|
 |
The three Americans held hostages in Gaza who are believed to still be alive: Keith Siegel, Edan Alexander, and Sagui Dekel-Chen
|
A Painful, Pending, Potential Ceasefire Deal
|
Yesterday news sources reported that a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas had been reached. The proposed deal has three phases; the first phase includes the release of some Israelis held hostage in Gaza, the release of many hundreds of Palestinian terrorist prisoners from Israeli prisons, staged withdrawals from Gaza by the IDF, the establishment of buffer zones for the IDF to retain, and the return of displaced Gazans to their homes.
However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Hamas tried to demand more concessions at the last minute and created a "crisis" in the talks. The Jewish Insider reports:
|
The Prime Minister’s Office said early Thursday morning local time in Israel that Hamas was making new demands and wanted to revoke Israel’s veto power over releasing "mass murderers who are symbols of terror."
"The prime minister instructed the negotiating team to stand behind the understandings that were already reached and to categorically reject Hamas’s last-minute blackmail attempts," the statement read.
The PMO later said that Hamas’ insistence was causing a "crisis" in the talks and indefinitely postponed a Thursday morning cabinet meeting to approve the hostage deal.
|
When news of an imminent agreement came out, the RJC responded:
|
The Republican Jewish Coalition cautiously welcomes news that a ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas that will bring the release of hostages. It has been 466 days of hell for the hostages and their families and 466 days of a terrible war. We hope Hamas will release all of the hostages swiftly and without delay.
The excruciatingly difficult calculations for Israel around getting the hostages back, releasing terrorist prisoners, and other potential details of a ceasefire agreement are matters best left to the Israeli government. We trust that the Government of Israel has done everything possible to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish state and its people, in keeping with its values.
We await word of the returning hostages and pray for their recovery.
We thank President-elect Donald Trump and his team for helping to move this process forward and for their unwavering support for Israel's security. President Trump's pronouncement that there would be "hell to pay" if a deal was not reached for a release of the hostages before he took office on January 20 clearly had a significant impact on closing the gaps to reach this deal.
|
The RJC's position remains clear: We support the Israeli people and their government, who must decide how to prosecute the war on Hamas and bring the hostages home. We hope to see the destruction of Hamas and the return of the hostages soon. These have been Israel's stated goals since October 7, 2023. That these two goals are nearly irreconcilable when dealing with a terrorist adversary is terrible, making any potential deal a source of both hope and sorrow.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
How Policy Decisions Exacerbated the Devastating Los Angeles Wildfires
|
Jim Geraghty at National Review runs through the many policy decisions over many years that made the wildfires still raging in Southern California so much worse. They include failure to clear brush, lack of controlled burns, insufficient water reservoirs, and fire department budget cuts. His write-up is worth your time.
It is heartbreaking for all of us at the Republican Jewish Coalition to see the destruction and loss of life caused by the wildfires in Southern California. So many of our members and their communities have been impacted. The RJC hopes all our members in the affected areas are safe.
The Democrats’ policies in California and in LA County have been abysmal failures. Incredible levels of neglect, incompetence, and “Wokeness” have brought Californians to this dire situation. The people of California deserve better! We hope that the growing GOP wave that brought President Donald Trump back to the White House and Republican majorities in the House and Senate will soon bring Republican leaders and better governance to "blue states" like California.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Zeldin Grilled by Democrats on Climate Change, Trump’s Stance on Carbon Emissions During EPA Hearing
|
Former congressman Lee Zeldin, who has served on the RJC Board of Directors, is President Donald Trump's choice for Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Fox News reports on his Senate confirmation hearing today:
|
Former New York Congressman Lee Zeldin sat for his confirmation hearing to lead the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, and was grilled by Democrats on his views of climate change.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee ranking member, questioned Zeldin on the effects of carbon dioxide and pollutants on the atmosphere.
"Is carbon dioxide a pollutant?" the Rhode Island Democrat asked.
"As far as the carbon dioxide emitted by you during that question – no," Zeldin replied, adding that in larger masses, the EPA should indeed focus on carbon dioxide output.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
We Did It!
The RJC raised and spent over $15 million in support of President Trump, turning out Jewish voters with an unprecedented paid media campaign and grassroots engagement effort, deploying thousands of volunteers on the ground in key Jewish communities.
THANKS TO OUR EFFORTS, JEWISH COMMUNITIES ACROSS AMERICA MOVED SIGNIFICANTLY TO THE GOP.
Read our exclusive report, "2024 Case Study: RJC Delivered"
for details about what we did, how we did it, and the concrete results we delivered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
RJC in the News
|
Washington Post: Biden and Trump jockey for credit in Israel-Hamas hostage deal
|
The Biden and Trump teams worked closely in the days leading up to the deal, talking daily and holding meetings in Qatar and Israel… Their cooperation represents a highly unusual moment in the polarized world of US politics, especially given the contentious history between the president and president-elect.
…Trump aides and allies argued that it’s evident that Trump’s approach and imminent return made the difference.
"He made it clear and unambiguous that if the hostages were not released prior to his taking office, there would be hell to pay," said Matt Brooks, the CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
|
The Jewish vote in 2024
RJC Political Director Sam Markstein appeared this week on the Ari Hoffman Show, on Talk Radio 570 KVI in Seattle, Washington. Ari and Sam discussed the Jewish vote in 2024. President Donald Trump received the highest percentage of the Jewish vote of any GOP presidential candidate since 1988, and gains in the Jewish vote in battleground states helped President Trump win the election. Watch and listen here.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Credit: Screenshot from ABC News.
|
More of Biden's Last-Minute Actions
|
Politico: Biden removes Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism: President Joe Biden is removing Cuba from a US government list of state sponsors of terrorism on Tuesday, according to administration officials… Since leaving office, [Donald] Trump has said little about Cuba specifically, but Trump put Cuba on the state sponsor of terrorism list during his first term, and his administration restored sanctions and restrictions on travel to Cuba.
Free Beacon: Biden solidifies anti-oil legacy with flurry of lame-duck attacks on drilling and mining: President Joe Biden is spending his final days in office shutting down domestic oil and gas production in actions that will act as roadblocks for the incoming Trump administration and its "drill, baby, drill" agenda while solidifying Biden's legacy as a president hostile to energy producers.
The Biden administration has moved forward with fossil-fuel leasing restrictions, held an oil lease sale in Alaska seemingly designed to garner no industry interest, expanded endangered species protections that block drilling on oil-rich lands across several states, and shut down mining in South Dakota on land with critical mineral reserves vital for energy technologies. And in perhaps its highest-profile move, the administration banned oil leasing across 625 million acres of federal waters—an area that is equivalent in size to a third of the continental United States.
Bryen: What the rule says and Biden means: On its way out, the administration’s "Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion," announced on Jan. 13, would place new limits on how many artificial-intelligence chips companies, including Nvidia, Intel and AMD, can send to different countries without making special arrangements with the US government. Israel is one of the countries for which they will have to get permission… According to the Biden administration, Israel is not a security ally, tech ally, democratic ally or any other kind of ally.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Did you see the TRUMP KIPPAH that Matt held up during his GOP Convention speech?
|
GET YOURS HERE!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Washington Free Beacon: Jewish Voice for Peace committed fraud to obtain six-figure COVID relief loan, DOJ says
Jewish Voice for Peace, the prominent anti-Israel group that's organized illegal protests attacking the Jewish state, committed federal loan fraud to obtain a six-figure COVID relief check, the Department of Justice announced.
JVP falsely portrayed itself as a non-political group to obtain over $300,000 in federal paycheck protection funding, federal prosecutors said in a press release. It was forced to pay $677,634 to the federal government to settle the allegations under the False Claims Act.
The news comes as JVP faces suspensions on college campuses for organizing pro-Hamas rallies. Lawmakers have also called on the IRS to revoke JVP’s tax-exempt status, arguing that the group has supported illegal encampments at universities and "has a history of sharing antisemitic tropes, expressing support for violence and terrorism, and vilifying Zionism and Zionists."
The JVP was recently the subject of an in-depth report by the pro-Israel group Stand With Us. Read more here.
|
Algemeiner: Israel suffered over 18,000 terror attacks in 2024, new government report says
Israel endured over 18,000 terrorist attacks last year in which nearly 150 people were killed as the Jewish state faced an onslaught of terrorism from seven fronts in the Middle East, according to a new Israeli government report… In total, there were 18,665 terrorist attacks in Israel last year in which 134 people were murdered and another 1,277 were injured. A summary of the report noted that Israel "was attacked from seven fronts: Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Yemen, and from within Israel."
|
|
|
|
|
FL: Event with Ilya Shapiro
Join us this event in Delray Beach with constitutional law expert Ilya Shapiro.
|
RSVP
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Republican Jewish Coalition 50 F Street, N.W., Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20001
202.638.6688 | [email protected]
|
|
|