Get Ready for Convention 2020 Aug. 17-19



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August 14, 2020 
WEEK IN REVIEW
We felt hope on Wednesday afternoon seeing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris together and listening to their vision for America. We can emerge from this dark period and begin the healing and rebuilding that our nation desperately craves. 

With Joe and Kamala in the White House, the future is full of possibilities for everyone. As Joe said, "That's what sets this nation apart, is that everyone [has] the ability to go as far and dream as big as hard work and their God-given ability will take them."

Trump's vision of America is one of voter suppression, white supremacy, xenophobia. There are candidates running for Congress who not only support this, but also condone alt-right conspiracy theories that are laced with bigotry and antisemitism.

There are at least 19 Congressional candidates with links to the conspiracy group QAnon. According to the ADL, "QAnon theory is scattershot and sprawling and includes antisemitic and anti-government elements; its adherents actively sow distrust in democratic institutions."

The FBI has deemed this group a domestic terrorist threat. Yet thanks to Trump, who also engages in wild conspiracy theories, this dangerous group is now part of America's mainstream conservative movement. The president has even retweeted QAnon supporters. His son Eric Trump posted a QAnon meme on Instagram.

While Joe and Kamala discussed rooting out systemic racism in our justice system, passing a new voting rights act, and developing a comprehensive, science based plan to deal with the pandemic, Trump praised QAnon supporter and congressional candidate Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

Greene won a primary runoff in Georgia on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Trump phoned her and called Greene, who has made videos where she expressed racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic views, a "future Republican Star."  

"This election is about more than politics. It's about who we are as a country," Joe said. "The question is for all Americans to answer, who are we as a nation? What do we stand for? And most importantly, what do we want to be?

Our country is not Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene. We glimpsed our future stars on Wednesday. They are who we want to be.

Elections matter.

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UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS

Monday, August 24 
Convention & Election Update
with
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-8) 
1:00 pm ET | 12:00 pm CT | 10:00 am
 
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Monday, August 17 - Thursday, August 20
Democratic National Convention
Click here for ways to get involved
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Virtual Events to Support Joe Biden for President
 

** LOW DOLLAR EVENT **
Virtual Conversation
with
Senator Kamala Harris & the American Jewish Community
Date TBA
Time TBA
Video call instructions will be provided prior to event
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Date TBA
Women for Biden Virtual Event with Sen. Kamala Harris
Time TBA
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** LOW DONATION EVENT **
Monday, August 17
Virtual Reception with Vice President Joe Biden,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi & Carole King
4:00 pm ET | 3:00 pm CT | 1:00 pm PT
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** LOW DONATION EVENT **
Wednesday, August 26
Virtual Conversation on the Value of Women Voters & Leaders with Reps. Abby Finkenauer (IA), Lucy McBath (GA), 
& Debbie Murcarsel-Powell (FL)
moderated by Debra Messing & Eric McCormack
8:00 pm ET | 7:00 pm CT | 5:00 pm PT
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Please note: Login links for Biden for President events are sent out directly by the campaign. 
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Watch your inbox for more online events.
ISRAEL
Israel and UAE Reach Historic Peace Deal, Israel to Suspend Annexation

Israel and the UAE agreed to full normalization of relations in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, marking the first peace treaty between Israel and an Arab country in 25 years. Israel agreed to suspend its planned extension of sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria to facilitate relations with the UAE and potentially other Arab and Muslim countries.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
Should Billy Graham - Evangelist With an Antisemitism Scandal - Get a Statue in the Capitol?
 
The U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall, where two iconic figures from every state hold court, will soon have a new resident: A clay likeness of the late Reverend Billy Graham, the popular televangelist who brought the word of Jesus Christ to the masses through a series of high-profile "crusades," evangelistic campaigns that saw massive rallies across the United States. For Jews and groups concerned with the separation of church and state, the prospect is a problematic one.
Continued Reading

CHOICE
We Just Saw the Future of Anti-Abortion Laws
 
Last week, the famously anti-abortion United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit invoked the chief justice's separate opinion to justify reinstating four Arkansas anti-abortion laws that a federal district judge more than three years ago. If this grab bag of anti-abortion measures seems bizarre, it's just a taste of things to come.
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
 
'Christianity Will Have Power'

To the outside observer, the relationship between white evangelical Christians and Donald Trump can seem mystifying. From the start it appeared an impossible contradiction. Evangelicals for years have defined themselves as the values voters, people who prized the Bible and sexual morality - and loving your neighbor as yourself - above all. Donald Trump was the opposite. Theories, and rationalizations, abound: That evangelical support was purely transactional.
Continued Reading

BEYOND THE CORE
Is It Possible to Stop a Mass Shooting Before It Happens?  
 
An elite investigator who tracks angry men online, she's known to some in her field as the Savant because of her uncanny ability to suss out when, exactly, hate speech will morph into violent action. Studying behavior to predict what people will do next is not a new job. The FBI has employed profilers for years to help them catch serial killers and repeat rapists. But in the age of internet radicalization, it's more important than ever to determine who is actively plotting mass killings versus just fetishizing them online. 
Continued Reading

POLITICAL BYTE
If Donald Trump Controls the Mail, He Controls Democracy
 
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night can slow the mail. But President Donald Trump can. Trump's handpicked new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, announced sweeping  changes that promise to further undercut the U.S. Postal Service's ability to perform a vital democratic function: the timely delivery of mail-in ballots. This comes during an election when as many as 80 million Americans are expected to vote by mail because of the risk of contracting COVID-19.
Continued Reading

BIDEN ROUNDUP
Kamala Harris Just Showed Why Biden Chose Her as His Running Mate 
 
When Kamala Harris appeared with Joe Biden as his running mate for the first time, she showed why he had chosen her. Gliding past President Donald Trump's sexist depictions of her as "mean" and "nasty," the Senator from California shredded Trump's White House record with the agility that comes from her years as a courtroom prosecutor. Yet she delivered those critiques with bright notes of hope and optimism -- accentuated by the smiles that are expected from female politicians. 
Continued Reading

Kamala Harris | Vice President Announcement | Joe Biden For President 2020
Kamala Harris | Vice President Announcement | Joe Biden For President 2020


CORONAVIRUS
Infectious Disease Expert Predicts When U.S. Coronavirus Cases Will Again Explode 

Infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm contradicted President Donald Trump's fanciful claim that the U.S. will soon be in "very good shape" with the coronavirus pandemic, instead predicting "an explosion" in new cases starting next month. "When school starts both at the high school level and in college and universities, we think we're going to see an explosion of cases in September that will far surpass what we saw after Memorial Day," Osterholm said. 
Continued Reading

FYI
A Bunch of Jewish Things About Biden Veep Pick Kamala Harris, from Her In-Laws to Israel
 
Kamala Harris' selection as Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's vice-presidential candidate is a first in more ways than one. She's the first Black woman on the ticket; also, the first South Asian. But she's the second to have Jewish in-laws, the first being Joe Lieberman, who ran as Al Gore's running mate in 2000. 
Continued Reading

The Last Word
"We need more than a victory on November 3rd. We need a mandate that proves that the past few years do not represent who we are or who we aspire to be."
-- Sen. Kamala Harris
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.
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Know someone who would be interested in joining or hosting a meeting? Let us know at info@jacpac.org. We will be happy to help organize a JACII in your city.

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.  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.