May 3, 2019
WEEK IN REVIEW
We have witnessed the impact of words from Abraham Lincoln's call to end slavery, to John F. Kennedy inspiring us to travel to the moon, to Hillary Clinton's declaration that women's rights are human rights.

But words that become memes and tropes laced with hate can turn people against each other and fuel the flames of bigotry that lead to violence.

Hitler's inordinate use of trigger words helped him to maintain the support and attention of his audiences and allowed them to get exceedingly excited by his speeches. These words added to Hitler's tactics of persuasion by creating word association that conveyed strength when talking about the German people or weakness when talking about the Jews.

Today hate-filled speech is not just confined to rallies. It lives unchecked on the internet. The California synagogue shooter posted a hate-filled letter on social media before the shootings in which he expressed white-supremacist views. The Pittsburgh synagogue shooter targeted Jews online with anti-Semitic slurs prior to this attack.

More than half of Americans experienced online hate, according the ADL, which recently conducted a survey on this issue. For a third of Americans, online abuse was in response to their sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, gender identity or disability.

This week Facebook announced that was banning individuals who engage in violence and hate-speech.

In 1925, Hitler published his anti-Semitic manifesto, Mein Kampf. That writing became the blueprint for his coordinated effort to exterminate Europe's Jews.

Yesterday was Holocaust Remembrance Day. The day comes at a moment when anti-Semitism is increasing and heated partisan discourse is tearing apart our nation. What is said in Congress, to each other, and online matters.

Words have power. Don't stay silent. When you hear hate speech; stand up and speak out.


Source: Owlcation

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Do you know a high school or college student who would like to intern at JAC during the school year or next summer? Call the JAC office at 847.433.5999 about opportunities.

JAC AROUND TOWN
Meeting with (center) Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) in Chicago.
ACTION ALERT
We MUST do more to fight White Supremacy 
 
Call your Senators and Representative 
202.224.3121
 
Tell them to cosponsor
HR1931 / S894
The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2019 
 
Violent white supremacists and other far-right extremists are the most significant domestic terrorism threat facing our country. They are emboldened by the policies and rhetoric from the President.
 
Of the 50 murders committed by extremists in 2018, 49 of those came at the hands of right-wing extremists, with white supremacists alone accounting for 39 of those murders. From 2009 to 2018, right-wing extremists have been responsible for 73 percent of the extremist murders in the US.  
 
Our elected leaders can do more to fight hatred. Congress must take steps to protect Americans. Federal agencies responsible for our nation's security need to coordinate their efforts to prevent and fight domestic terrorism.
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#StopDomesticTerrorism  
 
  
ISRAEL
Israel and U.S. Put Financial Squeeze on Palestinian Authority Ahead of Trump Peace Plan       
  
Israel and the United States are putting the financial squeeze on the Palestinian Authority, where opposition to a long-awaited U.S. peace plan and anger over Israeli sanctions remain strong. Analysts see steep cuts in U.S. aid to the Palestinians over the past year as an attempt to draw them toward a blueprint that Washington promises will have economic benefits but which the PA predicts will fall short of endorsing Palestinian statehood. 
Continued Reading

Most Americans like Israelis but Not Netanyahu's Government

PLO to Discuss Revoking Israel Recognition, Ending Security Coordination
ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
These States Had the Most Anti-Semitic Incidents in 2018
 
The Anti-Defamation League's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents revealed some grim statistics: While the reports of anti-Semitism the ADL received - 1,879 in total - were down slightly from last year, they still constituted the third-highest tally since its records began in 1979. More than 70% of those incidents were tied to right-wing figures. The audit also broke down incidents by state, which revealed some surprising results. 
Continued Reading

UN Official Compares Current Climate in Europe to That Before Nazis' Rise
CHOICE
Democrats Are Fighting Trump's Abortion Rule with a Spending Bill That Turns the Tables

Through both policies and rhetoric, the Trump administration has made clear that it would like to limit access to abortion care in the United States. Now, Democrats are fighting Trump's Title X abortion rule with spending bill provisions that draw a clear line. House Democrats have reaffirmed that they plan to protect Title X funding, even as the White House moves to limit access to the program.
Continued Reading


SEPARATION
'In God We Trust' Could Be Required Reading in Missouri Schools
  
In a House education committee, lawmakers debated a proposal by Rep. Dean Dohrman that is modeled on legislation already adopted in Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Arizona. Missouri could soon join a wave of other states requiring local schools to display the words "In God We Trust." It would require all schools to place the nation's motto in a location within the school where it could be viewed by students. The proposed law would go into effect next year.
Continued Reading



BEYOND THE CORE
House Panel Allots $50m to Study Gun Violence

The House Labor-HHS-Education fiscal 2020 funding bill recently unveiled provides $25 million to CDC and $25 million to NIH to research how to prevent firearm injury and death. The funding, which has been sought by gun violence-prevention advocates and some prominent doctors' groups, will likely face resistance from Republicans.  
Continued Reading




POLITICAL BYTE
Dear Republicans: Stop Using My Father, Ronald Reagan, to Justify Your Silence on Trump             
 
Trump has been wounding our democracy for the past two years. If he is reelected for another term, it's almost a given that America will not survive - at least not as the country the Founding Fathers envisioned, To the Republican Party that holds tightly to my father's legacy - if you are going to stand silent as America is dismantled and dismembered, as democracy is thrown onto the ash heap of yesterday, shame on you. But don't use my father's name on the way down.  
FYI
Holocaust Remembrance Day: How the Genocide Is Being Reimagined Through the Eyes of Instagram for Israel's Youth
 
The Instagram trailer opens with a bubbly teenager called Eva appealing to viewers to follow her Instagram page, where she documents her life, loves and friendships through boomerang videos and selfies. But very quickly the story changes. Shaky footage shot by the teen shows Nazi soldiers marching into her town and later storming her home. Soldiers round up her family. This Eva is based on a real-life Hungarian Jew: 13-year-old, Eva Heyman. Before she was killed in Auschwitz in 1944, she documented the final few months of her life in a personal diary that was only discovered years later.
JAC II
Introducing JACII, a JAC group for young professionals, advocates, and those young at heart who are looking to get involved. Groups have started in Detroit, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

Events will feature elected officials and speakers in lively settings. JACII is by and for young people. Now is the perfect time to get involved.

Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at [email protected]. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.
LAST WORD
"Three times a week the Senate Republicans meet for lunch... And occasionally they walk into that chamber and take a vote or two or three on judges. That is the sum total of the Senate's work today. Mitch McConnell has effectively turned the United States Senate into a very expensive lunch club."
 
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) 
    
    
JAC 2019 Power of Women Luncheon 
   
with key note speaker
Sarah Hurwitz
and special guest
Dr. Jill Biden 
Monday, June 3
Lincolnwood, IL
 
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Want to host a JAC event? Contact the office and we will help organize it. 
847.433.5999 or [email protected]
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.
Federal law requires political committees to report the name, mailing address, occupation and employer for each individual who contributes over $200 in a calendar year. Maximum contribution per person may not exceed $5,000 per calendar year. According to law, JACPAC cannot accept corporate contributions. Membership, gifts, or other payments to JACPAC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.