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November 27, 2022
Key Takeaways:
- Last week, Donald Trump, the GOP's standard-bearer in the last two presidential elections, dined with two notorious antisemites. It won't hurt his chances within a Republican Party rife with antisemitism.
- GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy reiterated threats to break with House norms and remove three Democrats from their committees--and reinstate Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who threatened violence against members of Congress.
- Democratic members of Congress are asking Amazon to remove antisemitic products from its platform.
- The White House unequivocally condemned recent terror in Jerusalem, reiterated its commitment to Israel's security, and supported the UNHRC's investigation of Iran's human rights abuses.
- A victory by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in the December 6 run-off would give Democrats 51 Senate seats and enable more progress in the Senate. Warnock has a strong record in support of Israel and against antisemitism.
Read to the end for upcoming events and fun stuff.
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Hi Steve,
Last week, Donald Trump, who twice won the GOP nomination for president, hosted two antisemitic extremists, Kanye West and white nationalist Nick Fuentes, at Mar-a-Lago for dinner. Thus far, not one returning or new GOP House member has condemned Trump for this meeting. However, Chris Christie and David Friedman were shocked, shocked that a man with Trump's record on antisemitism would dine with antisemites.
How many times did we hear in 2016 that this or that scandal would finally doom Trump's candidacy? Trump's base is the GOP base, and Trump knows what it craves. Unlike his Republican rivals, he's willing to use a foghorn instead of a dog whistle. That's why he wins Republican primaries. Republicans know full well who he is, and they like what they see. The real question is why 25% of Jews continue to vote Republican. As Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted, "tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are."
Zack Stanton and Garrett Ross remind us that Trump's comment that there were “some very fine people on both sides” after white nationalists marched on Charlottesville, Va. "prompted a wave of statements from leading Republicans expressing their discomfort with Trump’s comment and disgust with white nationalists. But ultimately, most of those same GOP leaders came around and eventually ended up supporting Trump anyway." Whenever Republicans these days wrestle with their conscience, they lose.
On November 14, 12 Democratic members of Congress asked Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to condemn Trump's recent antisemitic remarks at the Zionist Organization of America conference, noting that "these comments come at a time when the Jewish community is already facing a dangerous rise in antisemitism" and asking McCarthy and McConnell to stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. Two weeks later, no response from McCarthy or McConnell. The ZOA presented Trump with its Theodor Herzl Gold Medallion.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had no comment on Trump. GOP leader Kevin McCarthy has more important things on his mind: Putting Trump-supporter and Nick Fuentes ally Rep. Margorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on House committees, removing Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from the House Intelligence Committee, and removing Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. McCarthy made the threats last weekend.
Greene was removed from her committee assignments not only because of her white supremacist and antisemitic rhetoric but because she threatened violence against members of Congress and never apologized for any of it. That's a bright line that the three Democrats McCarthy is threatening have never crossed.
Omar issued a statement calling out McCarthy and the GOP for their hypocrisy. One does not have to agree with Omar on every issue to understand that McCarthy's threats are unprecedented breaks from decades of House governance.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) said last week that McCarthy "is already showing that he is unable to stand up to the darkest parts of his party by elevating people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has a horrific history of supporting racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories. It does not surprise me that the Republicans want to remove the only Muslim woman on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.”
Removing these Democrats requires a vote by the full House. The question is whether any Republicans will have to courage to just vote no.
Democrats urge Amazon to remove antisemitic products. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), and Brad Sherman (D-CA) are circulating a letter urging Amazon to swiftly remove the antisemitic book and related film Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America by Ronald Dalton Jr. from Amazon's platform. Please ask your member of Congress to sign this letter.
White House condemns Jerusalem bombings. The White House "unequivocally" condemned the acts of terror last week in Jerusalem and reiterated that "the United States stands with the Government and people of Israel. As President Biden emphasized during his visit to Israel in July, our commitment to Israel’s security is ironclad and unbreakable."
Amir Tibon reports that the situation in the West Bank will get worse if the new Israeli government weakens the Palestinian Authority or causes it to collapse. Tibon also writes that Jerusalem is "supposedly the 'eternal and united capital' of Israel but in reality a city where entire neighborhoods are themselves anarchy zones with no law, security or order. The Palestinian areas of the city, where residents are not citizens of Israel but also not under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority, have become somewhat of a 'no man’s land,' and a convenient breeding ground for terror organizations."
It will stay that way or get worse until Jerusalem's boundaries and final status are determined by the parties to the conflict as part of a two-state solution.
Separately, the White House reiterated its support for the people of Iran and for the United Nations Human Right Council's (UNHRC) "crucial role to play in drawing international attention to human rights crises such as the one in Iran, investigating them, and establishing accountability mechanisms to document and respond to the abuses committed." Biden was right to rejoin the UNHRC after Trump foolishly withdrew, leaving the U.S. without a seat at the table.
Democrats need 51 Senate seats. Getting to 51 means smoother sailing in committees and more productivity, but to get there, Georgians need to re-elect Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA). He's running against Herschel Walker, who is unqualified even by Republican standards, yet the race is close and the runoff is on December 6. If you have friends in Georgia, share the facts about Warnock and Israel and urge them to vote. If you don't have friends in Georgia, join JDCA and call or text strangers.
Still thirsting for knowledge? I am proud (not humbled, because if I was humbled I would not be writing about it) that these Chicago-based media recently mentioned/featured me (click and scroll down): Shia Kapos's Illinois Political Playbook, Charlie Meyerson's Chicago Public Square, and on the radio (who needs podcasts) The Big Picture With Edwin Eisendrath.
Last Week's Newsletter.
ICYMI. This Alon Pinkas article from last week is hard to read. It's not what we want to hear, but it explains a lot, it's fact-based, and the analysis is sound: News Flash to American-Jewish Friends: Israel Just Doesn't Care About You Anymore. We must continue to advocate for Israel and a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, but we need to be clear-eyed about the nature of the relationship between Israel's government and American Jews.
Sounding a similar theme, I. F. Stone wrote that "Israel is creating a kind of moral schizophrenia in world Jewry. In the outside world the welfare of Jewry depends on the maintenance of secular, non-racial, pluralistic societies. In Israel, Jewry finds itself defending a society in which mixed marriages cannot be legalized, in which non-Jews have a lesser status than Jews, and in which the ideal is racial and exclusionist. Jews must fight elsewhere for their very security and existence—against principles and practices they find themselves defending in Israel." Stone wrote that in 1967, but now, reality is outrunning apprehension, and regardless of whether it was true in 1967, Israel's new government appears headed in this direction. (I read this quote in Eric Alterman's just-published book on the U.S.-Israel relationship, "We Are Not One," which I will review after I finish.)
Tweets of the Week. Bradley P. Moss and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI).
Classic Tweet of the Week. Allen Iverson (via Derek Bodner).
Twitter Thread of the Week. Ron Kampeas.
Video Clip of the Week. Rita Hayworth & Fred Astaire dance to Led Zeppelin.
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