January 20th, 2017
JACII members in Detroit for the inaugural group meeting.
Week In Review Commentary
The week began with honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., who committed his life to fighting for civil rights and justice. It ended with the inauguration of President Donald Trump and increased fears about the future of those same rights. Trump will fulfill his campaign promise to defund Planned Parenthood and appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn  Roe v Wade. It is now time to turn that fear into action. We lost the election, but not the fight. 

Get involved with JAC. Add your voice to ours so we can be a powerful force together. Don't feel helpless today. Renew your JAC membership. Make a donation to JAC. Make a call to your Senators urging them to block the confirmations of Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Tom Price. 202.224.3121

In other news, JAC is excited to announce the formation of our newest group --JACII. More than 30 young women and men gathered in Detroit this week to learn about JAC. We are excited to have these young professionals join us. We also have a JACII group starting in Chicago. If you know young women and men in your area that would be interested, contact the JAC office at 847-433-5999. We can help them get organized.

Take Action
Call Your Senator
202.224.3121
 
Tell them to
OPPOSE 
the Confirmations of


Both nominees would be horrible for
women's reproductive health!

Senator Sessions has a LONG anti-choice voting record:
  • Supports a 20-week abortion ban
  • Voted to defund Planned Parenthood
  • Doesn't believe sexual assault is a serious crime
  • Voted against a resolution to support Roe v Wade
  • Voted against provisions to protect clinics from violence

Representative Price has strong history of voting to:

  • Restrict access to abortion
  • Block patients from receiving preventative care at Planned Parenthood
  • Prevent medical students from being trained to perform abortions
  • Block the coverage of abortion in medical insurance
  • Allow employers to deny contraception coverage to their employees

 

Both of these nominees would be  

devastating for women and reproductive rights.

Tell your Senators to OPPOSE their confirmation.  

 

Not sure who your Senators are?

Click here. 

 

*Sources: Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America 
ISRAEL
Israel Deploys 'Star Wars' Missile-Killer System
 
Israel's recently upgraded critical ballistic missile shield became operational this week. The upgrade offers the Arrow 3 missile defense system a "Star Wars"-like extension of its capabilities to outer space where incoming missiles can be safely destroyed. The Defense Ministry said the U.S.-funded system, jointly developed by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and U.S. firm Boeing Co., has been handed over to the Israeli Air Force.
Israel Opens First-Ever NATO Office

IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Yair Golan was in Brussels for the official opening of the Israeli office at NATO headquarters, after it was decided that the two sides should have a closer working relationship. This is the first Israeli representative to NATO since the Jewish state was accepted as a partner to the organization (not a member).  While in Brussels, Golan also met with the head of the Turkish Armed Forces.  In light of the Israel-Turkey reconciliation agreement, and at the behest of the Americans, the Turks have rescinded their opposition to Israeli participation in NATO.
Israel's Right Wing Has Grand Plans for Trump Era

Israel's right wing has been eagerly awaiting Donald Trump's arrival in the White House, hoping a Republican president will usher in a new era of support for Israeli settlement building on land Palestinians want for a state.  The far-right Jewish Home party, along with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, is promoting legislation that would effectively annex one large settlement in the occupied West Bank to Israel and another bill that would legalize dozens of unauthorized outposts.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Popular Neo-Nazi Blogger Resigns Over Revelation His Wife Is Jewish

The founder of the popular right-wing blog The Right Stuff resigned over the revelation that his wife is Jewish.  Mike Enoch, who also co-hosts "The Daily Shoah" weekly podcast, was outed over the weekend as Mike Peinovich, a website developer from New York. On the podcast, which has about 100,000 regular listeners, Peinovich as Enoch, talked about killing Jews and spouted neo-Nazi invective. 
BDS Starts at the Universities, and Its There It Must Be Defeated

In the U.S., the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel (BDS) -- together with the various modes of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda that come with it -- has primarily made itself felt on college campuses and in academic organizations. 
After Day of 16 Bomb Threats, FBI to Coordinate with Jewish Community in 'New Reality'

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security will be assisting Jewish Community Centers around the country in bolstering security after 16 JCCs received bomb threats on the same day.  On Wednesday, officials from the FBI and Homeland Security conducted a conference call with U.S. Jewish communal leaders to discuss the incidents, what they stem from, and how to craft protocols to handle such incidents in the future.
Continued Reading

CHOICE
 
Reproductive Health Care Access is More threatened Now Than at Any Time Since Roe v. Wade

A  recent report from a pro-choice group paints a grim picture of reproductive health care in this country. On a scale from "total access" to "severely restricted access," 26 states scored as having "severely restricted access" to reproductive health care. This is due to the states' abortion bans, bans on counseling or referring women for abortions, and TRAP (Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers) laws that impose onerous requirements on abortion clinics to prevent them from providing abortions at all.  

Abortion Change Would Allow Claim for Mental Damage Against
Doctor

A woman who suffers mental or physical distress in the after  math of an abortion procedure would have a legal cause to bring civil action for damages against the physician who terminated the pregnancy under legislation getting consideration in the Iowa Legislature.
States Move to Keep Birth Control Free in Case GOP Succeed in Repealing Obamacare

A growing numbers of U.S. states are seeking to ensure that women have continued access to free birth control in case the insurance benefit is dropped as part of President Donald Trump's vow to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Continued Reading
SEPARATION
What People Don't Criticize Jeff Sessions About But Should

While Sessions doesn't want to erase the proud history of the Confederacy, he does want to erase Jefferson's wall, the foundation of this country's religious freedom, which he called a recent creation and not historical. And Sessions has, unfortunately, been consistent with his views about mingling church and state. Here are just a couple of examples out of many. 
BEYOND THE CORE
Guns in Schools: Supporters Gain Traction in Trump's Washington

President Donald Trump came out against school gun bans while a candidate, when he compared the policies to "offering up candy to bad people."  Though he lacks the constitutional authority to unilaterally reverse the standing federal statute on gun free zones at school "on day one," as he promised, Republican legislators on Capitol Hill are taking steps that could clear the way for more firearms in the nation's classrooms.
Potentially Nasty Fight Looms Over Trump U.S. Supreme Court Pick

Senate Democrats are gearing up for a potentially ugly fight over Donald Trump's U.S. Supreme Court pick, with some liberal activists urging them to do everything possible to block any nominee proposed by the new Republican president.
POLITICAL BYTE
Fact-Checking President Trump's Inaugural Address

Generally, inaugural addresses are not designed to be fact-checked. But President Trump's address was nothing if not unique, presenting a portrait of the United States that often was at variance with reality. Here's a guide to understanding whether the facts back up his rhetoric.
Senate Democrats Brace for Trump Era

Democrats are bracing for the unknown as they barrel toward the formal start of the Trump era.  Friday marks the opening of the first unified GOP government in roughly a decade. It will also be the first time that almost two-dozen Democratic senators - about half the caucus - elected during President Obama's tenure will serve under a Republican president.
Donald Trump Has Assembled the Worst Cabinet in American History

Any time a new administration comes into office, there will be some complaining about the new president's cabinet picks. But we're seeing something extraordinary happening now. Donald Trump's cabinet brings with it a combination of ethical problems, inexperience, hostility to the missions of the departments its members are being called to lead, and plain old ignorance that is simply unprecedented.
Why Senators Did Not Boycott the Inauguration

National ambition is part of it.  Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) didn't hesitate.  "I'm going," he said of Friday's inaugural ceremonies for President-elect Donald Trump. "I want to be there," Brown said. His presence would "remind" Trump and other Republicans of the fights ahead on banking, civil rights and other issues on which there is a deep divide with Democrats.
Democrats: Left in the Lurch

When President-elect Donald Trump replaces Barack Obama, the Democratic Party will find itself more removed from power than at almost any point since the party's creation.  Scorned by the same voters who once embraced the New Deal, built the Great Society, and put their hope in the nation's first black president, Democrats are now locked out of power in Washington and out of two-thirds of state legislative chambers across the country.
Continued Reading



 
FYI
The Five Craziest Hours in the White House

While almost all eyes are on the Capitol, the most action occurs during the frantic residence changeover two miles away. The most frenzied American ritual you've never seen is called the "transfer of families," a five-hour tsunami of activity that transforms President Obama's home into President Trump's.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner Get Rabbinic Pass to Ride in Car on Inauguration Shabbat 

In an interview with Kol Barama radio, Mark Zell, chair of the Republican Party in Israel, said the couple has been granted special permission by a rabbi to use a vehicle because of "safety" concerns. 
The Last Word
"When we started on this journey, we did so with an abiding faith in the American people and their abilities, our abilities, to join together to change the country in ways that would make life better for our kids and our grandkids. 
Change didn't happen from the top down, it happened from the bottom up."

- President Barack Obama's Farewell at Andrews Air Force Base 1/20/17
 
___________________________

Are you attending the 
Women's March On Washington or 
one of the marches around the country on  
January 21st?

Chicago
Detroit
Denver
Boston
Los Angeles
Miami
New York
Philadelphia
San Francisco

SPECIAL JAC MEET-UP BEFORE
CHICAGO MARCH!
Email the JAC office for details
   
Click here to find details on a March near you.

Want a JAC sticker to wear at the March? 
 Call us 847.433.5999 or  
(Download and print on Avery labels #5164)
 
If you attend, send photos to the JAC office to be
included in the EZ Read and on our Facebook page. 

Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
Paid for by Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs. Contributions or gifts are not tax deductible. Contributions may total up to $5400 per individual ($2700 for the primary election, and $2700 for the general election). Federal law requires us to use our best efforts to collect and report the name, mailing address, occupation, and name of employer of individuals whose contributions exceed $200 in an election cycle. Corporate contributions and contributions from non-US citizens who are not lawfully admitted for permanent residence are prohibited. All contributions by individuals must be made from personal funds and may not be reimbursed or paid by another person.