RJC Statement on the Democratic Primary in MN-5
Washington, DC (August 11, 2020) – The Republican Jewish Coalition released the following statement on the results of the Democratic primary in Minnesota:
The RJC deplores the loss by Antone Melton-Meaux in the Democratic primary in MN-5. While Melton-Meaux is a progressive Democrat and we disagree strongly with him on any number of issues, he would have been a welcome change from Rep. Ilhan Omar and her virulently anti-Israel and anti-Semitic positions.
The national Democrat Party’s lurch to the left in recent years has been extremely troubling, and Omar’s election in 2018 was one example of the seriousness of this trend. Her anti-Israel and anti-Semitic comments and votes would have put her on the far extremes of the Democrat Party of decades past. Her undeserved fame as a member of the “Squad” in Congress gave her poisonous views on Israel and Jews a wide audience.
Even more distressing has been the support, explicit and implicit, that Omar received from leading Democrats who claim to champion Israel’s existence and security. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Omar and actually donated a total of $14,000 from her PAC and her own campaign committee to support Omar’s reelection. The Jewish Democratic Council of America, the purported Jewish voice in the Democrat Party, failed its members and our entire community by abdicating their role and staying silent about this primary, when they were in a position to speak with authority about anti-Semitism in the Democrat Party.
We must praise those few in the Democrat party who did step up to support the alternative to a rabid anti-Semite in Congress. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, who made a significant donation to Melton-Meaux’s campaign is one. The Jewish outreach director for the Biden presidential campaign, Aaron Keyak, is another. That the list is so short is another indictment of the Democrat Party.
The RJC will continue to speak out against anti-Semitism in the political arena and to fight for the best interests of our country – and of the American Jewish community – as proud Republicans. We hope that our counterparts across the aisle will wake up to the damage they are doing by their acquiescence to anti-Semitism in their party.