January 24, 2020 
WEEK IN REVIEW
This week, on the 47th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Trump administration took more steps to restrict women's access to reproductive health care. Trump authorized, through the government's Medicare and Medicaid office, the Texas plans to implement a Medicaid family planning program that bars patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood.

The Administration is blatantly bending the rules to keep patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood, which is one of the nation's leading providers of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people. This latest move is contrary to the federal statute that allows Medicare and Medicaid to see to see the participating provider of their choice.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has been weakening the rules and upending longstanding federal law in order to cut off people's access to family planning health care. Tennessee and South Carolina have already submitted applications to do the same. More states will most likely follow as they seek ways to prevent women from getting the full scope of family planning care -- including abortions.

With 24 days into the new year, there is already an ominous feeling about our reproductive freedom. The Supreme Court is getting ready to hear its first case on abortion since Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were appointed to the court.

The case deals with a Louisiana law that requires doctors performing abortion to have admitting privileges at a hospital no more than 30 miles away. If the law is allowed to be implements, all of Louisiana's abortion clinics would close, forcing women to face the difficult burden of traveling out of state for an abortion.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, if Roe v Wade is overturned or weakened, the average distance to an abortion clinic would increase by 388 percent.

For the first time since the Supreme Court legalized abortion, a majority of House members support abortion rights. But that's not enough. We need a pro-choice Senate. Otherwise, the House's actions to protect our reproductive freedom will be stopped by Mitch McConnell.

We cannot take our rights for granted. Elections Matter.

   
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JAC AROUND TOWN
JAC's Cheryl Teverow delivered JAC support to Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)
(l to r: Sara Adler, Karen Adler, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Michael Adler)
ISRAEL
Trump's Plan Isn't About Peace Between Israelis and Palestinians               
    
With the PA all but having severed its ties to Washington after the Trump administration's 2017 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital  - followed by the shutting of the PLO representative office in Washington, moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the slashing of hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinians and the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees - the Trump administration no longer has an address to communicate with in Ramallah.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Pope Francis Condemns 'Barbaric Resurgence' of Anti-Semitism

A week before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Francis renewed his condemnation of anti-Semitism, decrying its "barbaric resurgence." "If we lose our memory, we annihilate the future," the pope said. "May the anniversary of the unspeakable cruelty that humanity learned 75 years ago serve as a summons to pause, to be silent and to remember. We need to do this, lest we become indifferent." 
Continued Reading


CHOICE
Most Americans Want Abortion to Remain Legal, but Back Some State Restrictions         
 
Most of the 2020 presidential candidates are unequivocal about abortion: President Trump wants the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling overturned, while many candidates vying for the Democratic nomination would seek to codify abortion rights into law. The American public, on the other hand, is not absolutist - and is even somewhat confused - on aspects of the issue.   
Continued Reading


SEPARATION
Supreme Court Seems Ready to Lift Limits on State Aid to Religious Schools

The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed poised to rule that states may not exclude religious schools from state programs that provide scholarships to students attending private schools. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., looking none the worse for wear after a late night  presiding over the impeachment trial  of President Trump, seemed to be searching for a limiting principle, one that would allow the scholarships but stop short of requiring state support for religious education in other contexts.
Continued Reading

BEYOND THE CORE
Supreme Court's Citizens United Mistake Just Turned 10 Years Old. It's Time to Reverse It.

We've seen over the past decade how quickly and effectively wealthy individuals and corporations were able to overcome the remaining limitations on campaign spending. As it turns out, forbidding coordination between candidates or parties and super PACS does little to safeguard our electorate from limitless money from corporations, non-profits, labor unions and other associations. And it hasn't stopped people from losing faith in our system, either.
Continued Reading


POLITICAL BYTE
President Trump Made 16,241 False or Misleading Claims in His First Three Years  
 
Three years after taking the oath of office, President Trump has made more than 16,200 false or misleading claims - a milestone that would have been unthinkable when we first created the Fact Checker's database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement he has uttered. In 2017, Trump made 1,999 false or misleading claims. In 2018, he added 5,689 more, for a total of 7,688. And in 2019, he made 8,155 suspect claims.  
Continued Reading

 
 
IMPEACHMENT WATCH
Why No GOP Senator Will Stand up to Trump
 
It's easy, nearly 50 years after Watergate, to forget that Nixon's ignominious departure from the White House was hardly a foregone conclusion. The Republican Party had stuck closely with Nixon even through the darkest days of the Watergate scandal; even as its lawmakers whispered behind closed doors about his guilt and even as public opinion polls showed Nixon dragging down their party. It wasn't until August 6, 1974 that Barry Goldwater fumed to his colleagues: "There are only so many lies you can take, and now there has been one too many. Nixon should get his ass out of the White House-today!"  
Continued Reading



FYI
The Only Memoir Written at Auschwitz Is Finally to Be Published in English                    
 
Seventy-five years after Eddy de Wind wrote a novel at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the late psychiatrist's book will be translated into English and a dozen other languages. Set for release on January 20, "Last Stop Auschwitz: My Story of Survival From Within the Camp," was written during the days immediately after the Nazi death camp's liberation. Hiding in a pile of old clothes underneath a barracks, de Wind used a foraged notebook and pencils to craft his account.      
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 [email protected]. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.

The Last Word
"The American people are not asleep at the wheel of this democracy.  They are wide awake to any Senator or President who disrespects their constitutional duties or claims to be above the law."
 
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)   
Events
 
Reception for
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Sunday, January 26th
1:30 pm
Lake Forest, IL
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An Evening at the Theater with JACPAC
What the Constitution Means to Me
Wednesday, March 11th
Dinner & Political Update with Jill Wine Banks: 5:30 pm
Showtime: 7:30 pm
Chicago, IL
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SAVE THE DATE
Talking Points with
Rep. Sean Casten (IL-6)
Monday, April 6
9:30 am 
Chicago Suburbs
Details to follow
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SAVE THE DATE
April 21-23, 2020
JAC's 2020 Annual Meeting
Celebrating 40 years of JAC
Washington, DC
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Want to host a JAC event? Contact the office and we will help organize it.
[email protected] or 847.433.5999

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.