|
April 5, 2026
Key Developments and What We're Discussing Today:
- 60% of Jewish Americans oppose U.S. military action against Iran. 70% oppose unconditional military and financial assistance to Israel. The percentages are higher for Jewish Democrats.
- Israel passed a death by hanging law that treats Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank differently from Jewish settler terrorism in the West Bank. It is a two-tiered system of justice based entirely on which form of extremism is deemed acceptable.
- Israel is not the only country that Congress calls out when its policies are problematic.
- If we held Donald Trump's rhetoric to the same standards some would have us hold Hasan Piker's rhetoric, no one would appear with or talk to Trump. Instead, we normalize Trump's rhetoric even though Trump has said far worse than Piker and Trump's influence is far greater.
- Your periodic reminder that codifying the IHRA definition of antisemitism is not a victory in the fight against antisemitism. It is a defeat that nevertheless gives legislators a chance to check a box and claim they did something and a chance for certain organizations to tell their donors that their money was well-spent. It wasn't.
If you want to reward me for finding the afikoman, support my work by chipping in via credit card or PayPal, Venmo @Steven-Sheffey (last four digits, 9479), or check. Thank you.
Greetings!
I hope that those who celebrated enjoyed their seders. It was nice, if only for a few hours, to get away from politics and instead spend the evening recounting the story of the Exodus, talking about an authoritarian whose followers thought he was god, whose idiotic decisions ruined his country, who thought minorities should work for free, and who questioned Jewish loyalty.
At least we dipped our finger into the wine instead of using inside information to buy on the dips. Pharaoh lost a lot of chariots in the Sea of Reeds, but I don't recall him asking others to pay for it.
That was then, this is now. Back to politics. And it's not funny.
Think of the Americans, Israelis, and Iranians who have been killed or injured in an illegal war, a war for which neither Trump nor his Republican followers have yet to articulate a coherent reason for fighting. Trump wants $200 billion to pay for it. A good businessperson might have thought in advance about how to pay for it.
If the Republicans want to come up with $200 billion, let them cut the massive increase in ICE funding that they pushed through Congress. Let them repeal their tax cuts for the wealthy. Instead, they want to cut healthcare for Americans when what we need is Medicare for All, not healthcare for fewer. I don't want one dime of my money spent on this war, and no Democrat should vote for funding it.
Wait. He's an idea. How about a 25% one-time wealth tax on anyone whose net worth exceeds $800 billion?
What do Jewish Americans think? A new GBAO Strategies poll commissioned by J Street shows that Jewish Americans are not on the same page as certain Jewish organizations that purport to represent them.
The poll found that 60% of Jewish Americans oppose U.S. military action against Iran. 70% oppose unconditional military and financial assistance to Israel. The percentages are higher for Jewish Democrats (70% of Jewish Americans are Democrats or lean Democratic).
A large majority of Jewish Americans think that the U.S. should either condition military and financial assistance to Israel by requiring Israel to comply with U.S. law to receive the assistance (44 percent) or simply stop providing the assistance (26 percent).
This was a poll of Jewish Americans, not board members of major Jewish organizations or only those in the donor class. Remember that the next time you hear from anyone in those groups complaining that certain candidates don't reflect the views of the Jewish community.
The poll highlights the problems inherent in asking about whether sympathies lie more with the Israelis or the Palestinians. When given two choices, 70% of Jewish Americans say Israelis and 30% say Palestinians. But when given a third choice, 44% say Israelis, 18% say Palestinians, and 37% say both.
Read more here and in the links provided in this summary.
The Jewish Electorate Institute released a poll conducted by the Mellman Group showing results consistent with the GBAO poll.
Israel passed a death penalty law for Palestinians convicted of deadly terrorism. The Knesset voted 62-47 to mandate death by hanging as the default punishment for West Bank residents convicted of deadly terrorist acts by military courts. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir celebrated by handing out champagne. He wore a golden noose-shaped lapel pin.
This is indefensible. Anyone who tries to defend it will lose credibility as a pro-Israel advocate. If you want to know why Israel is losing support in the U.S. and around the world, this is a good example.
Technically, this law could apply to anyone. As a practical matter, the law requires "that the purpose of the murder is the denial of the existence of the State of Israel. As for the offense of murder in the West Bank, which would be tried in a military court, only Palestinian residents are tried in those courts." In other words, this law treats Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank differently from Jewish settler terrorism in the West Bank.
Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) characterized this law as "Absolutely abhorrent. This law unambiguously creates a two-tiered system of justice based entirely on which form of extremism is deemed acceptable. I pray Israeli courts do the right thing and strike it down. Israel’s future must remain democratic. Its survival depends on it."
This is why it is important to distinguish the State of Israel, which we support, from the government of Israel, which we loathe. Dan Perry writes that this law is the latest sign of Israel's democratic decline.
Shared values, including democracy, are the glue that holds the U.S.-Israel alliance together. To the extent those values are eroded, we can expect a decline in support for Israel from the American public that will play out in our elections.
Watch Israeli Knesset Member Yair Lapid speak out against this travesty.
Is Israel singled out? A common trope is that Congress focuses on conduct by Israel that it ignores from other countries. I understand why some of us feel that way: we focus on Israel and ignore other countries, so we notice when Israel is criticized.
On March 27, Democratic senators asked the Republican Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee to launch an investigation into the strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School for girls in Minab, Iran, that reportedly killed at least 168 people – mostly children – on the first day of U.S. operations against Iran.
Another group of Democratic senators, some of whom criticize Israel, introduced legislation to require a joint resolution of approval for civilian nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia.
Democratic senators introduced a joint resolution disapproving of proposed military sales to the United Arab Emirates.
If we disagree with proposed conditions or limitations on arms transfers to Israel, we should argue our case on the merits and not fall back on intellectually lazy arguments about Congress singling out Israel, at least if we want to be taken seriously.
Department of Not Making This Up. After listing some of Hasas Piker's incendiary comments, Jewish Insider editorialized, "Any one of those comments on their own would have typically disqualified anyone from playing a part in our political discourse."
Have our friends at Jewish Insider never heard of Donald Trump or the Republican Party? I don't recall them ever writing anything similar about Trump, whose racist and misogynistic comments and posts, let alone his long record of antisemitic comments, are unparalleled in modern presidential politics.
Compare Trump's long list of offensive comments to what Piker has said. But are we serious? If you want to talk double standards, let's talk. Piker is a podcaster. I never heard of this guy until a few weeks ago.
Trump is the thrice-nominated-for-president leader of the Republican Party and the most powerful man in the world. Yet none of his comments disqualified him from playing a role in our political discourse. They should have. Maybe they would have if the Republican Party had a backbone and if so-called journalists did not normalize him.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. In last week's newsletter, I misspelled Kinney Zalesne's last name.
In Case You Missed It:
- Retired Israel Defense Forces brigadier general Jonatan (Yoni) Shimshoni warns that Israel's reliance on force is likely to provide less — not more — security.
- Do you have opinions about Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner? Don't set them in stone until you read this profile from JTA's Andrew Lapin.
- Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss: I was AIPAC’s number 1 target—and I beat them. Here’s how to do it.
Tweet of the Week. Travis Akers.
Video Clips of the Week. Jon Stewart: Easter v. Passover and Trump's Iran Downfall (I agree--this is the best I've seen in this genre).
Vintage Music Clip of the Week. Roxy Music--Do The Strand.
The Fine Print. I read every reply to this newsletter. I reply as often as I can. All I ask is that you read the fine print before you reply or send me anything.
For those new to this newsletter. This is the newsletter even Republicans have to read and the original home of the viral and beloved Top Ten Signs You're At a Republican Seder (yes, I wrote it).
If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, your luck continues. You can subscribe and get it in your inbox every Sunday for free. Just click here.
Be sure to read my posts on distinguishing anti-Zionism from antisemitism, how to heal the generational rift on Israel and antisemitism, and the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
I hope you enjoyed today's newsletter. It takes time to write and costs money to send. If you'd like to support my work, click here and fill in the amount of your choice. You don't need a PayPal account. If you see something that says "Save your info and create a PayPal account," click the button to the right and it will go away. Or you can Venmo @Steven-Sheffey (last four digits, 9479). Or you can send a check.
Unless stated otherwise, my views do not necessarily reflect the views of any candidates or organizations I support or am associated with.
| 