Letters & Statements

Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s “Medicare for All Act” would overturn decades of federal precedent, eliminate Hyde Amendment and other lifesaving protections, and explicitly remove existing safeguards against federal abortion funding.

It is amazing that the very same groups which claim it a violation of free speech for a state to dissociate itself from discriminatory, Antisemitic boycotts now demand that Professor Hill be muzzled. But the hypocrisy is hardly limited to free speech.

This event seeks to equate Israel’s soldiers and innocent victims of terrorism with those who murdered them in cold blood, often in suicide attacks. Israel’s victims of terror includes people of all ages, religions and creeds, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and people from various nationalities including many Americans.

Without robust protection for those whose religious beliefs demand more traditional practices, the Equality Act has the potential to bring the United States’ centuries-long history of robust protection of our religious liberties to an abrupt and ignominious end.

As described in the press release, this is not an educational event but a political rally. Moreover, the event organizer and several speakers are all outspoken anti-Israel activists who have engaged in expression deemed antisemitic not only by the vast majority of world Jewry, but also by the standards established by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA).

We note with dismay that the letter from left-wing groups makes no mention of the unbroken 3300-year heritage of the unique religious and historical connection between Jews and the Land of Israel, including Judea and Samaria, from which Jews were only removed via massacres and ethnic cleansing. It also makes no mention of the unceasing hostility Jews have faced since establishing contemporary self-governance in their homeland.

Our organizations heartily applaud you for your courageous leadership in vetoing the College Council’s vote to shut down Pitzer’s study abroad program at the University of Haifa. Your staunch defense of the academic freedom and educational opportunities of Pitzer students and faculty in the face of an academic boycott of Israel is exemplary.

We sent individual thank you letters to the 24 Congressmen who did not support an overly-broad “anti-hate” resolution that failed to uniquely condemn the anti-Semitic vitriol of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

We hope you will continue to demonstrate your commitment to the high moral standards of your office by removing Rep. Omar, a woman who has repeatedly exhibited strong biases against the State of Israel and the Jewish people, from this critically important and sensitive committee.

Similar, future statements by her and others will reflect directly upon the credibility of your office, the House Democratic majority, and the Democratic Party itself, when they claim to oppose bigotry and hatred in all their forms.