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Greetings!

President Trump was rightly mocked last week for mispronouncing "Yosemite" as "Yo Semite." He deserves to be mocked and laughed at (and voted out of office), but it's also another example of his refusal to honor Native Americans.

If you oppose BDS, you should vote Democratic. The global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel does not recognize the Jewish state of Israel's legitimacy and therefore supports a one-state solution that would not be Jewish and might not be democratic.

A two-state solution is the only solution that would ensure a Jewish, democratic state of Israel living in peace and security alongside a Palestinian state. Only one party's platform--the Democratic Party's--contains language opposing BDS and supporting a two-state solution (see page 80).

The GOP deleted support for a two-state solution from its platform in 2016, and its 2020 platform will be exactly the same as its 2016 platform.

Israel Policy Forum recently noted that "unilateral annexation...flies in the face of traditional bipartisan American policy in support of two states and contravenes two House resolutions passed last year." That's why 41 retired senior Israeli security and defense officials thanked 191 House Democrats for signing a letter written by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Ted Deutch (D-FL), and David Price (D-NC) supporting "a strong and secure Jewish and democratic State of Israel"and expressing "deep concern with the stated intention to move ahead with any unilateral annexation of West Bank territory."

The Trump administration refuses to speak out against unilateral annexation, and a majority of House Republicans signed a letter supporting unilateral annexation. Under any previous U.S. administration, unilateral annexation would be a political non-starter in Israel. We'd read stories about daylight and conflict between the U.S. and Israel, but the public disagreement would be the lifeline Prime Minister Netanyahu needs to take annexation off the table. Ironically, by supporting unilateral annexation, Trump and his Republican supporters are furthering the one-state goal of BDS.

But what about those Democrats? A grand total of one member of Congress out of 435, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), supports a one-state solution. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) supports a two-state solution. Mondaire Jones, who will replace retiring Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) in January, supports a two-state solution. Jamaal Bowman, who defeated Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), supports a two-state solution.

We don't know where Cori Bush, who defeated Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) on Tuesday, stands on two states. She said in a deleted page that she supports the right of Palestinians "to call for a boycott on goods and services...to draw attention to their plight" but said nothing about one state or two. She did not herself urge a boycott of Israel on that page. On August 1, Bush said that "she has always been sympathetic to the BDS movement, and she stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people" and that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve to live with dignity and security. We don't know why she said "been sympathetic to" instead of "supported." Maybe we should let her elaborate on where she stands before jumping to conclusions.

Moreover, just as many people support Black Lives Matter without supporting (or being aware of) everything one particular Black Lives Matter website supports, so too some people who say they support BDS support it not because they want to eliminate Israel, but because they support a separate Palestinian state--a two-state solution.

The best way to fight BDS is to support a two-state solution. A two-state solution would not only safeguard Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic state, but would eliminate, for many people, their rationale for supporting BDS. It would also undercut the BDS movement itself--a negotiated two-state solution necessarily entails the relinquishment of all remaining claims by the Palestinians, which would render nonsensical the BDS movement's goal of one-state because the Palestinians themselves would have given up their claims to all of the Jewish homeland.

A two-state solution would not require Jews or Palestinians to abandon their narrative or their belief that the entire land is, by rights, theirs, but it would require both sides to cede part of what they consider their homeland in return for peace and security in their own state.

The GOP deleted support for a two-state solution from its platform and a majority of House Republicans--not one or two--took it upon themselves to express support for unilateral annexation. With an election weeks away, we should focus on Trump and Republican leadership, not imaginary trends in the Democratic Party extrapolated from the positions of one or two out of 435 members of the House.

Get the facts on where Biden, Trump, and their parties stand on Israel and anti-Semitism. The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) released this great fact-sheet, which will be updated between now and November. Refer to it often, share it with your friends, and let me know if you have concerns that are not addressed.

Jewish groups from J Street to American Jewish Committee to StandWithUs oppose Trump's nominee for ambassador to Germany. The ADL called his bigotry and xenophobia "abhorrent," noting that "there's 6 million reasons" his views cannot be ignored. Bannon, Gorka, Stephen Miller, now this--is there some GOP nominee directory called Bigots R Us?

Are Trump voters persuadable? Yes, if we use Gene Weingarten's olive-branch approach of persuading them with "respect and compassion — not by emphasizing our differences but by pointing out our common humanity."

Seth Rogen and John Kass. If you're following the Seth Rogen saga, read this interview where Rogen sets the record straight about his conversation with Marc Maron, his subsequent conversation with Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog, and his views on Israel and Judaism. If we learn anything from this saga, it's that teaching our kids to love an idealized version of Israel that never existed can backfire.

John Kass still refuses to apologize for his dissemination of George Soros conspiracy theories, but he has an ally in Donald Trump. It amazes me that some in our community are defending Kass and find it easier to identify with a white male spouting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories than a Holocaust survivor. But woe to any person of color who says anything even remotely anti-Semitic.

Last week's newsletter.

ICYMI. Michael Rosenzweig calls out Sen. David Perdue's (R-GA) anti-Semitic attack on Jon Ossoff.

Tweets of the Week. Darren Walsh Puns and Catherine Rampell.

Twitter Thread of the Week. Seth Abramson.

Video Clip of the Week. Honest Government.

Upcoming Events. In advance of the Democratic Convention, this Thursday, August 13, at 4:00pm CT, JDCA is hosting a free star-studded action-packed 75-minute event to laugh, learn and be inspired.

RSVP to "TAKE BACK AMERICA: Jewish Votes Will Make the Difference" for the Zoom link to hear from Ben Platt, Jon Lovett, Tovah Feldshuh, Senators Chuck Schumer, Cory Booker, and Jacky Rosen; Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and Representatives Adam Schiff, Ted Deutch, Elissa Slotkin and Max Rose; Ambassador Dan Shapiro, former Rep. Steve Israel, and some surprises.

Dana Gordon and I are hosting are hosting two great congressional candidates:

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The Fine Print: This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. 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. Intelligent, 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. © 2020 Steve Sheffey. All rights reserved.