Teves Update, January 6
January 6, 2020

If you are concerned with the current, rising wave of Anti-Semitic violence, then please help strengthen the voice of the CJV.

As the attacks have intensified, a disturbing phenomenon has come to the fore: some Jewish organizations were not paying attention, oblivious to the fact that the distinct dress of observant Jews simply makes some targets more obvious, but the hate is universal. Instead, some of the very people who tried to divide us in the wake of the Tree of Life shooting now acknowledge that they themselves expressed less concern when the victims were not part of their own circles.

Just as bad, they do not know how to respond. Rallies featuring Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and a contingent from IfNotNow are nothing if not counter-productive – which is probably why barely a smattering of Hassidic Jews attended a rally in New York yesterday opposing attacks targeting Hassidic Jews.

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The need is greater than ever for the Coalition for Jewish Values to step in with an authentic voice steeped in Jewish wisdom. This is an area where rabbis – drawing upon millennia of bitter experience – are able to substantively rebut those whose outlook on Anti-Semitism is tainted by partisanship and political correctness. You can read it in our statements below, targeting genuine Anti-Semitism and praising real efforts to fight it. There is much more to be done, and we need your support.

Press Releases

Rabbinic Organization Lauds Trump Executive Order on Anti-Semitism

Dec 10 – Jews are indeed a nationality, and Jewish students have faced increasingly-obvious bias on campus. The fact that it has been thinly disguised as “anti-Israel” activity is no excuse for bigotry.

Rabbis to Mayor de Blasio, ADL, AJC: Partisan Misuse of Anti-Semitism Endangers Jews

Dec 25 – What Mayor Giuliani had to say about Soros was entirely reasonable, while Soros’ Jewish identity seems to surface only when it can be used to shield him from justified criticism.

Letters and Statements

Coalition Letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos: 88 Organizations Urge Safeguards Against NRC Abuse of Federal Funds

Dec 4 – It is of particular concern that more than half the directors of currently Title VI-funded Middle East Studies National Resource Centers (NRCs) have pledged support for an academic boycott of Israel or engaged in boycott-compliant behavior, including attempts to shut down their universities’ study abroad programs in Israel, as have these centers’ affiliated faculty

Coalition Letter Opposing House Resolution 326

Dec 4 – The resolution ignores the fact that the Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s multiple attempts at peace, where it had offered to give up over 90% of Judea and Samaria. It does not acknowledge the reality that when Israel left the Gaza Strip, all they received in return is its citizens living under the constant threat of rocket fire, kite bombs, and terror tunnels.

Public Comment to Revision of HHS Regulations to Benefit Religious Freedom

Dec 19 – The Coalition for Jewish Values strongly favors reversal of Obama-era regulations which impeded free religious practice in a way liable to harm the beneficiaries most of all, such as children needing foster care.

Featured Op-Eds
All of our board members’ op-eds since our last update can be accessed on our website.

If You Want To Be Anti-Israel, Don’t Claim Trump Is An Anti-Semite When He Disagrees With You
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Daily Wire, Dec 9

Saying that Jews are disloyal to Jewish interests? No anti-Semite has ever voiced such a complaint. It has literally never happened. So how foolish is it to argue that Trump “proved” his anti-Semitism by saying something no anti-Semite in history has ever said … before an applauding Jewish audience?

When Devout Catholics Grimaced Over Pelosi’s ‘As a Catholic’ Hypocrisy
by Rabbi Dov Fischer, The American Spectator, Dec 10

Which part of her devout “as a Catholic” devotion leads Nancy Pelosi to be a leader in promoting abortions, gay marriage, and the Obama–Democrat agenda she shepherded? Where was this “as a Catholic” when the Little Sisters of the Poor were fighting their way to the Supreme Court of the United States, seeking SCOTUS protection in Zubik v. Burwell in 2016, from Pelosi’s Obamacare?

When Fake News Harms the Jews
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Daily Wire, Dec 17

Succinctly put, President Trump last week made one of the most positive moves to combat anti-Semitism ever seen from a world leader. Media outlets such as The New York Times are doing tremendous harm to Jewish students on campus — and to simple fairness, to boot.

Secular Jews Claim They Don’t Exist To Spite The President
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Israel National News, Dec 19

One who claims the Jews are not a nationality demonstrates complete ignorance of the Bible and Jewish history. Seriously, this is embarrassing. Do they think an affinity for bagels makes a person an authority on Jews?

This Time It Is Personal — for Us
by Rabbi Dov Fischer, The American Spectator, Dec 20

“America First” is an honorable slogan; America’s traditional culture, values, and history are precious.

Supporting The President Is The Moral Choice
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken, Daily Wire, Dec 23

The overwhelming majority of both evangelical Christians and Orthodox Jews reject the notion of impeaching the president and plan to vote for him in 2020. It is not hard to understand why.

Left Democrats and Their In-House Jew-Haters Are Leveraging Anti-Semitic Attacks for Cynical Political Gain
by Rabbi Dov Fischer, The American Spectator, Dec 31

The reason that Chassidic Jews have been attacked in random incidents is that some people who never will amount to anything in their lives have nothing else to do, and they perceive that Chassidim are easy marks. Chassidim are easy enough to spot.

Open Season
by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Israel National News, Jan 2

Politicians have been too reticent to expose the identity of almost all the recent perpetrators in New York and New Jersey: they have been black Americans. And that leaves politicians tongue-tied.

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