There has been an amazing amount going on, and I’m going to have to write you more often, so please excuse the rushed or casual tenor of this update!
The highlight of June remains the Road to Majority Conference in Washington DC, a three-day affair that began with a luncheon addressed by Donald Trump and ended with one from Mike Pence. This is the annual conference of Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition.
They considered the presence of Jews sharing traditional values so important that we were provided a table for ten at the Legislative Luncheon on Thursday, June 8, where we heard from Senator Ted Cruz, Senator David Perdue, Texas AG Ken Paxton, and “The Donald.” And on Friday morning, I spoke after Charles Krauthammer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (I was pushed back to meet the Senator’s schedule), and before Kellyanne Conway and Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer. My address was extremely well-received by acrowd that, as Mr. Reed expected, was anxious to hear a Jewish voice supporting the values found in our Torah.
Enjoy what you're reading? Subscribe for more!
On that Thursday, we also were invited to meet with Dr. Sebastian Gorka at his office in the Eisenhower building next to the White House, where we learned about his work combating terrorism, and discussed the various streams within the Jewish community.
Elliot Resnick of the Jewish Press conducted an interview with me, which I think offers an excellent overview of our organization. It is entitled “A Torah Voice in the Public Square,” and I encourage you to read it.
We issued a series of press releases on topics related to anti-Semitism, immigration and even climate change:
Rabbinic Group Condemns IfNotNow for Anti-Semitic Tactics & Message, June 12
Rabbis reject climate change agenda as a Jewish value, June 15
Rabbis Welcome Implementation of Immigration Limits, June 27
Rabbis Reject False Reform Statements, July 2
Rabbis Call Out UCC for Double Standard Against Jews, July 3
Our Senior Rabbinic Fellows also produced several Op-Eds. I hope in particular you will read these two, as they are two of the very few articles published supporting and explaining the government decision in Israel killing off a ‘deal’ that would have created a large section for mixed prayer.
The Reform movement came late to the party, by Rabbi Dov Fischer
Inappropriate and insolent: Non-Orthodox protests on Kotel plan, by Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer
As I said, I have to do these more often, simply because there are more op-eds and additional news that I don’t wish to cram into one large email. Suffice it to say that our new organization has been extremely busy, and I look forward to sharing much more with you in the near future.
Yours,
Yaakov Menken