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Friends,

Democracy is a value worth fighting for. Antisemitism flourishes when democracy declines. The rights of all minorities are endangered when democracy is endangered. Yet only two Republicans voted to censure Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) for posting a cartoon video of him murdering Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), which Gosar reposted after the censure vote.

Gosar is a symptom of a serious disease in the Republican Party. Dana Milibank writes that GOP Leader and Speaker wannabe Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) "showed once again that there is no level of violent, hateful or authoritarian speech that goes too far. By condoning threats and intimidation in the people’s House, he is inviting actual violence — and signing democracy’s death warrant."

Heather Cox Richardson notes that "sharing an image of yourself killing a colleague would get you fired from virtually any job." But not if you're a Republican member of Congress. Voting Republican is voting for a party that, as Jennifer Rubin illustrates, "routinely lies, courts violence and seeks to define America as a White Christian nation."

While Republicans celebrate the verdict in Kenosha, Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) spoke for us when he wrote that "I’m appalled that our judicial system allowed a hate-fueled white vigilante to walk free when he traveled across state lines to use a weapon of war to intimidate and then murder Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and shoot Gaige Grosskreutz."

The good news is that the GOP can be stopped. Sometimes it's hard to hear ourselves think over the cacophony of a small minority of Republican Jews, but polling from the Jewish Electorate Institute (JEI) confirms that Jewish Americans are overwhelmingly Democratic and liberal/progressive.

87% of Jewish voters believe that one can be both “pro-Israel” and critical of Israeli government policies. Most Jewish voters support a two-state solution, aid to Israel, and humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Nearly all Jewish voters are concerned about antisemitism, but by nearly a 3-1 margin they are more concerned about antisemitism originating from the right (61%) than the left (22%). Even intense criticism of Israel is not viewed as antisemitic by the vast majority of Jews unless it veers into denying Israel's right to exist. The question for agnotologists is why any Jews at all vote Republican.

If Jewish Americans do not stand up for ourselves, no one will. We have every right to prioritize our struggles, as all groups do. But we don't have to choose between fighting antisemitism and standing up for the rights of others. We don't have to choose between supporting Israel and supporting Palestinian national aspirations. Those are false choices. We can and must do both.

Last week, I attended an amazing Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) leadership retreat for its Board and Next Generation Leadership Council, which included meetings with the Second Gentleman, White House Jewish Liaison Chanan Weissman, members of Congress, and policy experts. The Jewish vote will be critical in key districts and states, and JDCA, the voice of Jewish Democrats, is tactically and strategically prepared to mobilize the Jewish vote in 2022 to ensure that Democrats maintain their majorities. You can read more about the retreat here, and before you call me pollyannaish, make sure you understand the right way to think about what's going on.

Republicans continue to block Iron Dome. If you were upset that 4% of House Democrats opposed funding President Biden's commitment to replenish Israel's Iron Dome batteries on September 23, you should be outraged that 100% of House Republicans refused to cross party lines to fund Iron Dome on September 21 and that 59 days after the House approved full funding, the entire Republican Senate apparatus refuses to lift a finger to end Sen. Rand Paul's (R-KY) blockade of funding for Iron Dome. If Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wanted it, he'd find a way to force Paul to move. One word from Donald Trump and Paul would give in. But the GOP doesn't care. It never did, and it's time to stop pretending otherwise.

In September, a few Democrats, aided by the entire Republican caucus, delayed Iron Dome funding by two whole days. Oddly enough, only the Democrats were called out, and they were accused of antisemitism (because they opposed the supplemental funding for Iron Dome, and Iron Dome saves Jewish lives).

Roughly 96% of all Democrats, 90% of the 95-member Progressive Caucus, and 90% of the Black Caucus voted for Iron Dome. Democrats might have problems, but overwhelming support for security assistance to Israel ain't one of them, not as a party and not among key constituencies.

Daniel Silverberg explained that Iron Dome funding was pulled from the continuing resolution on September 21, prior to its overwhelming passage two days later, not because of "a narrow group of members commanding more influence, but rather the extraordinarily thin margins of any legislation moving through the House these days. On Sept. 21, a mere four votes could have tanked the bill, not just because of four Democrats, but because the entire GOP conference was willing to vote against the measure." (Emphasis added.) Does it make sense to blame a handful of Democrats for an outcome that any four out of about 210 House Republicans could have prevented?

Michael Koplow adds that "it is difficult, if not impossible, to look at this vote and still credibly talk about the Democratic Party having been taken over by anti-Zionism or antisemitism, or sound the alarm about Israel being abandoned." Koplow notes that while Congress overwhelmingly supports Israel's legitimate defensive needs, we should expect skepticism about "Israeli security requests that appear to them more about maintaining permanent control over Palestinians than about keeping Israelis safe." As well we should.

This is not the first time this year the GOP has opposed security assistance for Israel. In July, the House passed the 2022 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs funding bill, which included $3.3 billion in aid for Israel. AIPAC and J Street supported the bill. Every Republican voted "no." The only "yes" votes were cast by Democrats, and the bill passed 217 to 212. Republicans also opposed the bill during the appropriations process in each chamber.

Alon Pinkus writes that "It is very convenient, and equally lazy and unserious, to quote Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as proof of progressives’ anti-Israel tendencies. The progressive caucus also includes, on some issues and among others, Jerry Nadler, Jamie Raskin, David Cicilline, Brad Sherman, Alan Lowenthal and Jan Schakowsky. They all have impeccable pro-Israel bona fides that need no kashrut certification from anyone in Israel."

As noted above, roughly 90% of the Progressive Caucus voted for the Iron Dome bill and 96% of Democrats overall voted for Iron Dome--and every Republican voted against $3.3 billion in aid for Israel in July. Focusing on 4% of the Democratic caucus and ignoring the entire Republican caucus makes no sense unless your goal is to obscure rather than illuminate the differences between the parties.

Republicans refuse time and time again to condemn antisemitism from within their party. Donald Trump is the leader of the Republican Party and the favorite for the 2024 nomination. During his presidency, Trump appointed white nationalist Stephen Miller, neo-Nazi sympathizer Sebastian Gorka, and Steve Bannon to key positions. Republican leadership never called out Trump for his numerous antisemitic remarks. Never. Not even one Republican member of Congress. Not even after reports that Trump said Hitler "did a lot of good things."

If Democrats had not called out Trump for antisemitism, no one would have. If Republicans will not call out antisemitism in the Republican Party, it is even more important that Democrats do so. Better yet, we all should. No figure in the Democratic Party has even a scintilla of the power and influence that Donald Trump has, and Trump remains the leader of the GOP.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) recently defended Nazi salutes as a legitimate form of protest. You don't see Democrats doing that--nor do you see Republicans condemning Cruz for doing it.

In explaining why Andrew Yang's proposed third party is not the answer to combating antisemitism, Matt Nosanchuk noted that "The two parties are not equal: Donald Trump and the GOP openly condoned the blatant antisemitism of the 'very fine people' in Charlottesville in 2017 and the 'patriots' who stormed the Capitol on January 6. Meanwhile, when we’ve seen antisemitic language or tropes used by Democrats, party leaders have called it out, and most of the offending elected officials have accepted an opportunity to learn and grow." 

Right-wing extremists were responsible for 75% of extremist-related murders in the past ten years, including the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history, the Tree of Life massacre, whose anniversary we recently commemorated. We don't have guards at our synagogues to protect us from BDS supporters or critics of Israel's settlement policies (neither of whom are necessarily antisemitic). We hire them to protect us from right-wing domestic terrorism.

Pretending that subtle, left-wing antisemitism growing slowly over time presents a similar threat is like putting off setting a broken arm because you're worried that in 40 years your hair will turn gray. That's not to deny that antisemitism exists on the left. Of course it does. But conflating criticism of Israel, even harsh criticism of Israel, with antisemitism is disingenuous. Equating Sunrise DC, which was condemned across the board, with violent right-wing antisemites chanting "Jews will not replace us" and deemed

"very fine people" by the President of the United States or equating a gourmet ice cream company's decision not to do business in the West Bank with the right-wing antisemitism that has infected the entire Republican Party is delusional.

President Biden stands with Israel and against antisemitism. President Biden vetoed three UN Security Resolutions on the Israel-Gaza conflict because they were biased against Israel. Unlike Trump, who regularly engaged in antisemitic rhetoric, Biden has a record of opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel five decades long, a longer and stronger record on Israel than anyone ever elected president, and his record thus far as president has been exemplary on these issues.

On Thursday, as Republicans continue to block the nomination of noted Holocaust historian Dr. Deborah Lipstadt for Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Biden appointed Aaron Keyak as deputy envoy so that he can run the office while Republicans continue to stall. And for the first time, a mezuzah is affixed to the Vice President's residence.

Last week's newsletter.

ICYMI. The facts on re-opening the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

Tweets of the Week. Baby Boy Monaghan and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) (click on each screenshot).

Twitter Thread of the Week. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) explains Kevin McCarthy's theatrics.

Facebook Posts of the Week. Jay Michaelson and Joshua Shanes.

Video Clip of the Week. AOC and Jamie Raskin with play-by-play commentary.

Upcoming Events. Dana Gordon and I are hosting Rep. Cindy Axne (D-IA) on Zoom at 6:45 pm on Thursday, December 9. RSVP here to get the Zoom link.

We are hosting Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) on Zoom at 3:00 pm on Sunday, January 9. RSVP here to get the Zoom link. Read Casten's statement on the devastating verdict out of Kenosha.

For both events, contributions are encouraged but not required. You can attend either or both for free and you can contribute even if you cannot attend--those links can do it all. Axne and Casten are outstanding members of Congress who share all of our values and need and deserve our help to get re-elected.

I guess this is a good problem to have: This list is now so large that while many people are local, even more live outside the Chicago area and have no interest in local news. If you want to be on a list that will receive infrequent newsletters about local issues and events, reply to this email and I'll add you.

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The Fine Print: This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. If you receive it as an ICYMI on Wednesday it's because you didn't open the one sent on Sunday. Unless stated otherwise, my views do not necessarily reflect the views of any candidates or organizations that I support or am associated with. I reserve the right to change my mind as I learn more. I am willing to sacrifice intellectual consistency for intellectual honesty. Smart, well-informed people may disagree with me; read opposing views and decide for yourself. A link to an article 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. I take pride in accurately reporting the facts on which I base my opinions. Tell me if you spot any inaccuracies, typos, or other mistakes so that I can correct them in the next newsletter (and give you credit if you want it). 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. © 2021 Steve Sheffey. All rights reserved.