• The RJC released a statement today on Israel’s plan to extend Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley:
The government of Israel is now planning to take steps, as put forth by President Donald Trump’s “peace to prosperity” plan, to extend Israeli sovereignty in parts of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. It has long been understood that the areas under consideration would become part of Israel under a negotiated peace settlement. Tragically, such a settlement has been impossible because the Palestinian leadership has never given up their goal of destroying Israel. A full 53 years after the 1967 war, it is time for Israelis in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria and the Jordan Valley to have the same full rights and status as their fellow citizens in Tel Aviv and Haifa.
President Trump’s historic “peace to prosperity” plan offers a realistic and implementable opportunity for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It provides a framework for creating economic opportunity and greater freedom for the Palestinian people, and for ensuring the security of Israel.
We support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to extend Israeli sovereignty over areas in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. These efforts represent the first steps in a process that can include negotiations, working with moderate Arab states in the region, and working with the US and other Western allies to bring a stable, lasting peace to Israelis and Palestinians.
Republicans are strong and vocal supporters of our cherished ally Israel and they respect the sovereignty of the State of Israel. The RJC is grateful for their words and their actions. We will be making a major lobbying effort to encourage Republicans in the Senate and House to express their support for the government of Israel and to support Israel’s extending sovereignty over parts of Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley in order to promote the security of its citizens and the stability of the region.
• RJC's Neil Strauss was quoted at length in this article from the Jewish News Service about the effects of the pandemic and lockdown on political groups' efforts:
On the other side of the aisle, the Republican Jewish Coalition has been campaigning to re-elect Trump and other Republicans, in addition to new GOP candidates to Congress. The organization’s National Victory Team “has been conducting extensive Jewish outreach after seamlessly transitioning to virtual grassroots efforts,” RJC spokesperson Neil Strauss told JNS.
RJC has so far “executed 11 successful National Days of Action, with hundreds of RJC volunteers participating across the country, supporting President Trump and the GOP,” he said.
Conducting business digitally has been beneficial, maintained Strauss, who cited his organization’s “increased ability to reach more voters at home” through “phone calls, text messages, email, digital, social media, etc.”
“We’ve seen a dramatic spike in the percentage of voters we’re able to directly connect with, compared to pre-COVID circumstances, which makes these modes of grassroots outreach even more valuable. Since March 1st, we have spoken to 106,968 persuadable Jewish voters in specific battleground states using our cutting-edge technology, our large investment in data modeling to discover Jewish voters—data no one else has—and the best volunteers in politics.”
Despite the millions of jobs lost and businesses shuttered due to COVID-19, the RJC’s political action committee, RJC PAC, has experienced “very strong” fundraising, following “a slight downturn” during the first few weeks that social-distancing guidelines were put into effect across the country earlier this year, according to Strauss.
...Also important to note is that those without access to device or high-tech apps won’t be shut out of the technological political campaign season, the aforementioned organizations told JNS.
“No matter where a voter may fall on the tech-savvy spectrum, almost all voters know how to use and operate a basic phone system,” said Strauss. “RJC is currently in the process of organizing special tele-town hall events featuring high-profile VIPs that even the least tech-savvy voters will be able to participate in.”
Additionally, continued Strauss, “streamlined programming, along with other grassroots outreach such as direct mail, will enable RJC to connect and appeal to all Jewish voters.”
Read more of what Neil had to say about our outreach efforts here.
• The RJC continues to speak out against antisemitism and racism, as noted by The Algemeiner this week:
The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Tuesday that it will not endorse or support [Marjorie Taylor Greene,] a candidate in a safely Republican district in Georgia who is leading in fundraising, as she has trafficked in conspiracy theories and posed for photos with a former neo-Nazi leader.
...RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks told JNS that his organization hasn’t “been following this race, and it’s not on our targeted list of races.” He added that if Greene wins, “we will not be endorsing her or supporting her.”
