July 19, 2018
JAC II members with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in Chicago. (l to r: Kristine Schanbacher, Jessie Lehr, Kyle Seay, and Tim Kaine.)
JAC members with Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17) in Chicago.
(l to r: Cheri Bustos, Jacki Parmacek, Taylor Shuman)
JAC members attended a breakfast with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17).
JAC members supporting Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for IL-13.
(l to r: Mayor Nancy Rotering, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan,
MWRDCommissioner Debra Shore, Nancy Kohn, Councilwoman Alyssa Knobel,
Tracy Jacobson)

This week's candidate spotlight is on Kathy Manning, a longtime friend of JAC and candidate for North Carolina's 13th district. The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Ted Budd and has been Republican since the district's redistricting after the 2010 census. Manning gives the Democrats a strong chance to flip the district in the upcoming midterms.
 
Kathy was the first woman to chair the board of the Jewish Federation of North America. In this role, she garnered extensive experience working on strengthening the relationship between the U.S and Israel. She has a deep appreciation of this special relationship and understands that Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East.
 
JAC can count on Kathy to protect our reproductive rights. If elected, she has committed to protecting a women's right to make decisions about her own healthcare. She will not support any legislation that allows the government to intrude on the relationship between a woman and her doctor.
 
Kathy grew up in a home with a gun, but her father taught her that rights come with responsibilities. She wants to pass that knowledge on in legislation that expands background checks and closes loopholes that allow criminals and domestic abusers to get their hands on guns.
 
We need Kathy's voice in Congress to stand up for JAC's values.

Elections matter. Elections have consequences.

Click here to support Kathy Manning and other JAC candidates.
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Check your voter registration today here. Make sure your voice is heard.
 
TAKE ACTION

Judge Brett Kavanaugh is a danger to our freedoms.
 
We need to STOP his nomination.
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Click here today to use JAC's SCOTUS Nomination Blocking Toolkit. The toolkit contains:
Use this toolkit to fight back and block a judge who threatens to push the Court further to the right, jeaopardizing our rights and liberties for generations to com. 
 
ISRAEL
Third Day of 'Cease-fire': IDF Strikes Gaza as Flaming Balloon Hits Israeli Kindergarten     

The Israeli military and Palestinian fighters in Gaza traded fire on Tuesday, three days after after a cease-fire momentarily halted the most widespread escalation of fighting since the 2014 war.
Congressional Hearing Highlights Push for U.S. Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty over Golan Heights
  
The potential U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights was the focus of a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. Given the civil war that has torn Syria apart over the past seven years, some American and Israeli officials have recently begun pushing for the U.S. to officially recognize that the Golan is part of Israel.        
ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
The New Campus BDS Strategy: Attacking Jewish Student Organizations
 
Over the last year, the movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel (BDS) appears to have shifted its approach at colleges and universities, perhaps because of its failure to convince university administrators to boycott the Jewish state. Its main campus collaborator, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), has instead set about ostracizing Jewish student groups, often in the name of "intersectionality."
The U.N. and Antisemitism: 10-Year Report Card
 
Between 2006 and 2016 the United Nations Human Rights Council passed 67 resolutions condemning human rights violations around the world: against the massacre of half a million people in Syria, the genocide in Darfur, the execution of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Iran. In that same decade the same Human Rights Council passed 68 resolutions condemning Israel.
CHOICE
The Abortion Debate Isn't as Partisan as Politicians Make It Seem

The way the abortion debate plays out in national politics, particularly around judicial nominations, does not reflect how the broader public views this issue. The issue is not a 50/50 Democrat/Republican split, as the plurality of Americans consistently take the "pro-choice" position over the "pro-life" one. And the public, unlike political elites, is not completely divided along party lines on this issue.   
Judge Rules for Trump Administration in Suit over Family-Planning Program Shift
 
A federal judge ruled on Monday against birth control organizations that sought to block the Trump administration from shifting a federal family-planning grant program toward prioritizing groups that are faith-based and counsel abstinence.
Continued Reading



SEPARATION
No, a Proposed House Amendment Wouldn't Ban Same-Sex Couples from Adopting--It's Even Worse Than That

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has voted to add an amendment to an appropriations bill that included a provision permitting licensed child-welfare agencies to discriminate on the basis of religion. The amendment, proposed by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), would prohibit federal, state, or local agencies from taking any action against a child-welfare organization, agency, or staff member who "decline[s] to provide, facilitate, or refer for a child welfare services that conflicts with . . . the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions."          
What Was Maria Butina Doing at the National Prayer Breakfast?

Does it seem strange that, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Monday by the Justice Department, a Russian woman stands accused of "acting as an agent of a foreign government" in part because she hoped "to establish a back channel of communication" with American politicians at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington?  
BEYOND THE CORE
Judge: Jewish Heritage Can Be Basis for Race Discrimination

Jewish people are protected by a law against racial discrimination in employment decisions, a federal magistrate judge has concluded in siding with a football coach suing a private Baptist college in Louisiana. The nation's highest court hasn't defined what "race" means under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, U.S. Magistrate Mark Hornsby said in a court filing. But he concluded that Jewish citizens have been treated as a racial or ethnic group entitled to the law's protection against employment discrimination.
U.S. Judge Suspends Deportations of Reunited Immigrant Families

A federal judge temporarily barred the U.S. government from the rapid deportation of immigrant parents reunited with their children, while a court considers the impact on children's rights to seek asylum.
Republicans Back Guns for Kids in Sacha Baron Cohen's New Show

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen shared a preview of his new series several hours before its debut Sunday night, showing Republican lawmakers advocating for arming kindergarten children and training them to use a variety of weapons.
COURT WATCH
Comments by Former Clerks May Backfire on Trump's High Court Pick
  
When it became clear that President Donald Trump was seriously considering nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, the conservative judge's former law clerks swung into action as among his most energetic public cheerleaders. But in making the case for him in the media on issues including his stance toward abortion, healthcare and an expansive view of religious liberty, they may have opened up lines of attack on Kavanaugh by Democrats and liberal advocacy groups seeking to derail his nomination in the U.S. Senate.   
Brett Kavanaugh, Trump's Supreme Court Pick, Could Have a Major Impact on Gun Laws, Rejecting Assault-Weapon Bans   
  
With the addition of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court could have a conservative majority to strike down bans on semi-automatic weapons in California and other liberal states and to decree that law-abiding Americans have a right to carry a gun in public.   
If Kavanaugh Is Confirmed, You Can Kiss the Right to Vote Goodbye 
  
Chief Justice John Roberts has a plan to neuter the Voting Rights Act. All of it. He's held onto this plan for nearly forty years, waiting for the day when he could deploy it.
POLITICAL BYTE
WH Now Says Trump 'Disagrees' with Putin Proposal to Question Former U.S Ambassador
  
After political backlash from Republicans and well as Democrats, the White House said Thursday President Donald Trump now "disagrees" with Russian President Putin's proposal that Russian investigators be allowed to question Americans, including a former U.S. ambassador to Moscow.    
Trump's Shameful Capitulation to Vladimir Putin Is Part of a Bigger (And More Dangerous) Pattern, by Dan Shapiro 
  
What is unfolding before our eyes is not the haphazard lurches of an ill-informed and possibly compromised president, but rather the potential dawning of a completely new global era, a fundamental reshaping of the international order.    
New House FEC Reports: Rating Changes in 7 Districts
  
The newest FEC filings spell danger for Republicans. In the most recent fundraising period, Democrats outraised Republicans in at least 60 GOP-held seats, more than twice the 23 seats Democrats need for a majority. Meanwhile, the reverse is true in just five Democratic-held seats. That's going to force the NRCC and Congressional Leadership Fund to bail out a lot of cash-strapped GOP candidates come the fall.  
Here's How Many Women Have Won or Lost Elections in 2018
 
Women gained seats in the House and Senate from the early 1990s through 2013 before the growth in their representation stalled. Now, women make up nearly 20 percent of Congress, but with record numbers of women running, they could be on track to claim an even larger share of seats.
FYI
Donald Trump Has Said 2029 False Things as U.S. President
 
The Star is keeping track of every false claim U.S. President Donald Trump has made since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. Why? Historians say there has never been such a constant liar in the Oval Office. We think dishonesty should be challenged. We think inaccurate information should be corrected. And we think the sheer frequency of Trump's inaccuracy is a central story of his presidency .  
Michelle Obama Teams up with Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda for Voter Registration Campaign
 
Former first lady Michelle Obama is joining forces with a slew of big names to get voters to the polls ahead of this year's midterm elections. When We All Vote, launched Thursday, aims to promote voter registration and "brings together citizens, institutions, and organizations to spark a conversation about our rights and responsibilities in shaping our democracy," according to its website. 
Continued Reading 
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.

Chicago's JAC II will be hosting a Brunch for Lauren Baer, candidate for FL-18, on Sunday, August 5th. An all you can eat breakfast & adult beverages - proceeds to support Lauren Baer for Congress. Details to follow.

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.
The Last Word
"I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression. This is shameful."   

Senator Jeff  Flake, R-AZ
 
U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN)
Monday, July 30th
Chicago, IL
Call the JAC office for details.
847.433.5999 
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JAC II Brunch for Baer
All you can eat brunch & beverages in support of
Lauren Baer
Congressional Candidate FL-18
Sunday, August 5
Chicago, IL 
Call the JAC office for details.
847.433.5999 
  
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 contributed to JACPAC. 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.