April 17, 2020 
WEEK IN REVIEW
The GOP is more committed than ever to restricting women's access to reproductive health care. They are continuing to wage war on women by declaring that abortion is not an essential service during the Coronavirus pandemic.

States have placed restrictions that have effectively banned or blocked the availability of abortion services.

Women in these states may not even be able to travel to another state to receive abortion care. Some state officials are preventing drivers from crossing state lines and subjecting non-residents to 14-day quarantines, which could increase the logistical costs pregnant people face. Methods of transportation have also been affected.

The loss of jobs, the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, and the uncertain future of the COVID-19 outbreak further complicates the situation. All of these factors can make it nearly impossible for women to access their necessary abortion care.

If women can get to a clinic, they are met with protesters who are violating social distancing and the stay-at-home-order. They are intimidating the women and potentially spreading the virus as well.

Even the stimulus package gives President Trump's Small Business Administration the leeway to deny funding to Planned Parenthood, and the final law also includes Hyde Amendment-like language, which experts say prevents state and local governments from using COVID-19 funds to help abortion services.

Those clinics forced to close during the stay-at-home orders face difficult financial situations. Some may not reopen after the ban is lifted. Many states already have too few clinics to serve their families. 

For now, it's up to the courts, which are filled with Trump's anti-choice judges, to decide if these clinics can remain open. Last weekend, a federal judge ruled that Alabama cannot ban abortions as part of the state's response to the coronavirus. That judge, Myron Thompson, was appointed by President Jimmy Carter.

Even during this trying time, we must remain committed to protecting reproductive freedom. We do not need to sacrifice our reproductive rights to remain safe from the Coronavirus.
Courts matter and elections matter.

Source:  Time.com

UPCOMING EVENTS
While the current outbreak has most of us staying home, we have some upcoming virtual events we can all join.
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Special Congressional Update with
Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL)
Friday, April 24
11:00 am CT

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April 28th
3:00 pm ET/ 2:00 pm CT
Conference call with Ilyse Hogue of NARAL
and 
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ)
Details to follow
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Virtual Events in Support of former VP Joe Biden

Special low-donation event!
Tuesday, April 21
6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT
Women for Biden with
Dr. Jill Biden & Ashley Biden
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Wednesday, April 22
Time TBA
Virtual Environmental & Clean Energy Reception with
Vice President Joe Biden
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Thursday, April 23
Time TBA
Virtual Reception with Dana & Paul Kiesel
and
Sen. Cory Booker
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Thursday, April 23
Evening TBA
Fabulous Evening with Vice President Joe Biden
featuring
Kristin Chenowith, Melissa Etheridge, 
Billie Jean King, and Billy Porter
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Monday, April 27
Time TBA
Virtual Fundraiser with Vice President Joe Biden
featuring
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker
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Wednesday, May 6
4:00 pm ET
Virtual Fireside Chat with Sec. Madeleine Albright 
& Jake Sullivan
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ISRAEL
Rivlin Gives Knesset 21 Days to Agree on the PM It Wants, or Go to New Election

President Reuven Rivlin informed Knesset Speaker Benny Gantz that his mandate to form a government had ended, after the Blue and White party leader failed to present a government to the parliament by Wednesday night's midnight deadline.  Rivlin announced earlier this week he would not hand the mandate to Gantz's rival, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, but would trigger the start of the 21-day period during which the entire Knesset as a whole may select a candidate to form a government.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
White supremacists are targeting Jewish groups on Zoom 

A wave of Zoom attacks targeting the Jewish community. As Americans stay quarantined due to the pandemic, events that used to take place in person - town halls, weddings, and funerals - are now streaming on the videoconferencing platform. The trend has brought with it a new form of digital harassment: Zoombombing, where trolls enter meetings uninvited and stream disruptive or offensive content.
Continued Reading

CHOICE
Three More States Face Legal Action Over Coronavirus Abortion Bans

In a span of fewer than 24 hours, three new lawsuits were filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood, requesting federal courts to block states from including abortion in directives temporarily halting "non-essential" medical procedure. Eight states have now been sued over similar orders: Arkansas, Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
 
Justice Department Takes Church's Side in 1st Amendment Suit

The Justice Department took the rare step on Tuesday (April 14) of weighing in on the side of a Mississippi Christian church where local officials had tried to stop Holy Week services broadcast to congregants sitting in their cars in the parking lot. Greenville city leaders argue the services violate stay-at-home orders and could have put people's lives in jeopardy. Church officials believe they have been singled out for their religion, especially after eight police officers were sent last week to ticket the faithful, $500 apiece, for attending services, including the pastor's wife.  
Continued Reading


BEYOND THE CORE
March 2020 Was the First March Without a School Shooting in the U.S. Since 2002

March 2020 was apparently the first March in nearly two decades without a school shooting in the U.S. Schools across America have been shut down since early March as a prevention measure to slow the spread of coronavirus. Since then, kids of all ages have adjusted to homeschooling and online classes - a new normal that could extend through the rest of the school year. For most of those students, this is one of the longest stretches in their lifetimes without a school shooting. 
Continued Reading

POLITICAL BYTE
Trump Threatens to Adjourn Congress to Push Through Nominees

President Donald Trump, furious over government vacancies he said were hindering his administration's coronavirus response, threatened to invoke a never-before-used presidential power to adjourn Congress so he could fill the positions temporarily himself.  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., quickly let it be known that would not happen.
Continued Reading

BIDEN ROUNDUP
Joe Biden: People Are Frightened and Looking for Leadership 
 
Fmr. VP Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden speak about the hardships of the coronavirus, its impact on medical workers and Americans now out of work. VP Biden also criticizes the president for his handling of the virus.
Continued Reading


CORONAVIRUS
The Situation Room Didn't Prepare Me for a Life Confined to My Living Room
 

I know what it's like to make big decisions in small rooms, separated from the rest of the world, alone with the weight of your choices. It seems, in fact, that such acts defined my government career. For six years I was an official in the Obama administration, advising secretaries of state and ambassadors, spending my days in secure rooms at the State Department, the White House, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The rooms I inhabit now are more ordinary and unassuming, living as I do in a two-bedroom apartment, sheltering in place with my wife and young child in the age of COVID-19. 
Continued Reading

FYI
Celebrity-Studded Saturday Night Seder Yields 1m Viewers, $2.6m for Charity and 4 Big Insights About the Jewish People      
 
With its glittering assembly of stars, jokes that worked and attendees who could, well, sing, it was the Zoom Seder you wished you had.  The Saturday Night Passover Seder that aired on YouTube over the weekend brought together dozens of celebrities and raised $2.6 million for the CDC Foundation, the nonprofit wing of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the government agency guiding America through the coronavirus pandemic. Look for JAC-friend Sarah Hurwitz, speaker at last year's JAC Power of Women Luncheon.
Continued Reading

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.

The Last Word
" Infrastructure is not just hospitals and laboratories; it is also the people on the front lines staffing these facilities who play a critical role in coordinating our response to COVID-19."

Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL)
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.