Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update
A newsletter for people willing to think for themselves
October 28, 2018
If you are really troubled by yesterday's synagogue shooting, you can do something--you can vote for legislators who will enact meaningful gun safety legislation. That means voting for Democrats.
There is no equivalence between violence from the right and violence from the left, and pretending that "everyone does it" will not make it go away.
We must call out the attacks on George Soros for what they are: anti-Semitism.
The evidence is clear that Jews support Democrats and Democrats support Israel. Both parties support Israel, although as I wrote on Friday in the
Times of Israel
, one of our parties does show signs of deviating from important pro-Israel principles.
Voting "the person, not the party" is like voting "the person, not the issues." Party affiliation is the most important issue in this election. Republicans have proven that they cannot stand up to Trump; we need at least one chamber of Congress under Democratic control.
Illinois Attorney General candidate Kwame Raoul is a longtime friend to Israel and the Jewish community who has fought back against discrimination and anti-Semitism. We need to elect him.
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Friends,
Yes, this is political, and now is the time to talk politics. Even as we mourn the victims of
yesterday's shooting at The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and support their loved ones, we must ensure that tragedies like this don't happen again.
Four professionally-trained armed officers were injured responding to the attack, which left 11 dead. Trump said the shooting could have been prevented with
the help of an armed guard. Does Trump really think that a part-time security guard
could have succeeded?
We have an election in less than two weeks.
Former Republican Congressman David Jolly wrote in February that the only way to enact common sense gun legislation is to vote Republicans out. If that sounds partisan, read
Paul Waldman. If anyone you're planning to vote for disagrees with
Sean Casten, then you need to re-think your vote.
Not only is Trump a bigot, not only does Trump incite violence, but Trump and his Republican enablers seem all too happy to take NRA money and give killers the tools of the trade.
This
Onion
article hits too close to home. If you're upset about what happened yesterday, think and pray for sure, but if you don't vote Democratic in November,
then you're part of the problem.
Joe Schwartz explains that Trump is culpable. It's up to us to elect a Congress that will stand up to him.
Our problem isn't incivility. It's right-wing violence.
Michelle Goldberg explains that "there is no serious comparison between left-wing and right-wing violence in this country, either in the scale of the phenomenon or the degree to which it is encouraged by political leaders." She's right,
even if the shooter was nuts.
Jewish voters will not be swayed by Republican misinformation. What would you do if you supported a political party whose positions on the economy, health care, taxes, immigration, Supreme Court nominations, gun safety, and the environment were
disapproved of by the vast majority of Jewish voters?
And if you thought Israel was your safety net, what would you do if it turned out that most Jewish voters
disapproved of your president's decisions on moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, scuttling the Iran Deal, and downgrading U.S.-Palestinian relations?
If winning elections at all costs was more important than acknowledging the reality of bipartisan support for Israel, you'd probably cherry-pick the three or four Democrats running for Congress whose positions are potentially problematic on Israel. You'd repeat their names over and over again to create the misimpression that this is a trend. You'd hope that no one remembers that nearly 470 Democrats are on the ballot for the U.S. House and Senate in November, the vast majority of whom will continue to strongly support Israel.
You might also point to
poorly worded polls purporting to show shifts in opinion among Democratic voters and hope that no one asks for evidence of slippage in the only poll that really matters: votes in Congress. Because if anyone does ask, they'll see no diminution of support at all from Democrats in Congress. Just ask Congressmen
Ted Deutsch (D-FL),
Ted Lieu (D-CA), and
Alcee Hastings (D-FL).
Jews support Democrats and Democrats support Israel.
Ron Klein and Halie Soifer of Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) walk through the data that proves it. They also remind us of what Republicans would like us to forget: "Republicans in Congress have been complicit in enacting policies that have callously shut our borders to those in need, torn children from their parents, and sought to deny access to affordable healthcare." And Republicans in Congress have done nothing to prevent gun violence.
The party defines the person. How many times have you heard someone proudly proclaim, "I vote the person, not the party"? That's like saying, "I vote the person, not the issues." There is no better predictor of how a member of Congress will vote than party affiliation, and regardless of how individual members vote, the party that controls Congress sets the agenda and calls the votes. There are exceptions to every rule, but taking party into strong consideration will almost always lead you to the right decision, especially this November.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) recounts the GOP's 20 most outrageous attacks against the public interest these past two years, and
Jason Sattler outlines the top ten risks of continued Republican control of Congress.
Kwame Raoul is a longtime friend to Israel and the Jewish community who has fought back against discrimination and anti-Semitism. Democratic Illinois Attorney General candidate Kwame Raoul was recognized by a witness testifying for anti-BDS legislation (SB 1761) as sharing with him “a strong support for the state of Israel and a strong opposition to anti-Semitism” as they discussed the implications of the bill for the state’s pension systems. Kwame’s “present” vote was based on these concerns; he affirmed his support for Israel and his belief that there is "no reason" to boycott Israel.
Kwame twice traveled to Israel with AIPAC. He sent his children to a JCC preschool and has secured grants for Akiba Schechter Jewish Day School in Hyde Park.
Kwame also adopted a trauma care approach developed in Israel as a model for the trauma recovery center pilot program he sponsored, the expansion of which will be one of his top priorities as attorney general. NATAL is an Israeli organization providing multidisciplinary treatment and support to people who have been victims of terror and war. It has brought its practices to Chicago in partnership with the Urban Trauma Resiliency Network, a Bronzeville center training African-American faith leaders to address trauma caused by violence in their communities.
The BDS movement seeks to isolate Israel from the rest of the world, but Kwame has done the exact opposite, acknowledging Israel’s contributions to treating a problem that faces Illinois. In 2013, Kwame voted in favor of House Bill 1571, which added Israel Bonds to the permissible investments that Illinois insurance companies may make--that doesn't sound like BDS to me. Please share these facts with your networks in Illinois. We need friends like Kwame in office, fighting for us.
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.