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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, as Evelyn Gordon reminds us in a piece at The 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 between Tlaib and Omar and their supporters in the Democratic Party, and President Donald 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 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? 

Attacks against Jews in New York make up the bulk of hate crimes in that city, as the New York Times noted in an article in February. And last October, an article 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:

RJC Looks to 2020

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:

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:

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 President Donald 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 will win the White House in 2020, CLICK HERE 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 member Kenneth 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 read Ira Stoll's tribute to him here. 

The Hebron Riots of 1929: Consequences and Lessons

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

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

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 below. The video has been removed.

— Tweets —

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— Events —

— Connect —

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