November 9 , 2018
Congratulations to all of the JAC-supported candidates who won their races this week. These are just a few of them with JAC members around the country.
Thank you to everyone who worked to get out the vote this week. Former JAC President Gail Yamner canvassed in the rain Tuesday to Get Out the Vote for Mikie Sherrill.
The jubilant feeling of taking back the House quickly faded with the mass shooting at a Los Angeles bar early Thursday morning. Less than two days earlier, voters defeated NRA-backed candidates, sending a loud message that our country's safety will not be held hostage by the NRA.

Besides gun violence prevention, there will be many challenging issues, such as healthcare, facing the next Congress. Dealing with these issues will necessitate bipartisanship.

The newly-elected representatives come from across the country. Although their districts are diverse, they are united in their strong desire to start getting things done in Washington by placing principle over politics.

Next year, women will make up nearly a quarter of the 435-member House of Representatives- a record high. Numerous studies on gender and problem-solving show that women are often bridge builders, collaborating to find the solutions to tricky problems. Female legislators often bring greater attention to wage gaps, family leave policy, sexual harassment, child abuse and other critical issues that disproportionately affect women. 1

JAC helped, with your support, to elect many of these new female members. We were involved in over 100 races across the country and are proudly sending 80 of these candidates to Washington.

Women are part of the 40 new members - the 3rd largest freshman class since Watergate. The new members have tipped the balance of power in the House in a very meaningful way. Some races have yet even to be decided.

Democrats will now hold key leadership and committee posts. The committee chairs determine what legislation is moved out of their committees, while the Speaker of the House determines what bills reach the House floor for a vote. We can at last have hearings, debates and votes on our country's most pressing issues.

Election turnout hit a 50-year high thanks in part to women and millennials. Tuesday's winners also include all those people that waited in lines to vote, knocked on doors in the rain and heat, and spent time calling voters. We are proud of all our JAC members who worked across the country to make Tuesday such a success.

We all win when we participate in democracy, even if our candidate loses.

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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.

ELECTION SCORECARD


Click below to see JAC's 2018 Election Scorecard. While some races are still undecided, see how JAC-supported candidates fared in this election.
(Note: As of today, 11/9/18, several races are still undecided and are reflected as such in the scorecard.)



ISRAEL
Midterms Bad for Bipartisanship, Good for Peace Process, Ex-Ambassador Says     
  
The results of the midterm elections will make it more difficult for Israel to maintain bipartisan support among American politicians and the public, says Deputy Minister and former ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren. But they have likely strengthened U.S. President Donald Trump's resolve to reach a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the "deal of the century" he has drafted, Oren said.
Continued Reading

ANTI-SEMITISM & BDS
How White Supremacist Candidates Fared in 2018 
 
In 2018, an astonishing number of self-described white nationalists (including a former president of the American Nazi Party) ran for local, state, and national office in states from California to North Carolina - with the vast majority running as Republicans.    
Continued Reading

CHOICE
Trump Administration Quietly Unveils New Rules Targeting Birth Control and Abortion

The results of this weeks election were still being tabulated on Wednesday when Trump's Department of Health and Human Services quietly finalized two rules empowering employers, universities and nonprofits to refuse birth control coverage to women. A third rule, also announced Wednesday, would require insurers on the Affordable Care Act marketplace to charge women a separate monthly bill for abortion coverage - a change that advocates say would be so prohibitively expensive it could force insurers to stop offering the procedure altogether.
Continued Reading

SEPARATION
As Evangelicals Win with Trump, Little 'Good News' Is Left in the Religious Right 

The story of the 2018 midterms for me came not on Election Day but at a Republican campaign rally in Missouri, when President Trump's speech was interrupted by medics tending to a supporter who had collapsed. Bystanders launched into "Amazing Grace." This  illustrates the great irony of evangelical Trumpism. Supporters tolerate and even cheer his white-nationalist appeals, and they ignore the rampant corruption and criminality in his administration, while rarely taking account of how his appeals to fear and division trample the grace found in the gospel. 
Continued Reading

BEYOND THE CORE
With Senate Majority Intact, Trump Will Keep Loading Federal Courts with Conservative Judges

In his first two years in office, President Donald Trump has moved to appoint dozens of conservative judges to the federal bench, moving faster than any president since at least Ronald Reagan. On top of two Supreme Court justices, Trump has appointed 29 judges to U.S. appeals courts across the country. The appointments, Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell has said, are his "top priority."
Continued Reading




ELECTION ROUNDUP
Which Results in the Midterm Elections Matter Most to Jews? 
  
Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, with Jewish Congress members poised to take key leadership roles. Republicans looked to increase their majority in the Senate. Five Jewish Democrats are set to chair key House committees, including three representatives from New York: Jerrold Nadler, the Judiciary Committee; Eliot Engel, Foreign Affairs; and Nita Lowey, Appropriations. Adam Schiff of California will head the Intelligence Committee and John Yarmuth of Kentucky will lead the Budget Committee.
FYI
The Day of Fate
 
Kristallnacht, on its 80th anniversary, still offers a potent lesson: We all face the choice between right and wrong, responsibility and recklessness, conscience and complicity.
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.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

JAC II Chicago: Evening with Moran Birman, Israel Consul for Public Diplomacy, November 29. Details to follow.

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
"Every American must put country before party to protect the rule of law."

 
- Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)  
 
 
Post-Election Thank You Lunch 
Thursday, November 15
12:00 pm
at the JAC office 
Highland Park, IL  
 
(Want to host a JAC watch party? 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.