Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update

A newsletter for people willing to think for themselves



October 21, 2018

Democrats will continue to strongly support the U.S.-Israel relationship if they retake the House.

A just-released poll shows not only that an overwhelming majority of Jewish voters disapprove of Trump and will vote Democratic in the midterms, but that most Jewish voters disapprove of Trump's moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Trump's withdrawal from the Iran Deal, and Trump's handling of U.S.-Palestinian relations.

Why won't Republicans oppose Nazis and white supremacists? With the midterms less than three weeks away, they still haven't. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) invited the congressman who once described himself as "David Duke without the baggage" to campaign for him last week.

Louis Farrakhan again spewed vile anti-Semitism; demand that Facebook and Twitter suspend him for this ugly, hateful speech.

Don't miss the NSS Beth El Democratic candidate forum this morning in Highland Park. Details beneath the Video Clip of the Week.

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Friends,

Roughly 470 Democrats will be on the November ballot for the U.S. House and Senate. Our Republican friends would prefer that we ignore 466 of those candidates and focus on the three or four who are potentially problematic on Israel. They are no more a trend among Democrats than Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who last summer  tried to cut all aid to Israel, is a trend among Republicans (in fact, Paul is a higher percentage of the Senate than those three or four will be of the House).

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reminds us of the reality that as measured by the only measure that matters, votes in Congress, both parties continue to back pro-Israel legislation by overwhelming bipartisan margins.

What will happen next? Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-FL) writes if "the Democrats recapture the House majority, it will be because of the overwhelming majority of candidates – the real 'new wave' – who will continue our party’s strong support for America’s relationship with the lone democracy in the Middle East."

Deutsch also makes a point that every pro-Israel advocate must internalize: We can support Israel's security and a strong U.S.-relationship while also voicing disagreement with specific Israeli policies that we honestly question. Indeed, as Marc Stanley wrote, if "we narrow the pro-Israel tent by excluding good friends who have honest disagreements, we’ll soon have a tent too small to make a difference." And as I've previously explained, there is a difference between pro-Israel and pro-Bibi .

A new poll shows that Jewish voters overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump's policies. The just-released poll shows that Jewish voters not only overwhelmingly dis approve of Trump's domestic policies, but most also disapprove of Trump's moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, Trump's withdrawal from the Iran Deal, and Trump's handling of U.S.-Palestinian relations. The poll also shows that nearly all Jewish voters consider themselves pro-Israel, but most are critical of certain policies of the Israeli government. The bottom line: 74% of Jewish voters plan to vote Democratic in the midterms, and 75% disapprove of Donald Trump.

A poll can only ask so much, but Trump's policy problems related to Israel go beyond Jerusalem, Iran, and the Palestinians. Trump  ran a campaign  laced with anti-Semitic tropes and  anti-Jewish stereotypes. Earlier this month, Trump  promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Twitter.

Trump has threatened that Israel would “ have to pay a higher price” in return for moving the embassy to Jerusalem (a move that made Israel not one whit safer). Trump proposed arms sales to  Saudi Arabia and the  United Arab Emirates that would erode Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge. Trump proposed providing  nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia (a regime that still beheads people). Trump has several times  gone behind Israel's back to negotiate with Russia about Syria. Trump  imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Israel.

Trump  compromised Israeli intelligence by sharing information with Russia. Trump  endangered Israeli lives by  reckless aid cuts that will destabilize the Palestinian Authority and increase volatility in the West Bank and Gaza--we know now that  Bibi did not consult with Israel’s security chiefs before reversing long-standing Israeli opposition to these cuts. Trump exited the Iran Deal with no Plan B and nothing but a sham  Iran Action Group. All in less than two years. And Trump has still not filled the position of  Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, which has been vacant since he took office, nor has he appointed a White House Jewish liaison.


Why won't Republicans oppose Nazis and white supremacists? JDCA Chairman Ron Klein and JDCA Board member Dan Berger write that "only one party has Nazis, neo-Nazis and white supremacists running under its banner, and the leaders of that party, the Republican Party, refuse to endorse the only Americans who can defeat them."

To their credit, some local Illinois Republicans , as well as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), have urged a vote for Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) over his Nazi opponent, Arthur Jones. Yet not one Republican congressman from Illinois (yes, they are all men) has been able to clear the incredibly low bar of endorsing a Democrat over an actual Nazi.  

One of those congressmen, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), missed the rally against Jones but had an event just last week with Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). Scalise, who once described himself as " David Duke without the baggage," twice voted against the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and addressed a rally of white supremacists. Scalise is the House Majority Whip--the #3 Republican in the House.

Jamie Bouie reports that Republicans aren't running on taxes anymore. They're running on bigotry. Makes sense: A recent study found that voters who switched from Obama to Trump in 2016 "tended to score highly on measures of racial hostility and xenophobia — and were not especially likely to be suffering economically." The study also explains why white voters who voted for a black president and then switched to Trump could be racist.

Demand Twitter suspend Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan is an anti-Semite. Last week, he compared Jews to termites and said Jews are "stupid." Chelsea Clinton said tha t "For everyone who rightly condemned President Trump’s rhetoric when he spoke about immigrants 'infesting our country,' this rhetoric should be equally unacceptable to you." Sadly, this rhetoric does not seem unacceptable to organizers of the national Women's March. But if it is unacceptable to you , sign the JDCA petition demanding that Twitter suspend Farrakhan.

Anti-Zionism is nearly always anti-Semitism, and as Carly Pildis explains, it too has no place in the progressive movement.

Did you miss last week's newsletter? Here it is.


Tweet of the Week. Kaili Joy Gray.


Meet the Democratic candidates and ask your questions at NSS Beth El in Highland Park on Sunday morning, October 21. Click here for details.

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The Fine Print (in regular type) : This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. Unless stated otherwise, my views do not necessarily reflect the views of any candidates or organizations that I support or am associated with. My views might not even be my views tomorrow; I reserve the right to change my mind as I learn more, and sometimes I make myself mad too. Intelligent, well-informed people may disagree with me; seek out opposing views and decide for yourself. When I link to an article, it doesn't mean that I agree with everything its author has ever said or that I even agree with everything in the article; it means that the article supports or elaborates on the point I was making. Advertisements reflect the views of the advertisers, not necessarily of me, and advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. I read, value, and encourage replies to my newsletters, but I don't always have time to acknowledge replies or to engage in one-on-one discussion. Don't expect a reply if your message is uncivil or if it's clear from your message that you haven't read the newsletter or clicked on the relevant links.