Jewish Democrats in New York managed to avoid adding another progressive candidate whose position on Israel and BDS had elicited concerns over the weeks leading up to Tuesday's primaries.

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Levi Strauss heir and former federal prosecutor Dan Goldman – also of the Goldman Sachs family – won the open race for New York's 10th Congressional District, beating his nearest rival, New York state assembly member Yuh-Line Niou, by only 1,306 votes, with 25.8% to Niou's 23.7%.

Goldman's victory came in part because of his consolidation of Orthodox Jewish voters, while Niou faced a litany of questions over her positions on Israel.

During a primary debate late last week, Niou said that she would oppose a resolution in Congress against the BDS movement, according to the New York Post, saying she "would not vote for anything opposing the BDS movement's right to exist."

Earlier this month, Niou also upset pro-Israel voters when it was reported by The Forward that she planned to host an Aug. 18 fundraiser featuring a Palestinian comedian who has called Israel "a terrorist state."

The race drew 13 candidates to compete for the seat with four candidates breaking into double digits for the percentage of votes they received. One of the candidates was current Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), who entered the district after the state's redistricting was approved. Jones finished with 18.2% of the vote and New York City Council member Carlina Rivera finished fourth with 17%.

The district covers lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, including Borough Park, and incorporates a large Jewish population.

Because of the closeness of the race, Goldman was only officially called the winner by the Associated Press on Wednesday morning. He instead declared victory himself on Tuesday night, saying that it was clear from the results that had come in that he had won.

"Tonight is not a victory for myself or any one person. It is a victory for all of us," Goldman said during his victory speech. "All of us who will not let authoritarian forces undermine the foundation of our democracy and the rule of law. It is a victory for all of us who are determined to fight for our fundamental rights to expand abortion access throughout the country, to fight for our planet, and to protect our children and neighbors from the scourge of gun violence and hate crimes in our society."

The AIPAC-affiliated SuperPac United Democracy Project was quick to congratulate Goldman on the victory, emphatically calling Niou anti-Israel.

"We are proud to have played a role in defeating Yuh-Line Niou – an anti-Israel candidate who endorses the BDS campaign against Israel – through our significant support of a local New York SuperPac," UDP Wrote in a statement.

'Fight for our values and protect democratic freedoms'

In New York's 12 Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is chair of the House Judiciary Committee, defeated fellow incumbent Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, to earn his 16th term in Congress.

The two longtime colleagues were pitted together after New York's congressional districts were redrawn following the 2020 census, with New York losing a seat. The new district covers both the west and east sides of Manhattan.

Nadler won by a wide margin of 55.4% of the vote to Maloney's 24.4% and newcomer Suraj Patel's 19.2%.

Both Nadler and Maloney ran as progressives. Nadler was endorsed by AIPAC and J Street.

J Street took ownership of the victory in a news release. J Street Action Fund said it spent $200,000 supporting Nadler and nearby New York's 16th Congressional District incumbent and "Squad" member Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who also won his primary race with a majority of the vote.

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​​"Reps. Nadler and Bowman have shown strong and principled pro-Israel, pro-peace leadership, so it's great news they'll both be returning to Congress," said Kevin Rachlin, J Street vice president of public affairs. "We're thrilled for them to be joined by a slew of incoming champions who we know will fight for our values and protect democratic freedoms both at home and abroad."

Goldman will face Republican challenger Benine Hamdan in November in a safe Democratic district. Nadler will take on Republican nominee Michael Zumbluskas and is also expected to win handily.

A district that is likely to be at least slightly more competitive is the race for New York's 11th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island. Incumbent Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) easily defeated her primary challengers in the district's Republican primary winning with 78% of the vote. In the general election, she will face the Jewish, Democratic primary winner and former congressman Max Rose, who she unseated in the 2020 general election. Rose won his primary with 75% of the vote.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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At the same time that US President Joe Biden traveled to the Middle East in July, a group of Yemeni women set off to Washington, DC, to encourage the reinstatement of the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The group members, representing a human-rights NGO, met with officials from the Biden administration, Congress and think tanks as part of their week-long trip.

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The group included professor of political science Wesam Basindawa, who is originally from Yemen but now resides in Cairo. Basindawa is the founding president of the Yemeni Coalition of Independent Women and the leader of the 8th March Yemeni Union Women.

Joining her on the trip was Manel Msalmi, a Belgian-Tunisian academic, and founder and president of the NGO European Association for the Defense of Minorities, who has advised the European Commission, the European Parliament and UNESCO; and New York-based human rights and national security attorney Irina Tsukerman.

Timed with their visit, the group wrote a letter to Biden, which included a list of human-rights organizations that work with Basindawa's organization that could deliver humanitarian aid to Yemen's population without going through the Houthis.

"The Yemeni population suffers; they don't get the aid because it's blocked by the Houthis, [which are] using blackmail by getting at least 50% of this humanitarian aid from the [United Nations] and the [European Union]," said Msalmi. "So what we are suggesting is a list of human rights organizations that can be also trustworthy to do the job, instead of, let's say, negotiating with the Houthis, which is a terrorist organization."

While they admitted that the aid would have trouble getting into Houthi-controlled territory, Basindawa noted that a majority of the country – around 75% is not under Houthi control.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of the country in a violent coup that deposed the government and took over the country's capital, Sanaa, with its government institutions and airport.

"Continuing to allow the aid to flow through them only cements their control and the people's dependency upon them," said Elie Piperz, who was traveling with the group as spokesman. "So even in the short term, you can get aid [into the area by working with the Houthis]; long term, it's actually going to only strengthen and keep the conflict going."

'Funding attacks on our allies'

Iran's support of the Houthi rebels in Yemen expanded the scale of the war significantly, causing a coalition of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily in the conflict in 2015 at the request of then-Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Former President Donald Trump placed sanctions on and designated the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in November 2020.

Basindawa said that while this came with only three months left in his administration, it's still better that it came late rather than not at all.

When Biden took office, his administration removed the Houthis from the list of FTOs within weeks, claiming that it was needed to ensure humanitarian aid is delivered to people in the occupied region.

Basindawa, however, said that nothing has changed in the region for the people, and worse, they are dependent on the Houthis for aid.

"It's actually worse than that," Tsukerman said. "They sold off the humanitarian aid … in order to consolidate control and to fill their war coffers. … We end up funding their attacks on our allies."

Some of the most recent attacks by Houthis included drone attacks on the United Arab Emirates in January, followed by a drone attack in March on a fuel depot in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

But the group's main mission for their visit to Washington is the protection of women in the Houthi-controlled territories as their human rights are severely curtailed by the strictly instilled Islamic laws.

While human rights for women are not ideal in the Middle East, Basindawa said that the Houthis target women specifically.

Msalmi added that women in the Houthi-controlled region "cannot have access to education, to work. They are forced to wear the hijab [Islamic headscarf], they cannot move [around in public] without a mahram, which means father, brother or husband."

Unfortunately, said Msalmi, the United Nations and European Union only have access to information from NGOs that support the Houthi, or Muslim Brotherhood narrative, as opposed to the secular liberal perspective.

"We want to support these secular and liberal voices, human-rights activists, journalists – these people who are targeted by the Houthis, who are imprisoned, tortured and sometimes killed," she explained. There are "a lot of human rights violations. [The NGOs advising the United Nations and European Union] do not mention these violations. So thanks to the work of Dr. Wesam and other NGOs, we have access to this narrative."

Basindawa noted that "a lot of NGOs and international leaders talk about the Houthis as a policy movement. But they are not. They are a terrorist, racist, ideological movement. They are not a political movement."

"They took over a political party, Ansar Allah, but it's an extremist party that proposes extreme ideological solutions and is exploiting that abroad," added Tsukerman. "It's anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Jewish. But also anti-anybody who is not Houthi, in general."

Basindawa had recently participated in a dialogue at the European Parliament about women's rights to support female leadership in Yemen, but she was one of only a few women. Msalmi said if any women are represented from Middle Eastern countries, they are usually wearing a head scarf and are not representative of modern ideals.

"So there is this kind of discrimination vis-à-vis women, which is the same ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood and the same ideology of the Houthis as well," Msalmi said. "This is what the new leadership of women wants in the Arab world – to have free and liberal women."

Basindawa, the niece of Yemen's deposed Prime Minister Mohammed Basindawa, was raised in Yemen but studied in Egypt, where she got her PhD in political science. She became involved in NGOs after the Arab Spring in 2011 brought the Muslim Brotherhood into power.

She and her colleagues believed that the biggest problem in the region was not the political regimes, but the education and culture and founded the Arab Initiative for Education and Development. She moved full-time to Egypt after Yemen's coup, as she became a target and cannot currently return to Yemen out of safety concerns.

'Include women in this negotiation'

During the group's visit to the US State Department, US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking was not available to meet, as he was in the Middle East preparing for Biden's visit. Instead, the group met with Lenderking's staff, including a senior policy and communications adviser.

The administration was not moved by their appeal, which the group felt was because it was worried about offending Iran, with whom they are negotiating to re-enter the 2015 nuclear deal. The administration was also focused on renewing the ceasefire, which was agreed to in April and renewed for an additional two months on Aug. 2.

"Humanitarian considerations continue to be an important factor in any decision regarding a Foreign Terrorist Designation of Ansar Allah," a State Department spokesperson told JNS on background after the meeting. "We are currently focused on securing, extending and building on the UN truce in Yemen, which is having a tangible impact on millions of Yemenis and provides a credible opportunity for peace in Yemen. The parties need to continue to choose peace and move toward a permanent, nationwide ceasefire and the launch of an inclusive, comprehensive political process under UN auspices."

Tsukerman stated that "the Houthis initiated this truce because they were being killed by the thousands, literally, by the Arab coalition, especially after the new government consolidated itself and became more united and started cracking down on some unhelpful politicians who were facilitating corrupt exchanges with the Houthis," said Tsukerman. "So when they saw that the military battles were not going well for them, they started looking for a way to kind of divert attention while they were continuing missile shipments and preparing themselves for the next relaunch of this."

Msalmi also pointed out that the dialogue to resolve the conflict did not include women; Basindawa is one of the few people around the world speaking from their perspective.

"Where are the women in this consultation and in this dialogue? They are not represented in NGOs. They're not represented in political leadership," said Msalmi. "So what we want then is also to include women in this negotiation, to include them in leadership positions, because women, they are targeted by the Houthis, they are eliminated, they don't have access to work, they don't have access to education. And this is part of the strategy and the ideology used by the Houthis – to completely exclude women."

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In a little more than half a week that the group was in Washington, they met with officials in the State Department, prominent Washington think tanks and members of both parties in the US Senate and House of Representatives.

The group spoke with experts from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Heritage Foundation, before making a trip to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress. The group met with Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Mike Waltz (R-Fla), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich), Steve Scalise (R-La), Young Kim (R-Calif), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Lisa McLain (R-Mich) and the Republican Study Committee. They also met with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev), and with the staff of Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

Piperz said that every representative was enthusiastic about meeting them. The Republicans were all on their side, but even Slotkin had recently signed onto a letter calling for the Houthis to be re-designated as an FTO.

"Frankly, the goal was really to motivate those who already are like-minded, not necessarily to convince people who are on the fence," Piperz said. "Let's make sure that people understood this was an important issue. We've got to push them, we've got to use this time right now, and that we should not let this issue of the Houthis sort of fall on the wayside."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The Biden administration's pick for ambassador to Brazil was blocked by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after a party line 11-11 vote on Thursday, with Republicans on the committee uniting to oppose her.

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Nominated for the position in January, the ascension of longtime diplomat and Democratic donor Elizabeth Frawley Bagley appeared uncontroversial until the Washington Free Beacon reported an interview with Bagley from 1998. In the interview, she said that money was the reason American lawmakers support Israel and the idea of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem was "stupid". The article galvanized Republican opposition to her nomination.

According to the Free Beacon, Bagley's statements were from an interview for an oral history project at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, where questions from the interviewer prompted her to speak on the effects Israel advocacy supposedly has on American politics.

"There is always the influence of the Jewish lobby because there is major money involved," Bagley said about the Clinton administration. "But I don't remember any major issues coming out on that, besides the usual 'make Jerusalem the capital of Israel,' which is always an issue in the campaign."

During Bagley's nomination hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee on May 18, it was members of President Joe Biden's own party who grilled her on her statements.

Sen. Ben Cardin, who is Jewish, said that the answers Bagley gave about the Jewish community caused him concern. He offered her an opportunity to respond.

"The choice of words fit into the traditional tropes of anti-Semitism. And I know your background, I know who you are, and it is just language that we would think that as a diplomat – you had then been ambassador to Portugal – that your language would have been more guarded than that," Cardin said.

Bagley characterized the interview as a free flowing conversation and said that she regretted her "poor choice of words."

"I'm very sorry about that choice of words and none of them reflect any of my thinking then or now," she said.

Sen. Robert Menendez, the committee's chairman, pushed even further, noting that Bagley's antisemitic statements started with her saying that the anti-Cuba influence on politicians exercised by Cuban immigrants in the New Jersey area is similar to that of the political influence of the Jewish lobby – meaning that she believed their influence to be much greater than their population.

"Explain to me what you meant by that. Is it a suggestion that one group of Americans don't have the right to engage in the political process as others do?" Menendez, who is a Cuban American and pro-Israel Democrat, asked.

"I'm very sorry that we ever had the interview. [It] didn't really make sense to do. It was an oral history. But it certainly does not reflect my views on Jewish Americans or Cuban Americans or anyone else," Bagley said. "I absolutely, strongly support the right of Jewish Americans, Cuban Americans, Irish Americans, all Americans to be part of the political process, to be politically active, to raise money, give money to those that they support, as I have done myself."

Before the vote on Thursday, the Republican Jewish Coalition called on the Biden administration to withdraw Bagley's nomination or, if it does not, for the senators to reject her nomination.

"Ms. Bagley's disgraceful, antisemitic comments are absolutely disqualifying; her outrageous slurs include suggesting the 'Jewish lobby' influences elected officials with 'major money' – an age-old antisemitic stereotype," RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks wrote in a news release. "It is sad and troubling that this isn't the first time the Biden administration has put forward a nominee who is hostile to Israel and the Jewish people."

Morton Klein, the national president of the Zionist Organization of America, said that his organization was deeply concerned about the nomination of another person apparently hostile to Jews by the Biden administration and praised the committee members for voting against her nomination.

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"US embassies are required to serve Americans visiting or living in the host country without discrimination. Ms. Frawley's remarks raise serious, disqualifying concerns about how she will treat Jewish Americans visiting or living in Brazil," Klein said in a statement. "Moreover, Brazil has a significant Jewish community of over 120,000 people, well-integrated into all aspects of Brazilian society. It would be deeply insulting and distressing to this community to send a US ambassador to Brazil who has Bagley's history of using ugly antisemitic tropes."

Rep. Lee Zeldin on Monday applauded the Republicans on the committee for not advancing Bagley's nomination after her antisemitic comments came to light.

"Slamming 'Jewish money' in politics is one of the oldest, most dishonest and blatantly antisemitic tools of far-left activists and politicians, such as Ilhan Omar, to shame and undermine US support for Israel. Ms. Bagley's dismissive and flagrantly antisemitic and anti-Israel comments should disqualify her from pushing papers at the State Department, much less being the face of a US diplomatic mission," Zeldin said in a news release.

Zeldin, one of two Jewish Republicans in the House of Representatives, is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus. He added that it should not have fallen to Republicans alone to block Bagley's nomination and that it should be withdrawn by the president in order to make clear that such "gross rhetoric has no place in American diplomacy, government or politics."

Biden's "failure to do so and leading Democrats' silence on the rising tide of anti-Semitism within their party is once again deafening," he said.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Two Biden administration nominees for top posts related to the Middle East came under fire for alleged anti-Israel bias by Senate Republicans in their confirmation hearing on Thursday.

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The hearing, held in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, comes at a critical time as US President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Israel and Saudi Arabia next month while the United States is struggling to repair its frayed relationship with the Arab kingdom amid skyrocketing gas prices.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) took issue with Tamara Cofman Wittes, the nominee for assistant administrator for the Middle East at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which is responsible for distributing aid for development in the Middle East.

Cruz said that rather than a confirmation hearing, the Democratic majority convened a hearing on the "profound anti-Israel bias of the Biden administration."

During questioning, Cruz pointed to Cofman Wittes's controversial past of being highly critical of the Abraham Accords during the Trump administration, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

"Why were you urging Arab countries not to deepen ties with Israel?" he asked, referring to a September 2020 tweet, reported by the Washington Free Beacon, where she wrote: "If I were an Arab leader weighing ties with Israel, I would have 2 things in mind. 1) A promise from [Trump adviser Jared] Kushner now isn't worth much. Why not wait until after Nov elections? 2) Bibi's [then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] backtracked on his commitments to UAE; his promises aren't worth much either. Let's wait & see… "

"I was skeptical when the Emiratis made their announcement, which was breathtaking in August  2020," she replied. "I was skeptical that other Arab states would join them. I was proven wrong."

In her opening statement, Cofman Wittes praised the Abraham Accords, calling them a "foundation for more cooperation between Arab states and Israel on shared interests, including on development." She added that if confirmed, she would help "build on the Abraham Accords to bolster positive engagement across the region on issues like energy, environment, water, and health."

'Key pillar of our foreign policy'

Ranking member Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) asked her to reconcile her earlier views on the Abraham Accords with her current support.

Young mentioned that Cofman Wittes had retweeted an article that called the Abraham Accords misogynistic, a "triumph for authoritarianism," and a "new naksa" (Arabic for "setback").

"I was wrong about that," she replied. "We've seen Morocco, we've seen Sudan, we've seen Bahrain come, and that, I think, creates a tremendous opportunity that we need to seize."

Cruz claimed that Cofman Wittes's former employer, the Brookings Institution, had publicly revealed it took millions in funding from Qatar. He also noted that the former president of the Washington-based think tank, retired Marine Gen. John R. Allen, has recently resigned after reports that the FBI was investigating allegations that Allen lobbied on behalf of Qatar without registering as a foreign agent.

When asked by Cruz to what extent she participated in fundraising for Qatar, she replied that she had no knowledge of Allen's activities.

While she claimed that she knew that Qatar funded work produced by the institution, she insisted that it played no role in the research and that she only once participated in a fundraising meeting with Qatari representatives in 2012, but it was under former Brookings executive vice president Martin Indyk.

"I want to be very clear, I had no knowledge of any of these disturbing allegations regarding General Allen," she said. "I didn't discuss research on Qatar with General Allen. I did not do fundraising meetings for foreign governments with General Allen."

Cofman Wittes insisted that despite Brookings' projects being funded by Qatar, her research and the research she supervised were completely independent of international donors.

'Wrapped within our values'

Michael Ratney, current Chargé d'Affaires of the US embassy in Israel, who is nominated for the post of ambassador to Saudi Arabia, had a slightly less contentious time during the hearing, despite the importance of his role in the current climate.

He said that he was going to continue building on the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States while staying in line with the Biden administration's focus on human rights as a "key pillar of our foreign policy."

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) echoed some of the priorities laid out by Ratney in his opening statements, mentioning the need for progress toward normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, "but this all needs to be wrapped within our values."

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), who himself served as ambassador to Japan in the Trump administration, asked Ratney about an incident during his time as US Consul General in Jerusalem from 2012 to 2015, where American taxpayer funds provided as grants to a pro-Democracy organization in the region ended up being used to oppose then-Prime Minister Netanyahu's re-election bid.

"Under your watch, the State Department provided $465,000 in grants to a group called OneVoice, which then joined a group called Victory 15 and worked to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud Party in Israel's elections," said Hagerty. "This struck many observers, including me, as highly inappropriate, if not unethical, especially given that the Obama administration disagreed with Netanyahu and his many policies, including the Iran nuclear deal."

Hagerty asked Ratney how he did not foresee and guard against the risk that US State Department funding would go toward political activism.

Ratney said he was only responsible for oversight of the "Palestinian component" of the grant to OneVoice, which was earmarked for building "grassroots support for a two-state solution" and the negotiating process underway at the time.

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Hagerty then asked if Ratney disputed findings in a report on the incident by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations that he deleted emails related to the review of OneVoice grants.

Ratney said that this finding by the investigation was the result of a systematic issue at the State Department at that time, where there was no requirement to archive all of the routine emails that the State Department sent or received.

"At the time, the State Department – the email systems didn't have the storage capacity to retain large numbers of emails in people's inboxes. This was not unique to me," said Ratney. "We were routinely instructed by our IT staff that if you don't delete emails, especially those with large attachments, your inbox freezes and you stop getting emails. So that was a systemic problem that was addressed both by improvements in the technology and also a change to the policy about archiving of these messages."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Ukraine's ambassador to the United States was recognized on Tuesday as the American Jewish Committee brought back its annual tradition of hosting a diplomatic seder in Washington, DC.

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The event featured a dinner, modeled as a mock Passover seder, which allowed the representatives of nearly 50 countries in attendance an opportunity to connect and talk about the histories of their nations and their relationship to the Jewish community.

Rabbi Aaron Alexander, co-senior rabbi at Addas Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Washington, DC, and the earliest speaker at the dinner, explained that the Passover story of degradation to emancipation plays itself out over and over around the world and in different cultures.

Throughout the dinner, the approximately 250 guests were invited to participate in various discussions on topics such as how and at what price their nations achieved freedom, led by leaders at each table and AJC Washington board members Adrianne Malasky and Adam Munitz.

The guests included ambassadors, embassy and consulate staff; US government officials; and AJC staff and volunteers. This year marked the first time the event was held since 2019.

Jason Isaacson, AJC's chief policy and political affairs officer, recalled the first AJC Diplomatic seder in a conference room of AJC's office and remarked how much it has grown into a tradition.
"In the course of the year, my colleagues and I have many opportunities to interact with the diplomatic community, in your capitals, ambassadors in ours and your US consulates, your UN missions. We come to you periodically with our concerns or observations, our appeals," said Isaacson. "On this night that we regard as different from all other nights, we try to interact in a different way and tell you a little about ourselves, our people's history, our first principles."

Isaacson said that this year's Passover, officially observed in April, came at a time of peril, where the Jewish community watched in horror the war crimes being committed in Ukraine by Russia in what he called an "unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," as well as the violence in Jerusalem and terrorist attacks in Israel.

But, he said, there was also hope over the "new flowering of outreach and cooperation between Israel and the Arab states," to which the AJC has contributed to over the past decades.

'We've fought and worked hard'

Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said the Passover story parallels Ukraine's experience – not only over the experience of the last 90 days since Russia invaded but throughout its history.

"The story of a hard road and fight for freedom during 40 years, for us, has been the same hard road for 400 years," she said.

Markarova added that the story of Jews and Ukrainians has not been known, as Ukraine has been viewed through the eyes of Russian propaganda, but that the Jewish community in the United States has always known the truth.

"We are the same family. I don't know any other place like Ukraine where for centuries we lived together," she said. "We lived through good times and through really bad times. We lived through so many tragedies in the previous century. And so many times before, we've said together 'Never Again.' And we've fought and worked hard – so, so hard, for never again to really be never again."

But she said that changed for Ukraine eight years ago when Russia annexed Crimea and supported the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as 90 days ago, when it began a "full-fledged war" in Ukraine, causing 6.5 million mostly women and children to flee the country, 8 million to relocate inside of Ukraine, and an additional more than 10 million people to live under constant shelling or Russian occupation.

"Unfortunately, the whole world saw what it means to live under Russian occupation," she said.

"It's even difficult to explain how human beings can do something like that to each other. But we've seen it before. We've seen in during World War II," she said. "Unfortunately, not a lot, not everything, not enough has been done after the previous victory to stop this hatred and to stop the ideas that lead to them."

This, she continued, is why it was so important to fight anti-Semitism. She outlined steps the Ukrainian government had taken before the war to combat anti-Semitism, including adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism last year, implementing it into legislation and introducing it into the country's criminal code.

She said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has made fighting anti-Semitism a priority and that the Ukrainian people are learning lessons from their history, which was not always good, and making sure not to repeat mistakes.

She also talked about the destruction of cities, schools and hospitals in Ukraine, and the enormous loss of life. Despite this, she said, Ukraine will not surrender; that they will win.

Markarova said key ingredients in their fight against Russia have been the bravery of the Ukrainian people, the leadership of their president and the generosity of its allies, especially the United States – its people and government officials.

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"I could make a whole speech talking about everyone who has been day and night working with us and working with other friends and allies to put this anti-war coalition together and help us with weapons, with support, with sanctions against Russia," said Markarova. "Now, of course, we need more. And when you hear me speak in public, this is the big part of every speech. And we always say that we appreciate it, but we need more because we're dealing with such a powerful enemy. But we need to win, and we know that America is with us."

Markarova expected to leave the event early but ended up staying the entirety of the dinner.

'The stakes seem so much higher now'
Alan Ronkin, regional director of AJC Washington, DC, whose office organized the dinner, recalled what he said at the last dinner shortly after the mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the mass shooting inside the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., saying that it was not a time for business as usual.

"Little did any of us know how true those words were," he said.

Since that time, he said, the country and world have become more polarized, a war has erupted in Europe, and anti-Semitism has been on the rise in the United States and throughout the world.

"The stakes seem so much higher now," he said.

"Don't leave here tonight unmoved by the message of the urgency of freedom. The urgency to rid ourselves of bigotry and the urgency to come together and pluralism to preserve the values of our civilization," Ronkin said to conclude the dinner. "This isn't about platitudes about building a better world. This is literally about being able to tell our children and our grandchildren that we did not stand idly by as the world seemed to pull itself apart."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan resolution to condemn antisemitism on Wednesday. In a vote of 420-1, the House passed H. Res. 1125, which denounces the rising hostility towards Jews in recent years and a surge in physical violent incidents.

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The effort was led by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) along with Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Lee Zeldin (R-NY).

In a news release, the resolution's supporters said that the nationwide rise in antisemitic incidents is a result of increased antisemitic "propaganda" on social media and the spread of misinformation and lies, including accusations that Jews are responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic; that Jews control the media, government policies and the financial system; and that Jews have dual loyalties and other negative stereotypes.

The resolution did not mention anti-Israel bias or the targeting of Jews for their pro-Israel beliefs and advocacy.

The resolution also calls for a plan of action to combat antisemitism through robustly refuting Holocaust denial, calling on social media platforms to address online antisemitism, and taking steps to improve the physical security of Jewish institutions and organizations.

"I am so proud that my colleagues united to condemn the rise in antisemitism by sending a powerful message that the U.S. House of Representatives will call out this ancient hatred," said Wasserman Schultz in a statement. "It is fitting we share this message in May, as we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month, by highlighting the vast achievements Jewish Americans have made to build our more perfect union.

"Critically, this resolution also commits Congress to take concrete steps to combat antisemitism and do more to ensure the safety, security, and dignity of American Jews," she continued. "antisemitism, sadly, is not a relic of the past, but a clear and present danger today. Passage of today's resolution is a critical step."

Schneider said that he was grateful to his colleagues for passing the resolution, and that leaders should speak out against antisemitism wherever it arises.

"Sadly, in this country, incidents of antisemitism are up 34%, 2,717 incidents just last year," he said. "Congress and America as a whole must stand strong against antisemitism."

Diaz-Balart said that the resolution condemns antisemitism in all its forms and would ensure that the U.S. leads the global effort in "educating on the history of antisemitism and its horrific consequences."

"The rising tide of antisemitism has resulted in violence in our streets, discrimination in our schools and economy, and hate in our political system. In the past year alone, we have seen an alarming increase of antisemitic and anti-Israel violence and hate at home and abroad," Zeldin said. "Just recently in my home state of New York, three antisemitic assaults were committed in less than a week, all within a few miles of each other. This must end now. I'm proud to join colleagues on both sides of the aisle in a much-needed effort to identify, condemn and crush antisemitism in all forms."

Jewish organizations applauded the passage of the resolution.

"Jewish Federations praise the bipartisan resolution recognizing the extent to which the continuing scourge of antisemitism has impacted our community, and applaud, among other things, the call to increase funding for Nonprofit Security Grants that keep our houses of worship and communal institutions safe," Elana Broitman, senior vice president for public affairs for the Jewish Federations of North America, said in a statement.

American Jewish Committee CEO David Harris noted how prevalent antisemitism is across the political spectrum.

"At a time when violent antisemitism is surging across the ideological spectrum, from white supremacy to the denial of Israel's very right to exist, this resolution outlines tangible steps to keep American Jews safe, both online and in public spaces, and uphold American values of liberty," Harris said. "Especially critical is the call for leaders to condemn antisemitism in all its manifestations—it is too easy to point fingers at others and turn a blind eye to the hatred coming from one's community or party. This bipartisan resolution models the civil discourse vital to addressing hate in our country."

Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, said that Jews have been granted freedom to worship since America's founding, and while there has been antisemitism in various forms, the trajectory has been towards greater equality and inclusion.

"The surge of antisemitism in recent years—including violent attacks on synagogues and identifiably Jewish people on the street—has been deeply disturbing," Diament said in a statement. "Today's passage of a resolution unequivocally condemning antisemitism and calling for concrete actions to combat it is very meaningful and appreciated."

"Jew-hatred is a scourge on our society," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, in a statement. "I applaud the bipartisan majority in Congress who passed this resolution to condemn antisemitism and call on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube to immediately help clean up the hatred on their platforms."

While eight Republicans abstained from voting on the resolution, only one member of Congress outright opposed it, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

"I don't hate anyone based on his or her ethnicity or religion," Massie wrote in a tweet explaining his vote. "Legitimate government exists, in part, to punish those who commit unprovoked violence against others, but the government can't legislate thought. This bill promoted internet censorship and violations of the First Amendment."

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The explanation didn't sit well with the Kentucky Jewish Council, which called out Massie in a news release saying that the Jewish community across the state is embarrassed by Massie.

"To suggest there is not a need to combat antisemitism is not only offensive, but it's also simply ignorant," said Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, chairman of the Kentucky Jewish Council and director of Chabad of the Bluegrass. "To miss an opportunity to do so is regrettable. To be the single voice in opposition is inexcusable."

The council said that the vote is additionally offensive to the community as Kentucky's Democratic Party recently refused to call out an antisemitic ad used in its 30th District House race.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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American Jewish organizations are divided in their reception of the new White House press secretary who has a history of taking anti-Israel positions.

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US President Joe Biden nominated Karine Jean-Pierre, a Haitian American who currently serves as principal deputy press secretary, to be the first black and LGBTQ person to hold the position. 

Jean-Pierre is slated to take over for outgoing White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday, though some Jewish organizations are pushing back at the president's choice, concerned over Jean-Pierre's previous positions on Israel and pro-Israel organizations, such as AIPAC, and what that would mean for how the Biden administration communicates its policies towards Israel.

Most of what's known about Jean-Pierre's perspective on the US-Israel relationship comes from a period when she served as national spokesperson and senior adviser for the left-wing political group MoveOn.org from April 2016 to August 2020, a group that supported the boycott of AIPAC and challenged anti-BDS laws. Little is known about her previous thoughts on the topic.

During this time, in the run-up to the 2020 general election, Jean-Pierre wrote an op-ed in Newsweek where she suggested that supporting pro-Israel organizations such as AIPAC was not in keeping with progressive values and said that presidential candidates who skipped speaking at its annual policy conference, the last in-person conference since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March of that year, made the "right call." She also criticized Democratic members of Congress who did attend that year, saying AIPAC was the "antithesis" of progressive values.

"Unfortunately, AIPAC's policy and conference speaker choices aren't its only problems. Its severely racist, Islamophobic rhetoric has proven just as alarming," Jean-Pierre wrote. "The organization has become known for trafficking in anti-Muslim and anti-Arab rhetoric while lifting up Islamophobic voices and attitudes."

She continued by highlighting that the keynote speaker was then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who she said "not only has personal charges levied against him – he's been indicted on both bribery and fraud charges – but under his leadership of Israel, according to the United Nations, Israel may have committed war crimes in its attacks on Gazan protesters."

'Americans should be deeply concerned'

Criticism of the appointment came mostly from right-leaning Jewish groups, who think that the White House is further exacerbating the out-of-control rise in antisemitism in the United States by appointing someone with Jean-Pierre's record on Israel to such a forward-facing position. Meanwhile, others – from moderate to left-leaning Jewish organizations – are watching the administration, hoping that Jean-Pierre's personal beliefs will not impact what they consider the decades-long pro-Israel record of Biden.

"The views expressed by Ms. Jean-Pierre are not consistent with the pro-Israel position of President Biden and his administration," said AIPAC spokesman Marshall Wittmann in an email to JNS. "For that reason, the administration needs to give assurances that her hostile views on Israel will not shape policy or communications in any way."

The American Jewish Committee took a similar view, though avoided expressing their opinion on Jean-Pierre. "We are confident that the president's half-century record on Israel and the importance of the US-Israel alliance will continue to be reflected in administration policy," said Jason Isaacson, AJC's chief policy and political affairs officer.

The Zionist Organization of America and its national president, Mort Klein, were among the first to punch back at the White House's choice in a news release on Friday – Klein having written about Jean-Pierre just weeks after the 2020 election when she served as chief of staff to then-vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

"As a child of Holocaust survivors and as an American Jew, I am appalled and frightened that Biden has chosen Ms. Jean-Pierre, who has shown essentially antisemitic hostility towards Israel, and is willing to lie about and vilify Israel and Jews to promote her Israelophobic agenda," Klein wrote in a news release. "Americans should be deeply concerned that this outrageous, incomprehensible anti-Israel, pro-terrorist and pro-Iran appointment indicates the dangerous direction the Biden administration is going to take against America's greatest ally Israel and US-Israel relations."

Sarah N. Stern, founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET), told JNS in an email on Monday that she was appalled by the choice, especially as Jean-Pierre's views are, according to Stern, overtly anti-Israel and antisemitic.

She pointed out various unfair criticisms that Jean-Pierre levied against AIPAC, which Stern said "has taken great pains to be bipartisan," such as calling AIPAC severely racist and Islamophobic, as well as the criticism of inviting Netanyahu, despite such protocol being "standard operating procedure for the pro-Israel lobbying group."

Stern also noted that MoveOn.org defends Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar and American political activist Linda Sarsour, whose antisemitic comments and actions flood the public realm.

"To sweep under the rug, overlook and ignore Ms. Jean-Pierre's antisemitism in the appointment of such a critically important position is, in fact, a way of enabling it to continue to grow and develop," she said. "This is a deeply troubling development."

'A position for which she is eminently qualified'

MoveOn, even before Jean-Pierre was hired, often criticized pro-Israel politicians, including Democrats. Besides fighting anti-BDS laws nationally, the group called for a Democratic donor strike against the Democratic Party after then-Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated publicly that he did not support the nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in opposition to the Obama administration, which negotiated the 2015 accord.

MoveOn attacked Schumer, calling for the party to find a new leader or find itself without supporters.

"Our country doesn't need another Joe Lieberman in the Senate, and it certainly doesn't need him as Democratic leader," MoveOn political action executive director Ilya Sheyman said in a statement, according to The Hill.

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Republican Jewish Coalition national political director Sam Markstein told JNS that Jean-Pierre had a long and "deeply troubling" history of anti-Israel positions.

"She was the national spokeswoman for a far-left group that advocates for boycotts of Israel, she's accused Israel of committing 'war crimes,' cheered efforts to boycott the mainstream pro-Israel AIPAC conference, and was 'honored' to stand alongside anti-Semite Linda Sarsour at a gala in 2017," Markstein said. "These aren't isolated incidents; they are a pattern of anti-Israel hostility. Jewish Americans are rightfully concerned that at a time of rising antisemitism, Ms. Jean-Pierre is being elevated to such an important position in the Biden White House."

But the Jewish Democratic Council of America felt there was no risk of the administration's policy's changing as a result of the appointment, responding to criticism of the appointment in a tweet on Monday.

Biden "entered the White House with a five-decades-long pro-Israel record," JDCA tweeted. Jean-Pierre "will support Biden's policies; suggestions to the contrary are absurd, and Jewish Dems applaud her appointment as press secretary, a position for which she is eminently qualified."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Several anti-Israel organizations, including some designated by Israel as terrorist organizations, joined late last week in front of Israel's consulate and Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Midtown Manhattan to protest the actions of Israeli security forces in recent weeks, calling for "resistance and liberation by any means necessary" on advertisements for the event.

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"This statement is concerning, and we take it very seriously," said Itay Milner, a spokesman at the consulate. "We witnessed in the past weeks how these kinds of statements incited violence in the Middle East. Now, some people want to bring the same violence here to New York City."

The rally started at 5 p.m. – a time when the consulate was closed and staff had been allowed to leave work early because of Passover – and continued into the evening.

Milner said the consulate took all necessary precautions, making sure that any employees left in the building were not in sight except for security.

At approximately 5:30 p.m., about 150 attendees stood outside the consulate, holding signs, waving flags, banging on drums, and chanting: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." Many were from the fringe anti-Zionist Haredi group Neturei Karta, according to Milner. Protesters could also be heard calling to "globalize the intifada."

The protest later moved into the streets where the group marched and blocked traffic. Police officers with the New York City Police Department followed the march on foot, in police cars, and on scooters.

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The march ended at Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza with speeches and more chanting.

The rally was organized by anti-Israel groups, including Within Our Lifetime, Palestinian Youth Movement, and Samidoun, among others.

Samidoun advocates for the release of Palestinian prisoners and according to NGO Monitor is affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Israel.

The Defense Ministry labeled Samidoun itself a terrorist organization due to it being a subsidiary of the PFLP. The ministry also said that the group's founder, Khaled Barakat, "is involved in establishing militant cells and motivating terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria, and abroad."

Many of the groups involved took part in a protest on March 30, when they gathered in front of several offices of pro-Israel organizations in Manhattan.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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Left-wing activists criticized Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend after pictures posted on social media revealed the Passover seder she hosted for Jewish House White House staffers at her home included the Israeli-made Psagot wine, produced in Judea and Samaria.

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"Psagot's vineyards are on stolen Palestinian land. It's not cool. It was the Trump that 'legitimated' the theft," James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said on Twitter.

Nevertheless, former United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who visited the winery with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, praised the move on Twitter.

Friedman uploaded a photo of a wine Psagot named in his honor, and jokingly added, "Next year I would recommend that the Second Family serve the 'Friedman' vintage from the Psagot Winery. I may be biased but I think it's very good."

CEO of Psagot Yaakov Berg said in a statement that the Harris and her husband, Jewish Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff "have shown that they understand wine" and "have shown respect to Israeli wine."

He also pledged that if Harris "continues in a positive direction, for example by opposing the Iran nuclear deal," the winery would name a wine in her honor as well.

A day earlier, Harris and Emhoff attended a virtual White House seder hosted by the Biden administration for the second year in a row. "The People's seder" was streamed on the White House YouTube page.

White House Jewish Liaison Chanan Weissman served as master of ceremonies and led a type of order modeled on the seder, featuring Jewish administration officials, leaders, and celebrities.

Emhoff started off the list of administration officials, reflecting on what Passover means to him and his family.

"Ever since I was a kid, I've been inspired by the story of Exodus, whose retelling serves as the heart of our seder experience. And I know I'm not alone," he said. "Generations of my ancestors and many of yours have turned to the redemptive promise of the Passover narrative as a source of hope. To endure prejudice, persecution and pogroms. To survive expulsions and to seek emancipation. To believe in a possibility of a promised land and to know it's not beyond your reach."

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden appeared together in a video, with Biden noting that thanks to the progress made during the pandemic, "this year's Passover marks the first time in three years that many families and friends sit around the seder table together again."

The war in Ukraine was a recurring topic for many of the speakers starting with Emhoff and the president.

"During this holiday our hearts [are with] the people of Ukraine and all the people who are fighting for freedom," Biden said. "May the spirit of Passover, deliverance from oppression, carry you forward and give you strength."

The virtual seder was the first time Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, has delivered remarks since her confirmation on March 30.

She said, just like the Passover matzah, the world is always in some form of balance between wholeness and brokenness.

"This past month, it has been terribly broken. All around us we see pain, suffering, killings, attacks on children and civilians. And so many of us individually are broken in ways that are invisible to others," Lipstadt said.

She noted that her position is made necessary by the brokenness of the world, antisemitism. While she said she will not be able to repair that brokenness, she prays that next year for the next seder, her work would have made the world "a little bit less shattered, less broken."

"The matzah we break cannot be repaired, the world we inhabit can be repaired. It is in our hands to do so," she said.

Actress and Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik, introduced the four questions, which were recited by children from The Shefa School – a New York-based day school for students with language-based disabilities.

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"We're at a time in history yet again where the story of exile and exodus is upon us as the world watches a war play out in Ukraine, a country where many of my own ancestors and many of our ancestors fled just a few generations ago," Bialik said.

"They say every Jewish question has several answers, and I guess as host of Jeopardy, I know a lot about questions and also a lot about responses. … There are many questions to be asked about our global as well as communal responsibility to the people of Ukraine and the people of all nations who still suffer and are not free. Suffice it to say the lessons of the seder and the struggle for freedom, which Passover embodies, are as true now as they were thousands of years ago when our people fled oppression in the hopes of something better."

Academic and religious leaders who spoke included Cantor Maj. David Frommer, Jewish Chaplain at the United States Military Academy at West Point; Andrew Rehfeld, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion; Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, president of Yeshiva University; and Shuly Rubin Schwartz, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary.

JNS.org contributed to this report.

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Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) attended a virtual interview session for supporters of AIPAC, where she was able to talk about her pro-Israel beliefs with the organization that endorsed her over her primary rival, Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich).

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After Michigan lost a seat in Congress, Stevens ended up in an incumbent-on-incumbent race in Michigan's 11th Congressional District, which has the largest Jewish population in the state. Israel issues have been prominent in the race as the two candidates have vastly different track records.

Levin, who is Jewish, has often criticized Israeli policies towards the Palestinians and has occasionally joined the small group of progressive Democrats in condemning Israeli actions in the US House of Representatives. While he believes in a two-state solution and considers himself to be pro-Israel, he introduced a bill that would place conditions on military aid to Israel provided by the United States.

Levin, who is supported by organizations such as J Street, has been criticized for his positions on Israel by many in traditional pro-Israel organizations such as AIPAC. Last week, numerous current and former progressive Democratic lawmakers wrote a letter defending him against accusations by former AIPAC president David Victor, who in his own letter to AIPAC supporters wrote that Levin is the most "corrosive" member of Congress to the US-Israeli relationship.

Meanwhile, Stevens, 38, who is not Jewish, has gained strong support for her campaign from numerous traditional pro-Israel organizations and is outspoken in her support for Israel's right to defend itself.

During the March 31 interview conducted by Elias Saratovsky, AIPAC's director of regional affairs, Stevens contrasted her view of Israel against her opponent, saying that she's unequivocally an ally and believer of the US-Israeli relationship.

"I'm very clear," she said. "We can't get into the place where we're forcing Israel to make all the concessions, or being silent when things like the Commission of Inquiry and the Amnesty International reports come down," she said.

Stevens said that she believes her pro-Israel actions represent the future of the Democratic Party, as she is one of the younger members of Congress, as well as the first woman elected to represent her congressional seat.

She said that concern for Israel's security is an issue that's close to her heart, having had friends and friends of friends hiding in bomb shelters during rocket attacks on Israel, such as those that occurred last May, launched into civilian population centers by Hamas in Gaza.

She called silence against such attacks complicity.

"We do need to be clear – we don't need to be sympathizing with terrorist organizations or egging them on or engaging in activities that might embolden Iran, who is a true enemy, not only of Israel but also of the United States," she said. "There's a black-and-white world oftentimes when it comes to foreign policy in this regard, and we had innocent people being put in harm's way."

Saratovsky asked Stevens how she became such an outspoken advocate for Israel.

Haley responded that as someone whose focus is on science, development and entrepreneurship – having started in government working on the Obama administration's automotive company rescue efforts and at a federally funded research lab – she is inspired by Israel's culture of innovation, economic development and scientific research.

These include the proliferation of Israeli technology, which makes an impact on Michigan's automotive industry.

Stevens also spoke of Israel as a security ally and believes it to be America's only democratic ally in the Middle East, calling it a sacred relationship.

She recalled when she first decided to run for Congress, one of the first calls she received was from AIPAC. A friend's mother told her she should meet with Victor. Stevens said that she was thankful for Victor's willingness to walk her through the nuances of the issue at that time.

"At the end of the day, this isn't a classroom conversation that I'm having in Congress," said Stevens. "These are votes and these are decisions based on behalf of the United States government, based on laws that we are putting forward, resolutions we are putting forward, appropriations that we're making. And that's huge … when you take into consideration how you form views".

She said that her mantra in Congress is to "listen, learn and lead, in that order."

In 2019, Stevens and her mother visited Israel on an AIPAC-sponsored trip, where they met with IDF soldiers, in addition to thought leaders and Israeli government officials. She was able to learn about Israel's borders and the importance of its security, which she called "eye-opening."

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Stevens spoke about Israel's importance to the global supply chain, saying she wants to see strong trade between the two nations. During the COVID pandemic and the surge in Delta cases, she said she talked to White House officials, urging them to speak with Israel's health minister about the lessons the country was learning from the new variant's surge.

Stevens said she has a track record of delivering for her constituents and isn't "in Congress just for the 'pie in the sky' ideas," including promoting business-to-business relationships between Israeli and Michigan companies and educational institutions.

"There's a lot to be fired up about with this – with our relationship and with what we're gaining from the trade from the US-Israel alliance," she said. "But we also have to have people's backs when they don't necessarily have the avenues to use their voice. They don't have a platform. That's what I'm working on in Congress, and I'm not afraid to stand up for what is right, for what I believe in, and what I know to be true."

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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