Open Letter to House Minority Leader from your Jewish colleagues: Jews are not a political football.
Image by Getty Images
Dear Leader McCarthy,
As Jewish members of Congress, we write to you at a time of uncertainty and concern in the United States. Jewish communities have seen a rise in violence, property damage and harassment. Pittsburgh, Poway, Monsey, Jersey City, and Brooklyn are sadly new touchstones for the American Jewish community.
We do not distinguish between left-wing and right-wing antisemitism. Antisemitism is wrong, no matter the source, and we will continue to fight antisemitism wherever it is.
But, this fight against antisemitism cannot be fought by Jews alone. If we are to prevail against antisemitism, we need allies to join us — both Democratic and Republican. The fight against antisemitism must be seen by those who traffic in attacks against Jews as a bipartisan fight. It actually hurts our efforts to make this a partisan issue.
Jews are not a political football, and to treat Jews as such devalues Jewish lives and makes it more difficult to fight the dangerous and deadly trends of growing antisemitism.
To be clear, every clearly partisan maneuver in which House Republicans seek to play “gotcha” politics with Jewish lives — including partisan motions to recommit on anti-Semitism — makes the fight against antisemitism harder. This is especially true when members then vote against the underlying bill after a motion to recommit passes, thereby clearly demonstrating that those members are only interested in the partisan maneuver.
Before a member of the Republican Conference introduces another motion to recommit on issues related to antisemitism, we invite you to meet with Jewish members of Congress to hear our perspective. We would like to share views with you about the effects of these partisan motions to recommit about the Jewish community.
We look forward to scheduling time together so that you can better understand our deep commitment to the bipartisan fight against antisemitism.
Sincerely,
ELIOT L. ENGEL, Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs
NITA M. LOWEY, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee
JERROLD NADLER, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
TED DEUTCH, Chairman, House Ethics Committee
JAN SCHAKOWSKY, Member of Congress
JOHN YARMUTH, Chairman, House Budget Committee
DEBBIE WASSERMAN SHULTZ, Member of Congress
BRAD SHERMAN, Member of Congress
ANDY LEVIN, Member of Congress
JAMIE RASKIN, Member of Congress
BRAD SCHNEIDER, Member of Congress
SUSAN WILD, Member of Congress
LOIS FRANKEL, Member of Congress
STEVE COHEN, Member of Congress
SUSAN A. DAVIS, Member of Congress
ALAN LOWENTHAL, Member of Congress
KIM SCHRIER, Member of Congress
MIKE LEVIN, Member of Congress
DAVID N. CICILLINE, Member of Congress
ADAM SCHIFF, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Member of Congress
DEAN PHILLIPS, Member of Congress
ELISSA SLOTKIN, Member of Congress
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
