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This Week:

• Matt Brooks: Celebrating America 250 as Proud Jewish Americans
• May is Jewish American Heritage Month
• Secretary Rubio Reminds Us of the Hope and Promise of America
• Help Our Senate Candidates!
• RJC in the News
• Short Takes
• Week's Best Tweets
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Matt Brooks: Celebrating America 250 as proud Jewish Americans

RJC CEO Matt Brooks writes at the Washington Reporter:

As the United States of America celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding this July, Jewish American Heritage Month offers a fitting moment to reflect on the enduring and profound contributions Jewish Americans have made as part of the fabric of our great nation.

The Jewish American impact begins at the very start of the American Revolution….

As our country grew, Jewish Americans helped to build its cities, business communities, hospitals, key institutions, and continued to serve bravely alongside fellow citizens on battlefields near and far, including during the bloody Civil War.

…For generations, from soldiers to scholars, judges to entrepreneurs, teachers to doctors, artists to politicians, Jews have sought to nobly advance the purpose and promise of America after millennia of persecution and struggle. As President Donald Trump eloquently stated, “the American experiment offered something providential — an escape from every indignity, every abuse, and every tragedy visited upon the Jewish people over their long history.”

To those who ignorantly choose to view America in the worst light and attack our country’s proud history, culture, and exceptionalism, we say: We know what America has given us, and we never take it for granted.

The legacy of Jewish Americans goes hand in hand with the American story. And on this momentous semiquincentennial of American independence, we are more grateful than ever for the shining beacon of freedom and hope that we and our families have helped to build and advance...

Read the full op-ed here.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month

On May 4, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation making May 2026 Jewish American Heritage Month. In his proclamation, the President stated:

This Jewish American Heritage Month, we honor the countless contributions of Jewish Americans throughout our Nation’s 250 glorious years of independence, and we celebrate their unwavering commitment to the values that make our country great — faith, family, and freedom.

…Throughout this historic year, we rejoice in the triumph of the American spirit and rededicate ourselves to the cause of liberty and justice for all. In special honor of 250 glorious years of American independence and on the weekend of Rededicate 250 — a national jubilee of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving — Jewish Americans are encouraged to observe a national Sabbath. From sundown on May 15 to nightfall on May 16, friends, families, and communities of all backgrounds may come together in gratitude for our great Nation. This day will recognize the sacred Jewish tradition of setting aside time for rest, reflection, and gratitude to the Almighty.

This month, we celebrate the contributions that Jewish Americans have made to our way of life, we honor their role in shaping the story of our Nation, and we remember that religious devotion, learning, and service to others are enduring pillars of a thriving culture. Through every trial and triumph, the contributions of Jewish Americans have shaped our past, have strengthened our communities, and will continue to inspire American greatness for generations to come.

The Jewish Insider reports on Jewish community responses to the President's proclamation of a "national Shabbat":

Rabbi Levi Shemtov, the executive vice president of American Friends of Lubavitch (Chabad), heralded the development, telling JI that the Trump White House has been especially accommodating to the Jewish community.

"This White House is one of the most openly and obviously religious White Houses in many years. I have noticed an unprecedented and extraordinary effort to ensure a particular comfort level for Jewish Americans," Shemtov told JI. "I've been invited to the White House on many occasions in various administrations. I've been invited several times in this administration, and every time, when we review what I'm going to do, they say I should do what makes me religiously comfortable… I was told each time that I should pray the way which I feel comfortable and that it's important to them that people of the Jewish faith feel comfortable practicing our faith in whatever way we want."

Secretary Rubio Reminds Us of the Hope and Promise of America

During a press conference at the White House this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was asked, "What is your hope for America, at a time such as this?" Sec. Rubio's response was beautiful:

My hope for America is what it's always been. I think it's the hope I hope we all share. We want it to continue to be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you're not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it's a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.

I think that should be the goal of every country in the world, frankly, but I think in the US, we're not perfect. Our history is not one of perfection, but it's still better than anybody else's history. And ours is a story of perpetual improvement. Each generation has left the next generation of Americans freer, more prosperous, safer. And that is our goal as well.

But it is a unique and exceptional country, and as we come upon this 250-year anniversary, I think we have a lot to learn and be proud of in our history. It is one of perpetual and continuous improvement, where each generation has done its part to bring us closer to fulfilling the vision that the founders of this country had upon its founding.

RJC in the News

Washington Post: The pro-Israel political consensus is collapsing in both parties

"The Democrats have a full-blown 105-degree fever, Republicans have a sore throat," Republican Jewish Coalition spokesman Sam Markstein said. "[Anti-Israel views are] obviously a problem, we recognize it, we are addressing it. We can't lay down and let the radicalized fringe part of the party do to us what happened to the Democrats."

The Dispatch: Will MAGA Come for Thomas Massie?

To alter the turnout dynamic and dent [Rep. Thomas] Massie's support, Trump-aligned super PACs are spending millions of dollars on advertising, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

That includes MAGA KY, which is airing spots in the pricey Cincinnati media market and has spent more than $4.5 million; and the Republican Jewish Coalition-affiliated RJC Victory Fund, which has invested more than $3.5 million.

…A Massie campaign flier distributed at the Lincoln Day Dinner blares the claim: "Ever wonder who is bankrolling the attack ads against Thomas Massie?" and features foreboding pictures of three Republican megadonors who happen to be Jewish or of Jewish descent. The three are: hedge fund manager Paul Singer; Miriam Adelson, who along with her late husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, has been a longtime supporter of Israel and benefactor of the Republican Jewish Coalition; and financier John Paulson, whose maternal grandparents were Jewish and who has supported Jewish and Israeli causes.

Jewish Dem groups keeping distance from Maine candidate with Nazi tattoo

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president last cycle, opted to fly to Maine to stump for Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who is running for Senate and who has a Nazi tattoo.

…"In case it wasn't clear before why Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro. This is who they are," the Republican Jewish Coalition stated.

The RJC also responded to a post from a host of Pod Save America, who used to be a speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, referring to Platner as "a

good, decent man who's struggled and grown and is always trying to do better."

"A 'decent man who's struggled,' huh?" it wrote. "Maybe Graham Platner should write a book about 'his struggle' in German to match his Nazi tattoo."

Short Takes

Jewish Insider: White House unveils counterterrorism strategy targeting Muslim Brotherhood, Iran, Africa

Sebastian Gorka, the National Security Council's senior director for counterterrorism, [unveiled] President Donald Trump's U.S. counterterrorism strategy on Wednesday.

… The strategy covers how the administration will respond to threats from Islamic terrorist organizations at home and abroad, drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere and domestic political groups accused of inciting violence.

On combating threats from Islamist groups, the strategy places a heavy emphasis on Iran, calling the country "the greatest threat to the United States emanating from the Middle East." It states that "decisive actions by the president … will continue until the regime in Tehran is no longer a threat to the United States."

The U.S. will use "kinetic, intelligence, and cyber operations against Iranian-backed terror proxies who plot against Americans … Iranian dissidents and Israelis in our country," it continues.

The strategy further states that the US views the Muslim Brotherhood as "the root of all modern Islamist terrorism," and says the Trump administration will "continue to designate its branches across the Middle East and beyond as [Foreign Terrorist Organizations] to crush the organization everywhere it operates."

National Review: Mamdani's Shameful Condemnation of a Manhattan Synagogue

Mark Goldfeder comments on NY Mayor Zohran Mamdani's response to the antisemitic riot that took place Tuesday night outside a synagogue in New York City that was hosting an Aliyah event.

Mamdani's office said he was "deeply opposed" to the event because it allegedly promoted property in West Bank settlements, which the statement called "illegal under international law." That statement was wrong in three ways.

First, it defies the logic of basic governance. When a crowd targets a house of worship, the mayor's job is not to explain why the crowd has a point. It is to protect the people inside. That duty does not depend on whether the mayor approves of the sermon, the speaker, or the politics of the people attending.

…Second, it violates the Constitution. Government officials speak with public authority. Their words signal enforcement priorities, invite public pressure, and chill protected activity. That is why the First Amendment treats official hostility differently from private opinion.

…Lastly, consider the law Mamdani actually invoked. International law gives the mayor of New York no license to condemn lawful synagogue activity.

Washington Free Beacon: New York Times Scrambles to Defend Pulitzer-Winning Photo of 'Starving' Gazan

The New York Times is scrambling to defend the integrity of its Gaza-based photographer and his work, which won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday, after a press watchdog organization accused him of "staged scenes" that were closely coordinated with the Hamas terrorist organization.

NY Post: Gavin Newsom's California funds radical Islamists at CAIR with taxpayer dollars

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) presents itself as an innocuous Muslim civil rights group. But CAIR finds itself under increasing scrutiny for its past alleged connections to radical Islam, and for its ongoing rhetorical support for Hamas.

…CAIR-CA, the organization's largest statewide affiliate, is flush with taxpayer cash. In the last five years, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has sent at least $41 million in combined state and federal grants to the group, according to the Intelligent Advocacy Network (IAN), a California-based nonprofit.

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