “fear an open
debate” on whether or not it should continue to exist. It shouldn’t “deny entry
to visitors based on the content of their ideas,” even if the idea in question
is its own destruction.

 

This is simply ludicrous. For Israel to deny entry to advocates of its own
dissolution should be as uncontroversial as denying entry to neo-Nazis. And
it’s deeply worrying that even Israel’s genuine friends in America evidently
think otherwise.

Ruthie Blum, writing at the Jerusalem Post, connects the dots
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between Tlaib and Omar and their supporters in the Democratic Party, and
PresidentDonald Trump's comments about Jews who support Democrats:

In other words, Trump was expressing shock and disappointment that Jews would
willingly betray their own interests. In his eyes, this means that they must be
ignorant of the direction in which the party they overwhelmingly support has
been going. If not, they appear to be purposely sabotaging US relations with
the single state established in their ancestral homeland to protect their
people and serve as America’s buffer against hostile, anti-democratic forces in
the volatile, strategically important region.

Liel Leibovitz wrote a scathing piece
<[link removed]>
for Tablet Magazine arguing that the Democratic Party has become "not just
blind to anti-Jewish bigotry, but an engine of it." He says that this change in
the Democratic Party bodes ill for American Jewry and writes:

Let us, then, observe these changes candidly and without succumbing to the
pressures of screaming ideologues on either side. The party our parents voted
for, the party we thought would be ours for eternity, appears to be well on its
way to becoming something entirely hostile to Jews. The president we are told
again and again is the single greatest menace to our community is many things,
but certainly not that.

Among the recent commentary pieces on anti-Semitism, the article by Avital
Chizhik-Goldschmidt at the Forward stands out. She asks: Why does no one care
about violence against Orthodox Jews?
<[link removed]>
 

 

Attacks against Jews in New York make up the bulk of hate crimes in that city,
as theNew York Times noted in an article
<[link removed]>
in February. And last October,an article
<[link removed]> in
the same paper implied heavily that hate crimes against Jews aren't publicized
because they don't "conform to an easy narrative with a single ideological
enemy" - i.e., they can't be blamed on white supremacists.

 

Chizhik-Goldschmidt goes right to the heart of the matter in New York, where
most of the attacks are against Orthodox Jews, whose clothing makes them
easily identifiable. She writes:
After yesterday’s attack in Crown Heights, New York City officials posted
obligatory calls for tolerance, yet the lack of any real action is troubling.  
  ...The unwillingness to act from those in power in New York City sends a
clear message to my community: If the perpetrator doesn’t wear a red baseball
cap — we don’t care. If the attacker wasn’t radicalized by a 4chan discussion
about immigrants — it’s not a crime worthy of serious response, because it
won’t assist us in our electability, and it will just complicate matters.  
...Our secular brethren may walk in the street and have the luxury of blending
into the crowd, as anonymous New Yorkers, but we wear our identities on our
sleeves. And this puts us at the very front lines of anti-Semitism in the
United States today.
RJC Looks to 2020
The New Jersey Jewish News published a piece this week on local Jewish
Republicanssticking with President Donald Trump
<[link removed]>.   RJC
Political DirectorSam Markstein, a New Jersey native, weighed in:
Markstein told NJJN the RJC’s strategy is for “conservative Supreme Court
justices, a strong Israel, and a strong economy.” Markstein said the White
House’s support for Israel is important to the Jewish electorate.

 

“President Trump is the most pro-Israel president ever,” Markstein told NJJN
in a quote supplied by the RJC. “He is a great friend to the American-Jewish
community and our organization. We look forward to conveying that message to
Jewish voters all over this country for the next 14-plus months.”

 

The Trump Effect: More Countries Recognize Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

JNS reports
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:

President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernández is set to visit Jerusalem on
Sunday in part to inaugurate a “diplomatic office,” the Honduran government
announced on Tuesday.

 

The government said that the office will be an extension of its existing
embassy, according to Reuters. The country had already said in March that it
would open a trade office in the Israeli capital.

 

“For me, it’s the recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,”
Hernández said on Tuesday.

Arutz Sheva reports <[link removed]>:

The country of Nauru in Micronesia announced Thursday that it recognizes
Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

 

Following the announcement, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted, "I
welcome Nauru's important decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of
Israel."

 

"Another step that matures and bears fruit, after President Trump's historic
recognition of Jerusalem, other countries are taking this important step," Katz
wrote.

 

 

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.

— Short Takes —

On the passing of Kenneth Bialkin

The RJC notes with deep sorrow the passing this week of RJC Board of Directors
memberKenneth Bialkin of New York. Mr. Bialkin was a long-time leader of the
RJC and a valued member of the Board of Directors. He served the Jewish
community in leading roles in many major Jewish organizations. His counsel and
his friendship will be missed. You can readIra Stoll's tribute to him here
<[link removed]>
. 

 

The Hebron Riots of 1929: Consequences and Lessons
<[link removed]>

Douglas Feith, noting the 90th anniversary of the Hebron riots, writes: "The
1929 riots destroyed the Jewish community in Hebron. They persuaded Labor
Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion that socialist fraternity among Jewish and Arab
workers and peasants would not ensure peace. They impelled Palestine’s Jews to
bolster the Haganah, their underground self-defense group. And they vindicated
Zionist warnings against relying on foreigners for security."

 

The Poorest 20% of Americans Are Richer on Average Than Most Nations of Europe
<[link removed]>

A groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for
all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and
Food Stamps—the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than
the national averages for all people in most affluent countries. This includes
the majority of countries in the prestigious Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD), including its European members. In other
words, if the U.S. “poor” were a nation, it would be one of the world’s richest.

 

"Deeply disturbing" video on Rockland County GOP Facebook page
<[link removed]>

New York state’s top prosecutor Wednesday night issued a blistering rebuke of
a “deeply disturbing” video posted on the Rockland County Republican Party’s
Facebook page that portrays proposed housing development for the Hasidic Jewish
community as a “threat.”

 

The RJC also condemned the video: see our tweet
<[link removed]> below. The video has been
removed
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.

— Tweets —
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I

— Events —

LEADERSHIP BRIEFING ON RJC AND THE 2020 ELECTIONS WITH MATT BROOKS

Beverly Hills, CA - September 4, 2019
RSVP <[link removed]>



EVENT WITH FRED BARNES

Austin, TX - September 8, 2019
RSVP <[link removed]>



CANDIDATES FORUM

Blue Bell, PA - September 9, 2019
RSVP <[link removed]>



A CONVERSATION WITH DAVID BROG

Scottsdale, AZ - September 22, 2019
RSVP <[link removed]>



SAVE THE DATE: 2020 NATIONAL LEADERSHIP MEETING

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



— Connect —

Join the RJC Community

If you like the work we’re doing, consider joining us on Facebook, Twitter, or
becoming an RJC member <[link removed]>. Ensure
that your voice is heard in our Party and our community!


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