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August 7, 2020 
WEEK IN REVIEW
As the nation celebrated and memorialized Rep. John Lewis' life this week, nearly every eulogy and commentary mentioned the Voting Rights Act. The House on Monday voted to rename H.R. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019, to the John Lewis Voting Right Act. No other American is as closely associated with the fight to protect voting rights than Lewis.

His death has shined an even brighter spotlight on the urgency to safeguard voting, which given the current political climate has never been more in doubt. More than 50 years after Congress passed the initial Voting Rights Act passed, Americans in neighborhoods across the country are still denied access to voting.

The landmark Voting Rights Act outlawed racially discriminatory barriers to voting. However a 2013 Supreme Court ruling struck down an important provision, Section 5, that would have allowed the federal government to create election laws in states with a history of voter discrimination. This paved the way for those and other states to enact voter suppression laws, such as voter ID.

Georgia voters this month faced faulty voting machines, long lines, and extended wait times to cast their ballots during their state's primary. The state had closed hundreds of polling places. If Section 5 was still intact, Georgia would have been required to clear its voting changes before enacting them.

H.R. 4 would restore key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that Supreme Court struck down. It passed the House, but sits dead in the Senate.

With Trump sinking lower in the polls, the GOP will ramp up their voter suppression efforts. There will be numerous barriers to voting this year, including Trump's disinformation campaign that voting by mail is not safe.

"I was beaten, my skull was fractured, and I was arrested more than 40 times so each and every one of us can register to vote. Do your part," Lewis said.

John Lewis will not be able to finish his fight for voting rights. It now becomes our battle. 

Register. Get your absentee ballot. Vote early and stay safe. Click here for more information. 
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UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS

Monday, August 10 
Virtual Update 
with
Rep. Xochitl Torres Small (NM-2) 
3:00 pm ET | 2:00 pm CT | 12:00 pm
 
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Wednesday, August 12
Virtual Update
with
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
1:00 pm ET | 12:00 pm CT | 10:00 am PT
___________________________________ 
 
Virtual Events to Support Joe Biden for President
 

** LOW DOLLAR EVENT **
Virtual Grassroots Fundraiser
with
Vice President Joe Biden & Our Running Mate
Date TBA
Time TBA
Video call instructions will be provided prior to event
________________________________
 
Tuesday, August 11
Virtual Conversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren & 
Rep. Katie Porter
7:00 pm ET | 6:00pm CT | 4:00 pm
__________________________________

Tuesday, August 11
Virtual Cook Along with
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Chef Tom Collicchio, & Sam Kass 
7:00 pm ET | 6:00 CT | 4:00 PT
_______________________________
 
** LOW DOLLAR EVENT **
Monday, August 17
Virtual Reception with Vice President Joe Biden,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Carole King
Time TBA
____________________________
 
_______________________________
 
Please note: Login links for Biden for President events are sent out directly by the campaign. 
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Watch your inbox for more online events.
ISRAEL
Mayor of Haifa, Home to Oil, Chemical Facilities, Warns of Beirut-style Disaster

Officials in northern port city see blasts in Lebanese capital as 'wake-up call,' and urge the government to speed up efforts to move dangerous oil and petrochemical industries away from the bay. The mayor of Haifa voiced concern that the "horror scenario" gripping Beirut could unfold in the northern Israeli port city, a day after blasts in Lebanon's capital claimed the lives of at least 100 people and wounded thousands.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Global Chaos Is Breeding Antisemitism. Global Leaders Must End It.
 
Seventy-five years after the Holocaust, Jewish communities once again feel the earth shaking under their feet. This is not the 1930s, but nonetheless, it would be a grave mistake to ignore the alarming reality facing us. The dominant issues of the day - coronavirus and the struggle for black rights - have been manipulated beyond belief to fuel almost unprecedented levels of antisemitism. Global leaders must unite and act in order to stem this ugly tide. 
Continued Reading

CHOICE
Fetal Tissue Research Advisory Board Convenes, With a Strong Anti-Abortion Tilt
 
A long-awaited ethics advisory board, dominated by foes of abortion and fetal tissue research, has convened for the first time, deciding whether it believes proposed research grants and contracts should get government funding. At least one researcher, whose funding application to the National Institutes of Health had been in limbo for nearly a year until Friday's meeting, received a notice from NIH this week that invited him to revise the proposal by removing the use of fetal tissue.
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
 
Separation of Church and State Group Raises Alarm on Government Aid to Religious Schools

A new report argues that private schools, including Jewish ones, received an outsized amount of federal coronavirus aid compared to the number of students they serve. The report, by the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, calculated the amount of federal dollars received by religious, secular private and public schools and divided that number by the student population. Private schools received aid under the Payroll Protection Program, while public schools received support from a different pot of money - the "ESSER" funds.
Continued Reading

BEYOND THE CORE
New York Attorney General Moves to Dissolve the NRA After Fraud Investigation  
 
The attorney general of New York took action to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA) following an 18-month investigation that found evidence the powerful gun rights group is "fraught with fraud and abuse." Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period. The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.
Continued Reading

POLITICAL BYTE
Trump's Attacks on Voting by Mail Are Out of Touch With Reality, Voters
 
Somehow, though, Trump's lies about absentee voting have managed to become even more absurd as the campaign season drags on. That'll happen when you're making things up as you go along and you're no good at improvising. Perhaps recognizing that his crusade against mail-in voting could actually keep his own supporters from casting ballots, Trump tweeted Tuesday his support for mail-in ballots in Florida -- a state he must win.  
Continued Reading

BIDEN ROUNDUP
Former Air Force Secretary Backs Biden, Citing Democrat's 'moral compass' 
 
The second woman to serve as Air Force secretary is endorsing Democrat Joe Biden for president, saying the former vice president has the "moral compass, the intellect and humanity" she said the country needs in a president. Deborah Lee James, who was Air Force secretary from 2013 until President Donald Trump took office in 2017, said that after working with Biden up close during the Obama administration, she believes the presumptive Democratic nominee "understands that America is strongest when its armed forces mirror the diversity of our country."
Continued Reading

Joe Biden Commemorates the Anniversary of the El Paso Massacre | Joe Biden For President 2020
Joe Biden Commemorates the Anniversary of the El Paso Massacre | Joe Biden For President 2020


CORONAVIRUS
The Unique U.S. Failure to Control the Virus 
 
One country stands alone, as the only affluent nation to have suffered a severe, sustained outbreak for more than four months: the United States.... When it comes to the virus, the United States has come to resemble not the wealthy and powerful countries to which it is often compared but instead to far poorer countries like Brazil, Peru and South Africa, or those with large migrant populations, like Bahrain and Oman. As in several of those other countries, the toll of the virus in the United States has fallen disproportionately on poorer people and groups that have long suffered discrimination. Black and Latino residents of the United States have contracted the virus at roughly three times as high of a rate as white residents. How did this happen?
Continued Reading

FYI
The Horrifying ICE Documentary Trump Doesn't Want You to See
 
In 2017, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in their infinite wisdom, granted a pair of filmmakers unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to their officers and facilities. And for nearly three years, they captured the human toll of Trump's zero tolerance immigration policy, which saw undocumented families ripped apart and placed in ruinous detention centers. According to the filmmakers, ICE demanded that the series' release be held until after the 2020 election, and that the request came from "all the way to the top." 
Continued Reading

The Last Word
"Trump's only foreign policy: line my pockets or help me cheat."
-- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA)
JAC II
Introducing JACII, a JAC group for young professionals, advocates, and those young at heart who are looking to get involved. Groups have started in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
 
Events will feature elected officials and speakers in lively settings. JACII is by and for young people. Now is the perfect time to get involved.
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Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at info@jacpac.org. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.
Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
Paid for by Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs. Contributions or gifts are not tax deductible.  Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Corporate contributions and contributions from non-US citizens who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence are prohibited. All contributions by individuals must be made from personal funds and may not be reimbursed or paid by another person.