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July 28, 2024
Key Takeaways:
- It's been 296 days since October 7, 2023, when, on Simchat Torah, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and murdered 1,200 people (including 44 Americans). More Jews were murdered on that day than on any day since the Holocaust. Hamas wounded 3,300 and took 240 hostage during a day of brutal savagery and unspeakable, undeniable sexual violence; 120 hostages, 43 confirmed dead (but certainly more), some raped and possibly pregnant, remain captive in Gaza today.
- The roughly 115 remaining hostages comprise five religions and 25 nationalities, including eight Americans, five probably alive: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Keith Siegal, Omer Neutra, Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Itay Chen, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Gad Haggai. Freeing every hostage must remain a top priority.
- Netanyahu spoke for an hour before Congress on Wednesday without saying the words Jon Polin wanted to hear: "Today I announce that the hostages are coming home."
- Neither JD Vance nor Kamala Harris attended Netayahu's speech. Many Democrats who fully support aid to Israel skipped the speech. Many Republicans who have voted to cut or condition aid to Israel attended the speech. Attendance at a speech is not a pro-Israel litmus test.
- Vice President Harris met with Netanyahu at the White House and then delivered a speech that should put to rest any concerns about her commitment to Israel's safety and security. But that won't stop Republicans from spreading falsehoods about her positions to stoke fear and distract from Donald Trump's documented antisemitism and failures on Israel.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and upcoming events.
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Hi Steve,
Vice President Kamala Harris did not attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress on Wednesday. Neither did Vice President Wannabe JD Vance. Republicans are livid that Harris didn't attend. They aren't concerned that U.S. Senator Vance didn't attend.
Are we middle schoolers fretting about who attended our party? We need to grow up. The correct answer to why both didn't attend is it doesn't matter. Joe Biden did not attend in 2015 when he was vice president and Netanyahu addressed Congress. It would have been nice if Republicans had checked with the White House or even with Democratic congressional leaders before setting the date for Netanyahu's speech but they didn't.
Former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt Dan Kurtzer wrote, "The invitation to Netanyahu was orchestrated by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, ostensibly to demonstrate support for Israel, but also to put the Democrats on the spot. Keep in mind this group of Republican leaders in the House and Senate were the ones who delayed and denied aid to Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 7th attack by Hamas. It is cynical and shameful for politicians to try to create a political divide in support of Israel."
An aide to Harris noted that "throughout her career, the Vice President has had an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. That remains true today.
Since October 7, she has been deeply engaged with Israeli officials as part of our Administration’s support for Israel as it works to eliminate the threat of Hamas. She has spoken regularly with President Herzog, and met with him once. And she met with then-War Cabinet Member Benny Gantz. She has joined more than 20 calls between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
"She has repeatedly condemned Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7 and expressed support for Israel’s right to defend itself. She has met with families of Americans held hostage and met with former hostages, including just last month, when she met with a former Israeli hostage who survived sexual assault in captivity and hosted an event at the White House that highlighted Hamas’ horrific sexual violence ... Her travel to Indianapolis on July 24 should not be interpreted as a change in her position with regard to Israel."
Harris traveled to Indianapolis to speak at a major event that was on her public calendar since at least July 3. Should she have canceled and disappointed thousands of people who showed up to see her so that she could attend a stunt orchestrated by Netanyahu and the Republicans? Read the speech she delivered while Netanyahu was giving his speech and ask yourself if she made the right choice.
We should judge Harris in light of her record on Israel, which is outstanding. She clearly was not snubbing Netanyahu to make a point--she met with Netanyahu at the White House the next day for 40 minutes. JD Vance is a U.S. Senator. He too could have attended Netanyahu's speech. Instead, he chose to campaign elsewhere. I don't fault him for that.
Attendance at a speech is not a litmus test for commitment to Israel. Many of the 198 House Republicans who voted for legislation that included cutting aid to Israel by 30%, which would have violated our Memorandum of Understanding with Israel, attended the speech. Some Democrats who oppose cutting aid to Israel skipped the speech.
Many of the Republicans who voted to condition emergency aid to Israel on cutting funding to the Internal Revenue Service to make it easier for tax cheats attended the speech. Some of the Democrats who opposed conditioning aid to Israel on IRS funding cuts and fully supported President Biden's emergency aid package to Israel skipped the speech.
When the chips are down, who do you want in your corner? The members of Congress who attended a speech or the members of Congress who support aid to Israel? Some pro-Israel members of Congress attended the speech. Some did not. What matters is why they chose to attend or not attend. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) made a convincing case for attending. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) made a convincing case for not attending. But unlike so many Republicans who attended the speech, both back up their support for Israel by consistently voting for aid to Israel, as do the vast majority of Democrats, both those who attended and those who did not attend. Anyone who reads this letter from former senior officials of Israel's security establishment cannot fault any member of Congress for not attending Netanyahu's speech.
If you missed Netanyahu's speech, you can read the full text or you can read Rep. Gregory Meeks's (D-NY) accurate summary. President Biden met with Netanyahu on Thursday and welcomed hostage families to the White House.
Did you see Vice President Harris's speech following her meeting with Netanyahu? It was only six minutes long. Before you take anyone's word for what she said, watch it or read it. This is a pro-Israel speech. If you're wondering whether Harris shares Biden's policy views on Israel, this speech confirms that she does. She announced no policy shifts from the administration's position. She doesn't talk about Israel like Biden does--neithfer does anyone else, certainly not Trump. Harris is a friend of Israel, and this speech confirms that like Biden, her focus is Israel's safety and security, not Netanyahu's political career. Meanwhile, Netanyahu met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday and true to form, his team leaked false information about the meeting.
What to expect from Republicans between now and Election Day: Republicans and the right-wing Jewish press will run their typical playbook. They’ve got nothing on Harris's record, so they'll run their generic, one-size-fits-all attacks.
Someone will say something antisemitic and they'll say it's been two hours! Why hasn't Harris condemned this event she might not even be aware of, as if she’s Donald Trump sitting alone in his room with his phone and nothing better to do than watch Fox News.
Or they'll find something a family member may have done (doesn't matter if they really did) and act as if that family member, not Harris, is running for president. It won't be nearly as bad as anything Don Jr. or Ivanka may have done, but hypocrisy never stopped a good Republican attack ad. In case it's unclear, what Trump's kids may or may not have done is irrelevant, as is whether JD Vance had sex with a couch and whether it was one nightstand. (What is relevant is this leaked audio from JD Vance.)
The latest silliness is whether Harris is a Zionist. Has Trump ever said he's a Zionist? Vance? Any president other than Biden? Not to my knowledge. It's not as easy to define "Zionism" as some might think (read Derek Penslar's book on Zionism if you think there is one clear definition). If we define "Zionism" as supporting the idea of a Jewish state in some or all of the historic Land of Israel, then every president from Truman on has been a Zionist. Nothing in Harris's record suggests she wouldn't be too. Then why can't she say it? Maybe because she doesn't want to define herself by a term capable of multiple meanings. Better questions are why she is the only candidate who is asked this question and why only Joe Biden has chosen to define himself as a Zionist.
What not to expect from Republicans between now and Election Day: Republicans making the case against Harris based on what she's actually said, in context. If you have any doubts about where she stands on Israel, read what she said on April 9, March 3, and December 2. This where some of what's been taken out of context comes from. Read what she said in context if you are concerned.
Most important, remember who she is running against. We have a choice. A Trump victory in November would mean the end of legal abortion. A 34-time convicted felon should not be president. A man who paid hush money to cover up sex with a porn star four months after his wife gave birth to prevent Americans from knowing his true character before an election should not be president.
Trump's bigotry, xenophobia, and contempt for democracy, not to mention his unhinged mind, his detachment from reality, his theft of classified documents, inciting an insurrection, refusing to accept the results of a lawful election, legal liability for sexual abuse, terrible record as president, and long record of antisemitism and accusing Jews of disloyalty are matters of fact.
Would you vote for a candidate who said “Christians, get out and vote! Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It’ll be fixed! It’ll be fine! You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians. I love you, Christians! I’m a Christian.” That's who you're voting for if you vote for Trump.
This is an easy choice even if you have questions about Harris. We can’t go back. We won’t go back. We, our children, our country, and the planet cannot afford another four years of Donald Trump. Kamala Harris is the clear choice.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. Last week, I sent newsletters on Sunday and Monday. No one pointed out any substantive errors in either of them.
In Case You Missed It:
- President Biden is a good, decent man who saved our democracy in 2020 and brought America back from the brink of disaster. His speech last week was pure class. We should all be thankful to him. I'm proud that I stood with him until he made his decision and I still stand with him.
- The White House condemned yesterday's horrific Hezbollah attack that killed and injured kids playing soccer, reiterating that "our support for Israel’s security is iron-clad and unwavering against all Iranian backed terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah."
- Vice President Harris condemned the protests at Union Station in DC on Wednesday. Trump's only comment about the protests was that he thinks those who burn American flags should be imprisoned (Trump does not understand the Constitution). Unlike Harris, Trump did not condemn the protesters' antisemitism or support for Hamas.
- Watch Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) at the very subcommittee hearing House Republicans falsely claimed Democrats boycotted. Schneider was late to the hearing because he was meeting with families of hostages held by Hamas. One Democrat was in the hospital and two others had conflicting legislative commitments. If Republicans cared about fighting antisemitism they wouldn't cut funds to fight antisemitism.
Tweet of the Week. He doesn't seem to be in the running for Harris's vice president but how many who are could answer this question?
Twitter Thread of the Week. "I owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology." Another version that might be easier to read if you aren't on Twitter (or even if you are).
Video Clips of the Week. Downfall: Unburdened Editon and Marsh Family Songs.
Music Video of the Week. This guy turned 81 last week and no one is telling him to step down--which brings to mind this classic.
Opening Olympic Ceremony of the Week. Mr. Bean.
Upcoming Event. Join Politics with Dana and Steve and Democratic Jewish Outreach Pennsylvania for Project 2025: Everything You Need to Know, on Tuesday, August 7, at 7:00 pm ET on Zoom. It's free but RSVP is required.
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I periodically update my posts on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism and on the IHRA definition of antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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