News

The RJC announces the release of the full 9-minute mini-documentary on Barack Obama and Israel, entitled “Perilous Times.”

Click the image below to see it.

For anyone who cares about Israel or is worried about events in the Middle East, this documentary is a "must see."

In the film, leading Israeli experts and everyday citizens candidly discuss their concerns about the U.S.-Israel relationship under Pres. Obama. Among the notable experts consulted for this film are:

• • 
    Zalman Shoval, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and a highly-respected diplomat;

• • 
    Oren Kessler, foreign affairs correspondent at the Jerusalem Post;

• • 
    Barry Rubin, an expert on terrorism and Middle East affairs;

• • 
    Jacob Levy, Israel's leading pollster and founder of Gallup Israel;

• • 
    Lenny Ben David, former diplomat and former head of AIPAC in Israel;

• • 
    Itamar Marcus, founder and director of Palestinian Media Watch; and

• • 
    Yair Shamir, leading Israeli businessman; former chair of El Al and Israel Aerospace; son of former PM Yitzhak Shamir.

You can also watch the film here. Please share this with your friends and help us get this important film out to the Jewish community.

Washington, D.C. (September 24, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) commented today on remarks by Pres. Barack Obama in a "60 Minutes" interview that aired last night.

When asked about Israel's concerns about the very real threat of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, Pres. Obama dismissed them as "noise."
(Video and quotes from the interview are at The Weekly Standard web site.)

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks responded:

"The urgent and well-founded concerns of Israel about the continuing Iranian nuclear arms program are not 'noise.' In this area, as in so many others, American national security interests and Israeli security interests are aligned: we cannot allow Iran to develop the capacity to create and deploy nuclear weapons.

"Diplomacy and sanctions have not impeded the Iranians' progress toward their goal, and recent reports from the IAEA and the Iranian regime corroborate the Israelis' long-held view that Iran has lied to international inspectors and gotten much farther along the path to nuclear weapons than has previously been acknowledged.

"By dismissing Israel's and the international community's legitimate concerns about Iran as mere 'noise,' Pres. Obama yet again displays his Jimmy Carter-like naiveté when it comes to U.S. foreign policy. In these dangerous times, that puts the United States and our friends and allies around the world in jeopardy."

September 21, 2012

The RJC has just posted the trailer for our soon-to-be-released mini-documentary on Barak Obama and Israel, entitled "Perilous Times."

Click the image below to check it out.

In the film, leading Israeli experts and everyday citizens candidly discuss their concerns about the U.S.-Israel relationship under Pres. Obama.

You can also watch the trailer here. Please share this with your friends and help us get this important film out to the Jewish community.

Visit the RJC web site on September 28 to watch the complete film!

Washington, D.C. (September 20, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) responded to the release today of a poll by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) which showed continued erosion of support for President Obama in the Jewish community. This poll showed that President Obama would receive just 69 percent of the Jewish vote in Florida, a key swing state with a significant Jewish population.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, "This poll hints at trouble for Pres. Obama in the Jewish community. We have seen ample evidence in many recent polls that Pres. Obama will have difficulty reaching the same level of Jewish support that he received in 2008. We believe that the "buyer's remorse" in the Jewish community among those who voted for Obama in ‘08 is a result of disillusionment with the President's policies on the economy and on foreign policy, including Israel, and that it is a big factor in the erosion of support for the President."

Background:
Comparison of AJC poll with exit polls from election years 2000, 2004, and 2008 showing the percentage of the Jewish vote in Florida received by the Democratic presidential candidate:

Sources:
2000 election, Al Gore
http://www.gqrr.com/articles/1215/727_The%20Jewish%20Vote%20in%202004.pdf, page 11

2004 election, John Kerry
http://forward.com/articles/4438/jewish-voters-flock-to-kerry-but-polls-show-sligh/

2008 election, Barack Obama
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=849241&ct=12190405

2012 AJC poll
http://www.ajc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=ijITI2PHKoG&b=846741&ct=12190055

"Buyer's Remorse" Message Launched in FL, OH, NV, and PA

Washington, D.C. (September 19, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) today announced the release of the first in a series of television ads in targeted swing states. The ads will appear on broadcast and cable television in South Florida (Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach County markets), Ohio (Cleveland), Nevada (Las Vegas), and Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). The $5 million ad buy begins on September 19 and will continue through November 5.

Entitled "Michael," the ad is a shortened version of a previously-released web ad that the Washington Post called "very effective."

The RJC ads will showcase the real stories of real people such as Michael Goldstein, a life-long Jewish Democrat from New Jersey who supported Barack Obama in 2008 but won't vote for him in 2012 because of his disappointment in the President's handling of relations with Israel and his failed economic policies.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, "This ad highlights the 'buyer's remorse' felt by many in the Jewish community, who voted for Obama four years ago, but are now disillusioned with his economic policies and his policies toward Israel. These ads, and the stories of the people in them, give voice to the nagging doubts that many Jewish voters feel about President Obama. To underscore that point, numerous polls have shown an erosion in Jewish support for the President."

The ads will appear on broadcast and cable television in South Florida (Miami, Broward, and Palm Beach County markets), Ohio (Cleveland), Nevada (Las Vegas), and Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). The $5 million ad buy begins on September 19 and will continue through November 5.

See the new ad here.

High Traffic, Heavily Jewish Areas Targeted

Washington, D.C. (September 11, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) announced the latest element in its Jewish outreach effort. The RJC recently launched a billboard ad campaign in South Florida. The campaign includes billboards in high traffic areas in the Jewish communities of Broward and Palm Beach counties. The ad campaign is part of the RJC's $6.5 million outreach to Jewish communities in the key swing states of Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.

The billboards feature a top RJC slogan, "Obama... Oy Vey!!" with the message underneath, "Had enough? MyBuyersRemorse.com."

MyBuyersRemorse.com (http://www.MyBuyersRemorse.com) is the online platform for the RJC's outreach effort to the Jewish community this year. The site displays a series of ads in which real people tell their stories of why they supported Barack Obama in 2008, and why they are not supporting him now. The site also allows visitors to upload their own videos and tell their personal stories of Obama buyer's remorse.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, "There is a strong sense of buyer's remorse among Jewish voters, who are disappointed and disillusioned with President Obama and the job he has done in the last 3 ½ years. We're helping those people give voice to their feelings."

Click the image below for a large PDF version of the billboard art:

Sample of billboard art


RJC billboard in South Florida


RJC billboard in South Florida

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Washington, D.C. (September 7, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) today announced the release of a new print ad, entitled "Rift," which points to the deep split among rank and file Democrats when it comes to supporting Israel. This rift is a sad example of how much the party has changed over the years.

The ad reads, in part: "At the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte, NC, it's become painfully clear that this Party is no longer the Democratic Party of our parents' generation. This week has witnessed a shocking series of events. These regrettable incidents reveal a Party that has wandered far from its origins."

The ad will run next week in 11 Jewish newspapers as full-page ads in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Nevada.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, "Important pro-Israel language was stripped from the Democrats' platform this year, including lines recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calling Israel America's 'strongest ally'. When they tried to reinstate the language on Jerusalem, the convention chairman couldn't get a clear two-thirds vote and just declared the language added – receiving loud boos from the convention floor.

He continued, "This is a sad display by the Democratic Party and is an indication of how much the Democratic Party has changed in recent years. It was chilling to watch; who could have imagined the day when supporting Jerusalem would be resoundingly booed at a Democratic convention?"

Jerusalem Fight Underscores the "Israel Gap" in this Election

(September 5, 2012) The Republican Jewish Coalition notes with grave concern that delegates to the Democratic Convention voiced significant opposition to efforts to amend the party platform so as to reinstate pro-Israel language from previous years.

Rank and file Democrats expressed strong opposition to a resolution to reinstate pro-Israel language that had been removed from the 2012 platform, forcing convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa to call the voice vote three times. Each time the "No's" were noticeably stronger; in fact, CNN reporter Dana Bush was quoted as saying, "It seemed pretty to clear to me that the 'No's' had it." (1)

See video of the vote and response here.

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said, "This is a very sad day. To hear delegates on the floor of the Democratic convention strongly voice their opposition to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, then boo when the chairman passes the resolution to adopt that language, is a shock.

Brooks continued, "This unfortunate incident highlights the split among rank and file Democrats when it comes to the critical issue of Israel, something we've seen for some time. Gallup polling has shown that Republicans have been consistently more likely to support Israel than Democrats for over a decade.(2) It is painful to see that demonstrated so clearly in this national forum."

Notes:

(1)  https://twitter.com/RalstonFlash/status/243459182169309184

(2) According to a Gallup poll released on March 2, 2012, "Republicans continue to be far more likely than independents or Democrats to sympathize with the Israelis."  In that poll, Republican support for Israel was 78 percent while Democrat support was at 53 percent, a 25-point difference. The graph at the link shows the deep split in Republican/Democrat support for Israel over time. http://www.gallup.com/poll/153092/americans-continue-tilt-pro-israel.aspx

Going back to 1972*, Democratic Platform Affirmed Jerusalem as Capital of Israel

Washington, D.C. (September 5, 2012) -- The Republican Jewish Coalition announced today the release of a print ad asking, "What is Missing from Obama's 2012 Democratic Platform?" The ad shows that several pro-Israel provisions in the 2008 Democratic platform are missing from the 2012 document.

The ad will run as a full page in Thursday's Charlotte Observer and then in Jewish papers next week in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.

This year, Democrats stripped out language that appeared in their 2008 platform saying that Jerusalem "is and will remain the capital of Israel" and language saying the issue of Palestinian refugees should be resolved by their settlement in a Palestinian state, not in Israel. The Democrats also removed language from 2008 calling for the isolation of Hamas and weakened the provision about ensuring that Israel retains a qualitative edge for self defense. The platform also stripped out language, which had previously been included, calling Israel "our strongest ally in the region."

RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks said:

This will run as a full-page ad in the Charlotte Observer on Thursday, so that we can send a special message to Pres. Obama and the Democratic Party during the Democratic National Convention. Then it will run in Jewish newspapers in Florida, Ohio, Nevada, and Pennsylvania next week.

The changes to the Democrat Party platform raise serious questions about Pres. Obama's and the party's commitment to Israel. It is clear from the platform that the Democrats are backing way from Israel at a critical time. This is yet another reason why Jewish support for Democrats continues to erode.

Click the image below to see a full-size pdf of the ad.



 

* With the exception of 1988. (Details here).

RJC Calls on Top Democrats to Reinstate Pro-Israel Language