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Indiana Capital Chronicle: Republican Jewish Coalition has new ad backing Messmer in CD8

The Republican Jewish Coalition went live with a new television ad Wednesday morning supporting Mark Messmer for Indiana’s Eighth Congressional District.

It is part of a $1 million ad buy meant to oppose opponent John Hostettler.

"While Democrats continue to endorse and embrace anti-Israel candidates across the country, the RJC and Republican Party stand up to them wherever possible," Coalition CEO Matt Brooks said.

He said the Republican Jewish Coalition is "deeply troubled" about Hostettler’s past record and is committed to ensuring he does not get back to Congress.

…The group said Hostettler has opposed aid to Israel, trafficked antisemitic conspiracy theories, and voted against a 2000 resolution which supported Israel and condemned Palestinian leadership over the violence of the second Intifada.

Watch the ad here.
Support Mark Messmer here.

Jewish Chronicle: Jewish GOP group reports ground game

The battle for Wisconsin voters will be fierce, and the Republican Jewish Coalition reports it is ready.

"We have what I would argue is the best data operation in Jewish politics," said Sam Markstein, the organization’s national political director, in an interview with the Chronicle. "We’ve made significant investments in the data operations to make sure that the voters that we’re targeting are Jewish."

In the past, he said, there was more guesswork in finding Jewish voters. Just a few out of every 10 voters contacted might be Jewish.

"Now, when we go to 10 doors, about eight or nine of them are Jewish and that makes a significant difference. When you’re actually sending volunteers out or spending money on paid media, to talk to the wrong people is a waste of money," he said.

Asked whether Wisconsin’s Jewish population — which is estimated at about 30,000 — is enough to matter, Markstein replied with the sort of thinking that might just as easily have come from a Democratic strategist.

"It might be small, but it’s mighty in the sense that electorally it makes up about 1 to 2% of the presidential and lower ballot voting electorate," he said. "In a state that in 2020 was decided by less than a point, it could very well be the decisive group of voters in the decisive state, and determine whether it’s going to be Trump or Biden in 2024."

JNS: Elizabeth Warren: ‘Ample evidence’ that Israel committed genocide

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) believes that there is sufficient proof that Israel has committed genocide.

…"Based on all the evidence, Israel has done more in this war to prevent civilian casualties than any military in modern history," stated the Republican Jewish Coalition. "But that doesn’t matter to Sen. Warren, who would rather join the chorus of Democrats trying to placate their rabidly anti-Israel base of voters."

Algemeiner: ‘Does she really want to see America die?’: Rashida Tlaib’s refusal to condemn ‘Death to America’ chants sparks bipartisan backlash

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s national political director, Sam Markstein, had harsh words for Tlaib, telling The Algemeiner, "It’s no surprise that Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib would refuse to condemn anti-America and anti-Israel chants."

He described Rep. Tlaib as "a disgrace" who "should not be representing the people of Michigan’s 12th district in Congress."

He argued, "House Democratic leadership has coddled and enabled her vicious antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric for years – it’s long past time for them to hold her accountable."

Israel did not take credit for the April 1 bombing of an Iranian consulate in Syria that killed several top leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, the US Pentagon said that Israel was responsible and Iran is threatening to retaliate against Israel.

President Joe Biden said yesterday: "We also want to address the Iranian threat to launch a sign- — they — they’re threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel. As I told Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad. Let me say it again: ironclad. We’re going to do all we can to protect Israel’s security." Israel cannot be blamed for taking that “ironclad” commitment with a grain of salt at this point.

This comes in the same week, of course, that President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken threatened that if Israel does not do more, somehow, to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza and allow in even more aid, the US will change its policy regarding Israel.

The Biden administration again pushed Israel to accept a lopsided hostage deal introduced by the US that would have seen Israel release 22 Palestinians terrorists and criminals for every hostage that Hamas would release. Hamas rejected that proposal outright, in part, we fear, because not enough hostages remain alive to make the deal work.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Squad members and other House Democrats in signing a letter to the President calling for the US to withhold a recently authorized arms package to Israel until the investigation into the accidental strike that killed aid workers last week is completed.

Against this backdrop, it’s good to know that Republicans are speaking out in support of Israel. House Republicans plan to pass a resolution "Opposing efforts to place one-sided pressure on Israel with respect to Gaza." The effort is being led by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27). House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Wednesday, "President Biden has walked away from the strong relationship we have with Israel… Who walks away from a friend during a time of war?... They’re still holding over 100 hostages, including American citizens, and when President Biden called for a ceasefire, he didn’t precondition it on Hamas releasing the hostages."

• An Urgent Message to President Biden from a Concerned Jew
Pamela Paresky rebukes President Joe Biden for turning against Israel:

There are hostages who need this Administration to forcefully condemn Hamas and reject any ceasefire that does not require their release. Instead, we’ve seen statements of condemnation that are directed solely at Israel. And in the State of the Union address and elsewhere, the President even declared that Israel’s first priority should be neither the return of the hostages nor the elimination of the threat of Hamas, but should instead be humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians.

… This is not merely unreasonable and morally unacceptable, it empowers terrorist groups like Hamas; it paves the way for Hamas tactics to become the basis on which to prevent Israel and any other country faced with an enemy willing to sacrifice its own civilians from ever winning a war.

• Hamas’ Bet on the World is Paying Off

Jason D. Greenblatt, who served as White House special envoy to the Middle East from 2017-2019 writes that the Biden administration policy is playing into Hamas’ hands:

The Biden administration once insisted on Israel’s solemn right to do what it must to eradicate Hamas. Now, it appears to adopt the view that such a right has serious limits and might need to be abandoned well before Hamas has been defeated.

This gives Hamas what it wants in an obvious sense: Hamas considers it a victory to survive when Israel has vowed to destroy it. Hamas counts on a long-running strategy of Westerners intervening to stop Israel’s successful offensives due to humanitarian concerns…

… Biden now doing what Hamas counted on does not just send a message to all our allies that Americans may lose the firmness of their convictions before our allies can defend and protect themselves when they face threats. It encourages our adversaries to continue the cycle of violence that endangers all of our Middle East allies and our own national security.

• Western Democracy’s Future Depends on Israel’s Victory

Gerard Baker writes in the Wall Street Journal:

If Israel is prevented from defeating Hamas, we should be under no illusions about what it will mean for the future of democracy. If, under the pressure of internal Democratic politics and global public opinion, the Biden administration forces a “cease-fire” that leaves our closest ally in the region short of victory over an enemy that seeks to destroy it, sooner or later we shall all pay the price.

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Jerusalem Post: Indonesia to normalize ties with Israel amid OECD membership bid

Indonesia is expected to normalize ties with Israel as part of its bid to become the 39th member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, a diplomatic source revealed on Thursday. The Southeast Asian country has the largest Muslim population [in the world]. Its normalization with Israel would send a powerful signal of acceptance for the Jewish state at a time when it is facing increased isolation due to the Gaza war.

NRO Morning Jolt: How Biden Lost the War on Inflation and the Broader Economy

On the menu today: We’ve reached the point where Biden administration officials, Democrats, and pro-Biden columnists are tearing their hair out, furious that the electorate perceives the economy as being subpar. But if you look in the right places, the economic frustration makes perfect sense — and those right places include grocery prices since before the pandemic, the number of new jobs that are part-time jobs, the current high gas prices and likely summer price hikes, how inflation counteracts the good recent run of the stock market, and how many people owe more in car payments than the worth of their automobiles. Americans measure the economy by a lot more than just the unemployment rate, and no amount of wishing, ranting, or berating is going to get them to change their minds about how they perceive their household finances.

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