Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update

A newsletter for people willing to think for themselves



August 19, 2018

You can protect yourself and others from being manipulated by unscrupulous politicians by learning their tricks. Literally hundreds of pro-Israel Democrats will be on the ballot for U.S. House and Senate in November. Don’t let anyone tell you that a handful of fringe candidates who are out of step with the Democratic mainstream somehow represent the views of the Democratic Party.

Those who cherish bipartisan support for Israel should be speaking out against these misrepresentations; Israel is not helped by falsehoods about the strength and depth of American support.

Dana Gordon, David Goldenberg and I are hosting Sean Casten in Highland Park on this Tuesday evening, August 21. Details beneath the Video Clip of the Week. Defeating Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) is one of our top priorities.

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Friends,

What I hate most about politics is the way unscrupulous politicians exploit our flawed reasoning process . None of us are immune. We naturally misjudge the frequency of events based on what we’ve seen or read recently and on how vividly we remember them ( the availability heuristic ). Evolution hard-wired it into our brains because for millions of years, it was a reliable rule of thumb. If you saw a lion attacking someone yesterday, it probably made sense to stay away from lions based on the assumption that all lions attacked people.

That rule doesn’t make quite as much sense today. Airplane crashes make more news than auto crashes, but airplanes are much safer. Vaccines can cause bad reactions, but vaccinations are overwhelmingly beneficial. Yet the crashes and bad reactions make the news.

Our Republican friends might not know much about economics or foreign policy , but they understand how the mind works (everyone loves science when it works for them). They know that of the literally hundreds of Democrats running for the U.S. House and Senate in November, nearly all are solidly pro-Israel, incumbents and challengers alike. No one talks about them because they’re not news. But three out of about 450 Democrats who will be on the House or Senate ballot in November have made unacceptable statements about the U.S.-Israel relationship. They are no more a trend among Democrats than Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who last month tried to cut all aid to Israel , is a trend among Republicans. But by focusing on those three, Republicans hope to manipulate our love for Israel for their own partisan gain.

Unfortunately, by refuting these falsehoods, Democrats necessarily repeat the falsehoods, which helps the falsehoods stick in people’s minds. The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) has publicly expressed concern about positions on Israel taken by these three Democratic candidates. JDCA did the right thing. The views of these three candidates do not reflect the pro-Israel positions of the Democratic Party. They are outliers. Yet even such criticism can reinforce the misleading Republican message.

So what can we do? Clearly, we must all, especially Democrats, voice our concerns about positions taken that go outside any reasonable boundary of what it means to be pro-Israel, even at the cost of giving falsehoods more oxygen. But at the same time, all of us must understand and guard against the availability heuristic--which is a form of fallacious reasoning--and speak out when we see others attempt to use it to manipulate us for their own partisan gain. Each party will always have its fringes; our job is to see the forest from the trees and support the candidates and the party that overall most closely aligns with our values.

The choice between support for Israel and support for our domestic agenda is a false choice. Halie Soifer , Executive Director of the JDCA, explains that we "don't need to choose between support for Israel and other values we prioritize, such as immigration, reproductive rights, education, healthcare, common sense gun laws, and the Supreme Court" because "Democrats continue to support Israel and a morally sound domestic policy agenda." Most Jews know that, which is why--unless the latest dezinformatsiya campaign succeeds--they will continue to vote Democratic.

The real issue is Republican support for Donald Trump . Trump is not some candidate you never even heard of until last month who will take office tied for last in seniority. Trump is not the fringe of the Republican Party. Trump is the leader of the GOP. Trump occupies the most powerful office in the world. Trump  ran a campaign laced with anti-Semitic tropes and  anti-Jewish stereotypes. He moved the embassy to Jerusalem, a move that made Israel not one whit safer, but an administration that would erode Israel's Qualitative Military Edge by selling arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, that also wants to provide nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia (a regime that still beheads people), that has several times gone behind Israel's back to negotiate with Russia about Syria, that imposed steel and aluminum tariffs on Israel, and that compromised Israeli intelligence by sharing information with Russia is the real threat to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

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

Twitter Thread of the Week . Succinct analysis from Nicholas Miller on Trump's new Iran Action Group.


Video Clip of the Week . A great music video, if only for the brilliant lip-synching at the beginning. Pure fun and talent from start to finish .

Dana Gordon, David Goldenberg and I are hosting a Meet & Greet for Sean Casten on Tuesday evening, August 21, in Highland Park. Please RSVP here (contributions are not required but will not be declined) or reply to this newsletter with your RSVP. Sean's opponent, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), is anti-choice (even in cases of rape and incest), opposes same-sex marriage, opposes stem cell research, has called climate science “junk science,” and opposes a ban on assault weapons. 

This race is getting national attention because Casten has such a good chance of winning. Casten is good on Israel , but unlike Roskam, he is also good on the other issues we care about. It’s an easy choice: Roskam votes with Trump 94% of the time--we need an independent check on Trump.

Sean Casten is a scientist, advocate, and clean energy entrepreneur who has devoted his career to fighting global warming. A biochemist by training, Sean spent twenty years running companies and creating jobs by profitably reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He lives in Downers Grove with his wife Kara and two daughters, Gwen and Audrey. He has completed ten marathons, coached youth soccer in Downers Grove, and plays in several cover bands of varying degrees of quality. Casten is endorsed by the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

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The Fine Print (in regular type) : This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. Unless explicitly 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 I agree with everything the author of that article has ever said or even that I agree with everything in that 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.