A Call For Advocacy

This narrative was not supposed to happen in America in 2019. It may be happening in other dark places in the world but certainly not in the United States Congress. Sure, our nation has its many warts of overt racism but we like to believe that we live in this so-called post-racial era where racism and antisemitism is relegated to the fringes. Well, let’s wake up to the reality of 2019. Ilhan Omar, a freshwoman Member of Congress from Minnesota, posted a series of tweets suggesting that the United States only supports Israel because of Jewish money and AIPAC. Her statements invoke tired, anti-Semitic tropes implying that Jewish money and involvement in the political system is invalid and illegitimate.

These words are not coming from some outlier on a fringe website. This is coming from a United States Congresswoman whose salary is funded by American taxpayers. This comes on the heels of a previous statement in which she accused Israel of hypnotizing the world. Then there is Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American freshwoman Member of Congress from Michigan, who is openly advocating for a one-state solution to Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
In case you were wondering, she’s not suggesting it should be Israel. AIPAC has been successful in organizing trips to Israel for freshman members of Congress so they could see the situation first hand. These trips have resulted in significant support for Israel’s security as American lawmakers saw firsthand how vulnerable the security in Israel is in real-time. Now Congresswoman Tlaib is planning to bring a congressional delegation of freshman lawmakers to the West Bank and also said she backs the boycott, divest and sanctions (BDS) movement. Just as an added bonus, Ms. Tlaib said that she may want to take the congressional delegation to Beit Ur al-Foqa a village in the West Bank, where her grandmother lives.

Historically, the United States Congress has been overwhelmingly Pro-Israel in a strong bipartisan way. The question is, are we beginning to see cracks in the armor or is this just an anomaly? That remains to be seen, but I don’t think we have the luxury of pretending that we can ride out the storm.
These members of Congress did not arrive there in a vacuum. They were voted in by constituents that supported their policies. The most effective way for us to combat them is for our voice to be amplified in Washington to our elected officials. They need to hear from us preferably in person that as our congressman and senators we expect them to continue supporting the United States Israel alliance. No better organization does this than AIPAC, and there is no better place for this gathering than the annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C.
This is an opportunity for you to join the largest Pro Israel coalition in the country and we will let our lawmakers know in a loud voice that we will not be silent in support of Israel and we cannot accept the recent comments of the freshwomen members of Congress as the new normal. The dates for the Policy Conference are March 24-26, and I am honored to once again lead the Etz Chaim Synagogue delegation up to our nation's capital. Our generation is blessed with the extraordinary gift of being able to advocate in front of the highest offices of the land. Let’s appreciate this gift and use it wisely.