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This week, the RJC spoke out strongly against President Joe Biden's pressure campaign on Israel to get the Israeli government to commit to the establishment of a Palestinian state.

RJC National Chairman Senator Norm Coleman and RJC CEO Matt Brooks said:

We are deeply troubled by the Biden administration's growing pressure on Israel to commit to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Genuine solidarity with Israel requires a clear understanding of the difficult realities confronting the people and government of the Jewish state. Today, Israel is at war against the monstrous terrorists who perpetrated the October 7th atrocities, dozens of Israelis remain captives of Hamas, and no Palestinian faction has condemned the horror that led to the current crisis.

In these circumstances, Israelis across the political spectrum are united behind the objectives of eradicating Hamas as a threat to Israel and securing the return of all the hostages. Until those objectives are accomplished, pressuring the Jewish state to make irreversible and potentially perilous long-term diplomatic commitments is a grave failure to live up to America's proud history of standing with Israel against its deadly enemies.

The Biden administration vaguely admits that the Palestinian Authority is not currently up to the job of administering a Palestinian state when it says that the PA must be "reformed" or "revitalized." But let's be clear: As long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive "pay-for-slay" subsidies and refusing to condemn the October 7th atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state.

Israel has proven its willingness to make peace over and over again. The Palestinians, very much including the Palestinian Authority, have repeatedly rejected efforts to make peace. The Biden administration's diplomatic efforts will fail if they are based on a denial of that history and a refusal to admit the catastrophic failings of today's Palestinian leadership.

The Biden administration is wrong to assume that Jewish Americans support its pressure on Israel. We urge members of Congress to use all the tools at their disposal to push back against the Biden administration's misguided efforts and prevent the nightmare scenario of a terrorist state on Israel's borders.

The RJC statement received significant media attention:

• JNS: RJC slams White House push for Palestinian state

• Israel Today: Biden under fire for pushing Palestinian state

• Jerusalem Post: Jewish Republican group slams Biden's call for two-state solution during war

• NewsMax: Jewish Group to Biden: Stop Pressuring Israel on Two States

• Breitbart: Republican Jewish Coalition to Biden: Stop Pressuring Israel on Palestinian State

In addition, thousands of RJC members have emailed their Senators and Congressman to urge them to stand firm against the Biden administration's pressure on Israel.

It's so important that we take action now, because nearly every Democrat in the US Senate has backed an amendment that calls on Israel to accept a two-state solution.

Reuters reports:

Forty-nine of the 51 members of the Senate Democratic caucus backed an amendment supporting a negotiated solution to the conflict that results in Israeli and Palestinian states living side by side, ensuring Israel's survival as a secure, democratic, Jewish state and fulfilling the Palestinians' "legitimate aspirations" for a state of their own.

Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced the measure as an amendment to an upcoming bill that would provide national security aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

...The only two Democratic senators who did not sign onto the amendment were John Fetterman and Joe Manchin.

Please take a moment to remind your Congressman and Senators: It’s Israel that has proven over and over again its willingness to make peace and the Palestinians, including the Palestinian Authority, that have repeatedly rejected efforts to make peace. Help us send a powerful message that as long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive "pay-for-slay" subsidies and refusing to condemn the October 7th atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state.

The media are reporting on the importance of the NY-3 special election for the GOP and on the spending battle between Republicans and Democrats in this crucial battleground race.

Ethiopian-born, Jewish, Israeli-American local legislator Mazi Pilip is the Republican going after the seat vacated by George Santos. She faces former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, a three-term incumbent with high name recognition in the district. Early voting begins February 3; election day is February 13.

Politico reports:

House Republicans have a crucial special election just weeks away that could buoy their hopes of keeping their narrow majority... [but the] cost of investing is high in the nation’s priciest media market, and Republicans will need globs of cash to defend the seat and several others in the region this fall.

...National Republicans are engaging with the race in other ways.

The Winning For Women Action Fund, a group that supports female Republican candidates, invested six figures in a digital, text and mail program in support of Pilip. And the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund is also running a program consisting of field, digital ads and mailers targeting Jewish voters.

…"It’s pretty standard practice for Democrats to turn on the national spigot when they’re looking for a win in a cycle that’s about to be pretty brutal for them," said Sam Markstein, a top strategist for the Republican Jewish Coalition.

"If you can’t flip a seat from a disgraced member" in a district Biden won, he added, "that doesn’t really bode well for the rest of the cycle."

Contribute to the RJC Victory Fund and help us get out the vote for Mazi Pilip!

Read more about Mazi's early life, her entry into public service, and her top priorities for NY-3 in this JNS report.

RJC NY has exciting news! With the NY-3 Special Election approaching on February 13, Republican Jewish Coalition members will be out in FULL FORCE in support of RJC-endorsed former IDF soldier MAZI PILIP.

Winning this battleground seat is critical to maintaining the GOP majority in the House of Representatives. As antisemitism continues to spike across the country, electing Jewish candidates like Mazi Pilip is more important than ever - AND WE NEED YOUR HELP!

RJC NY will have boots on the ground, connecting with Jewish voters throughout the district, through Election Day. We’ll also do phone banking and other remote outreach. Everyone is welcome! If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining us in our grassroots Jewish outreach efforts, please email RJC Field Representative Robert Boam at [email protected].

Paul Teller and Tom Rose write at JNS that in past decades, Israel was constrained in times of war by bigger powers such as Russia, the United Nations, and others. The current war in Gaza is different, they claim:

Unlike previous conflicts, Israel’s Arab neighbors have declined to mount any kind of tangible opposition to Israeli military action... In addition, the Russians have their hands full with their disastrous war in Ukraine and China has no intention of backing Iran or its proxies if push comes to shove. The European Union, as always, is feckless and impotent... Israel also enjoys more strategic flexibility than ever before as a result of strong global partnerships, a powerful economy and an advanced technology sector.

Ironically, the only power left that can force Israel to slam the brakes on what should be a swift march to victory is not her enemies, but her greatest friend—the United States. Unfortunately, the Biden administration seems intent on micromanaging, second-guessing and undermining Israel’s defense strategy in order to appease radical left activists in the Democratic Party.

...Rather than restraining our ally, the Biden administration should flex its political muscle to create an international chorus of voices demanding the safe, unconditional and immediate release of the more than 100 Israeli hostages who remain in Gaza. Then US President Joe Biden must encourage Israel to take every action necessary to eradicate terrorists and restore the regional stability we enjoyed just a few short years ago.

Eugene Kontorovich writes at the Wall Street Journal:

Gaza is unique among modern war zones. Despite being the center of a conflict fought in dense urban areas, it hasn’t produced waves of refugees leaving for neutral countries. This has been deliberate, the result of policies by Hamas and Egypt tacitly supported by the US.

...Egypt has sealed its border, despite its obligations under international refugee law. Hamas also forcibly prevents people from leaving. Even before the war, only 400 people a day were allowed to exit, and for a price. By not pressuring Egypt to open its border, the US is letting Gaza become a pressure cooker of civilian suffering.

Ariella Esterson: Stop exploiting the Holocaust as a weapon against Israel

International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which will be observed Saturday, is about remembering the past. But this year it is hard not to think more about the present. The massacre perpetrated by Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups in southern Israel on Oct. 7 was the most brutal attack against Jews since the Holocaust, and a painful reminder that genocidal hatred of the Jews persists.

There is also another, more direct connection that deserves attention — the ever-expanding use of Holocaust terminology to delegitimize Israel. Shockingly, this disturbing phenomenon has been propelled by groups that claim to promote universal human rights.

Jonathan Tobin: How ‘anti-racism’ made antisemitism fashionable

[Since October 7, to] the shock of American Jews, fashionable opinion on the left now regarded the Jewish state as a whole—and not merely familiar right-wing punching bags like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “settlers” or religious Jews—as inherently wrong, if not evil. Far from this being merely the sentiment expressed by radicals dwelling in the fever swamps of the far-right or the far-left, such ideas have become commonplace in the pages of the Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC and other bastions of contemporary progressivism.

The reason for this is easily seen in the way people like [IfNotNow’s Eva] Borgwardt and her companions have helped set the tone for much of the discourse about Israel. The path to anti-Israel activism for this child of an affluent St. Louis Jewish family came about through her support for the BLM movement.

Eli Lake: American troops know - Iran is already at war with us

The war that began on October 7 when Hamas invaded Israel has been almost universally described in the press as another bloody chapter in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. But that’s only half-true. Or rather, it is only one front of a much broader war—a war that pits Iran and its proxies against America and its allies. And a war that has already cost American lives.

Adam Kredo: How Biden’s menthol cigarette ban could line terrorists' pockets

Since May 2022, the Biden administration has been championing a proposal that will eliminate menthol-flavored cigarettes from American stores. Around 40 percent of adult smokers prefer mentholated cigarettes, and they are particularly popular with black Americans, according to the American Lung Association.

With the menthol market still booming, the Food and Drug Administration’s efforts to enact an outright ban will likely create a massive black market for Mexican cartels and a host of terror groups known to work alongside them, such as al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah, according to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who sent a letter on Monday to multiple federal agencies seeking information on how they plan to combat the potential for terrorism financing.

Contact information for our offices can be found on our website. Please visit us online for the latest RJC news, to see details of upcoming events, and to donate to the RJC. Read past editions of this newsletter here.