Super PAC Ready To Schlep Again
Sarah Silverman Image by getty images
Josh Nathan-Kazis April 12, 2012
Armed with a $200,000 donation from a son of George Soros, the pro-Obama Jewish group that behind The Great Schlep is posed to play a major role this election cycle.
The group, called the Jewish Council for Education and Research, ran a high-profile campaign to send young Jews to lobby their grandparents to vote for Obama in 2008. Now a super PAC, the organization has raised nearly as much so far this cycle as they raised in the entire 2008 campaign.
“We were able to do a lot last time,” said Mik Moore, treasurer of the group, officially known as the Jewish Council for Education and Research. “But there was a lot we didn’t do, and we’re starting a lot earlier.”
In recent weeks, the group received a $200,000 donation from Alexander Soros, the 26-year-old son of the billionaire hedge fund magnate and progressive philanthropist George Soros. Moore said that the group hoped to raise $1 million by the end of the election cycle.
Jewish support for Democrats was high in 2008, with 78% of Jewish voters casting their ballots for Obama. Republican group have already committed significant resources to winning away some of that support, especially in key swing states like Florida. Moore’s group is part of the Democrats’ effort to push back.
The Great Schlep from The Great Schlep on Vimeo.
In 2008, the JCEC was best known for its viral video featuring Sarah Silverman telling young Jews to talk their grandparents into voting for Obama. “If Barack Obama doesn’t become the next president of the United States, I’m going to blame the Jews,” Silverman threatened, jokingly.
The video was a pitch for young Jews to canvas for Obama in swing states. Moore said that the group plans on launching a similar swing state campaign this year.
But 2012 isn’t 2008, and Moore said that he sees low levels of enthusiasm among some activists involved in his 2008 Great Schlep. Moore said that, though the disenchanted activists still planned to vote for Obama in 2012, they weren’t willing to dedicate time to the campaign.
In addition to organizing travel to swing states, Moore said his group would work to increase enthusiasm among those disaffected 2008 supporters. Moore also said that the group would attack Republicans on issues of Jewish concern.
The group’s tactics and approaches are still being determined. But Moore said that he had been in touch with Sarah Silverman, the ticket to the group’s viral success in 2008.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
