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September 29, 2024
Five Key Takeaways:
1) It's been 359 days since October 7, 2023, when, on Simchat Torah, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel and murdered 1,200 people (including 44 Americans). More Jews were murdered on that day than on any day since the Holocaust. Hamas wounded 3,300 and took 251 hostage during a day of brutal savagery and unspeakable, undeniable sexual violence; 101 hostages, many dead, some raped and possibly pregnant, remain captive in Gaza today.
2) The 101 remaining hostages include seven Americans, four probably alive: Keith Siegal, Omer Neutra, Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Itay Chen, Judi Weinstein Haggai, and Gad Haggai. A ceasefire conditioned on releasing all hostages must remain a top priority.
3) Following Israel's killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, Kamalah Harris called him "a terrorist with American blood on his hands." We can trust Kamala Harris to support Israel and fight antisemitism. Her record proves it. I've provided resources to help you help your friends not familiar with her record understand that we have no reason to doubt her commitment to Israel and the Jewish community.
4) Trump praised Hezbollah's leaders as "very smart" on October 11. Trump's record proves that he cannot be trusted to support Israel or to fight antisemitism (not surprising considering that he is antisemitic). I've got resources to help you there too.
5) The Antisemitism Awareness Act is a flawed bill that will not help fight antisemitism. The Senate should not pass it in any form.
Rosh HaShanah begins Wednesday night. Wishing everyone a sweet and happy 5785. You can take two days from politics to spiritually refresh. But if you can’t, and if you hear anything you'd like me to address, please let me know. That’s what I’m here for. If anyone tells you they are still writing 5784 on their checks, block and report them.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and upcoming events.
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Hi Steve,
Are you nervous? I am. Israel faces major security challenges, including from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran. 101 hostages remain in Gaza. Antisemitism is on the rise throughout the U.S., including on college campuses.
On Friday, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Vice President Kamala Harris's response:
"Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world. Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice.
"I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.
"President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war. We have been working on a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border so that people can safely return home on both sides of that border. Diplomacy remains the best path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region."
Maybe you're not concerned about Israel's security. But if you are, why would you gamble with Israel's security by giving Trump a second term when he's proven that we cannot trust him on Israel? On October 11, Trump praised Hezbollah's leaders as "very smart." As of this writing, Trump has not issued a statement on Nasrallah's death.
Why are some of us eager to believe anything bad about Biden and Harris but willing to dismiss the truth about Trump? Back in May, I explained that the pause in 2,000-pound bombs was symbolic and would not harm Israel's security because Israel has sufficient stockpiles of those bombs. Lo and behold, Israel used 2,000-pound bombs to destroy Hezbollah's command center--without any condemnation from the United States.
Maybe you're not concerned about antisemitism. But if you are, why would you vote for an antisemite to stop antisemitism? Do you think the answer to campus antisemitism or left-wing antisemitism is to elect a right-wing antisemite to the highest office in the land?
This election is a choice between Harris and Trump. This new fact sheet explains why, for Jewish voters, the choice is clear. More on Trump in a moment but first, Kamala Harris.
We can trust Kamala Harris. Thomas Marshall, Woodrow Wilson's vice president, said "Once there were two brothers. One ran away to sea; the other was elected vice president of the United States. And nothing was heard of either of them again.”
I don't blame you for not knowing much about Harris and therefore nervous about entrusting her with the fate of the free world. Who pays attention to the vice president?
You might not be a political junkie, Steve, but I am. I've paid attention to Kamala Harris since her election to the U.S. Senate, during her run for president in 2020, and during her vice presidency.
She has been unwavering in her support for Israel and her opposition to antisemitism throughout her political career. Since October 7, she has repeatedly condemned Hamas, demanded the release of the hostages, and supported Israel's right to defend itself, including as recently as yesterday. You might not have heard her say it but she's said it again and again.
She lobbied Congress for her administration's unprecedented emergency aid package to Israel. Last week, her administration upped its defense aid to Israel by an additional $5.2 billion in missile defense funding. To put that in perspective, that's more money for missile defense than what is contained in the entire ten years of the current military aid memorandum of understanding entered into between the U.S. and Israel in 2006.
She has highlighted Hamas's sexual violence and screened Sheryl Sandberg's documentary, Screams Before the Silence, at the White House. She condemned protesters associating with Hamas. Her administration ramped up actions to counter antisemitism on college campuses.
She understands that humanitarian aid for the Palestinians furthers the administration's goals of safeguarding Israel's security, releasing the hostages, ending the war in Gaza, and eventually moving toward a two-state solution.
But because she is not well-known, some of our friends--who are justifiably nervous about Israel and antisemitism--fall prey to falsehoods about her. Republicans are flooding the zone with nonsense that some of us are too quick to believe.
The election is 37 days away. Please take a few minutes to get up to speed. Last week, more than 700 national security leaders endorsed Harris. If you're a visual learner, watch this video from Sami Sage. If you prefer to read, review the facts.
The alternative to Kamala Harris is not some combination of Moses, Judah Maccabee, and David-Ben Gurion. It's Donald Trump. That's a low bar to clear. Know the facts about Republicans and Israel. If someone tells you Trump is good on Israel, they are wrong.
We cannot trust Trump on antisemitism either. On September 19, Trump said that Jewish people ought to have their heads examined and that if he doesn't win, "the Jewish people would really have a lot to do with that." Read the transcript of the relevant portion.
What's wrong with that? Isn't Trump saying that he's good for Jews and Jews need to realize that? Isn't he pointing out that in a close election, the Jewish vote can make the difference?
If you don't understand why that's antisemitic and why Trump is more dangerous to Jewish Americans and Israel than anything happening on the left, including on college campuses, then watch this two-minute Doug Emhoff clip. Still not convinced? I don't know how many ways it can be said. Read more from Mona Charen, Joyce Vance, Ruth Marcus, and Norm Eisen & Jonathan Katz.
Trump has a long record of antisemitism and accusing Jews of disloyalty. If you still think preemptively blaming Jews for his election loss isn't antisemitic, you've got plenty of other antisemitic tropes from Trump to choose from.
The question is not whether we can trust Trump. We can trust him--to inflame antisemitism and weaken Israel's security.
Former ADL Board member Sharon Nazarian compares and contrasts Harris and Trump on Israel and antisemitism. If you care about those issues, if you're nervous about those issues, Kamala Harris is the clear choice.
Your key resources for the next 37 days. Remind your Republican friends where Trump, Vance, and the Republican Party stand on Israel and antisemitism.
Ask them to compare the Democratic and Republican platforms on Israel and antisemitism.
Ask them to compare the Democratic and Republican records on Israel and antisemitism.
If they want something short and sweet, give them this new fact sheet from the Harris campaign designed for Jewish voters.
If they tell you that Trump was good on Israel, remind them that he wasn't. If they say they trust Trump in their gut for reasons they can't define, ask how well they know Trump--and then ask them why 91 people who do know him well have raised alarms about his character and fitness for office.
If they ask what Harris and Walz have done for Israel and to fight antisemitism, share JDCA's Key Facts on Harris, Walz, Trump, Vance, and Project 2025. If they prefer videos, here's where Kamala Harris stands on Israel, antisemitism, and Hamas in 30 seconds.
Be sure you and your friends stay up to date. Share the sign-up links for my newsletter, Julie Zebrak's Kamala News Jews Can Use, and the official Jewish Voters for Harris-Walz newsletter.
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 neglected to include Times of Israel in my list of reliable news outlets. I mistakenly attributed to Bess Kalb an article written by Bess Levin.
Nine Items You May Have Missed:
1) Letter from the families of the six hostages murdered by Hamas on August 29.
2) Statements from President Joe Biden, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) on the death of Hassan Nasrallah.
3) Transcript of my interview with former Congressman Steve Rothman on the publication of his new book.
4) Among the more silly arguments is the argument that we should not vote Democratic because Democrats might be okay now, but what about in 20 or 30 years when these crazy college kids are running the party? News flash: As long as we have free elections, you get to change your mind every time. Voting for Harris/Walz in November does not obligate you to vote Democratic for the rest of your life or even in 2026. More than that, though, it's the Republican Party--as Yair Rosenberg writes--that is trending the wrong way on antisemitism.
5) Politicians cannot control who endorses them. But they can control whose endorsements they promote. Trump is promoting an endorsement from the mayor of the first city in the country to support BDS.
6) The next time your Republican friends breathlessly feign horror over Kamala's alleged advisors, tell them who her advisors really are, and then tell them who Trump's advisors on Israel are.
7) Andrew Miller describes how humanity has been a casualty in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what we can do about it.
8) Rabbi Joshua Hammerman: Trust, Truth, and Trump (and Netanyahu).
9) Misguided efforts are still underway to pass the Antisemitism Awareness Act in the Senate. The Antisemitism Awareness Act, with its emphasis on the IHRA definition of antisemitism, will not help solve antisemitism on campus or anywhere else. Michelle Goldberg explains why Senators need to stop the Antisemitism Awareness Act. This thread from the Nexus Project and this article from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) provide further reasons to oppose the Antisemitism Awareness Act. Alan Solow explains that the Antisemitism Awareness Act's "claim to helping combat the disturbing surge in anti-Jewish incidents across the United States is, upon closer examination, little more than a symbolic gesture that could actually weaken the fight against this bigotry."
Tweets of the Week. Anshel Pfeffer and David Frum.
Twitter Threads of the Week. Daniel Miller and Daniel Bral.
Video Clip of the Week. Bob Dylan (the song he quotes in that clip is amazing).
Music Video of the Week. Fred Armisen impersonates each decade of punk music.
For those new to this newsletter. This is the newsletter even Republicans have to read and the original home of the viral and beloved 2022 and 2023 Top Ten Signs You're At a Republican Seder. If someone forwarded this to you, why not subscribe and get it in your inbox every Sunday? Just click here--it's free.
I periodically update my posts on why Democrats are better than Republicans on Israel and antisemitism and on the IHRA definition of antisemitism. My definition of "pro-Israel" is here (it's a work in progress, as am I).
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