October 16, 2015


JAC members were out and about across the country this week. Here are a few highlights.
   

JAC met with Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Executive Director of the Religious Action Center (RAC).


JAC members met with long-time JAC friend,
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in Chicago.


JAC members continued promoting gun safety in Highland Park this week. Over 80 local businesses have posted "No Gun" signs in their windows.  


JAC member Jill Zipin with former President Bill Clinton in Philadelphia.




 
Talking Points Highland Park
with  
Gidi Grinstein 
October 28
9:30 am 
Glencoe, IL 
________________
 
Detroit Membership Event
with
Senators
Gary Peters (D-MI) and
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) 
in November
Details to come
________________

Want to host a JAC event near you? Plea
se contact the JAC office and we will help coordinate.
_________________

For more information and to RSVP, contact the JAC office at 847-433-5999 or [email protected]

Join us for a special event


JAC will be honored by Personal PAC with the
Irving B. Harris Spirit of Choice Award at this year's
Personal PAC Awards Luncheon.
Please come and sit with JAC.

Registration deadline is October 20th!
RSVP today.

October 26th, 2015
Chicago Hilton Towers
Contact the JAC office to RSVP or for details.
847.433.5999

November 13
Event with
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY)
Chicago
Details to follow

November 16
Event with
Rep. Jared Polis (CO-2)
Chicago
Details to follow
___________________
 
For more information and to RSVP, contact the JAC office at 847-433-5999 or [email protected]
THE SUPREME COURT AND YOUR LIFE

All Supreme Court judges serve for life and consequently their ability to affect change in our country far surpasses that of the Presidents who appoint them.  Seven of the nine justices currently serving were appointed by past Presidents. Four of the nine current Justices are in their late 70s and early 80s. Our next President will likely nominate up to four justices to the Supreme Court to be confirmed by the Senate. ELECTIONS MATTER.

The Supreme Court's decisions impact every aspect of our lives from education, health care, religion, marriage and privacy. Recent cases have even changed the political landscape in our country with court cases involving a presidential election and campaign financing. The Supreme Court hears about 100-150 of the more than 7,000 cases that it is asked to review each year.

Next week, the Supreme Court will decide if it will hear a case on whether a community, such as Highland Park, IL, can legally ban assault weapons. If the Supreme Court rules on this matter, their decision will impact gun safety laws nationwide.
SCOTUS FACTS: Did You Know?
  • George Washington appointed the most Supreme Court justices (11).
  • William H. Taft was the only president to also serve as a Supreme Court justice.
  • Jimmy Carter is the only president to serve a full term without nominating a Supreme Court justice.
  • Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, though they differ in their judicial opinions, are good friends and often go to the opera together.
  • The most recent appointee to the court is in charge of taking notes, answering phones, opening the door, and pouring coffee for his or her colleagues.

source: Constitution Facts.com 

Join with Hillary







Israel & the Middle East
Kerry condemns terror attacks against Israelis 
Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians, saying there was no justification for violence and offering a more full-throated support for the Jewish state than previous U.S. statements. 
Read Full Article  

Secretary John Kerry addresses recent violence in Israel.

Kerry heading to Mideast, looking to convene peace summit 
US Secretary of State John Kerry is reportedly pushing to convene a summit in Jordan with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in a bid to calm violence wracking Israel and the Palestinian territories in recent weeks. 

Fear of a Third Intifada
Though this wave of violence is new, it wasn't unexpected: back in March, almost half of Israelis polled said that the prospects of a third Palestinian intifada were either "pretty high" or "very high," according to statistics from the Israel Democracy Institute. 
Read Full Article

Iran lawmakers vote to implement nuclear deal 
Iran's parliament voted Tuesday to support implementing a landmark nuclear deal struck with world powers despite hard-line attempts to derail the bill, suggesting the historic accord will be carried out.  
 
Samantha Power: Iran violating UN Security Council resolutions
Iran's launch of a new long-range surface-to-air missile last weekend violated existing United Nations Security Council resolutions, the United States' ambassador to the U.N. said Wednesday.  
US Jewish movements come together in support of Israel   
After a year increasingly dominated by bitter internal Jewish disputes over the Iran nuclear agreement, all of the major American Jewish synagogue movements will come together in common cause this weekend to observe what they describe as a "Special Sabbath of Solidarity" with Israel.   
Anti-Semitism & BDS
Ohio lawmakers plan push against BDS
Ohio's new legislation, which reportedly will come up for a vote in the coming weeks, is expected to follow the example set by South Carolina's anti-BDS law, which was passed last June. South Carolina's law blocks the state from collaborating or doing business with organizations and people who support "boycott of a person or entity based in or doing business with a jurisdiction with whom South Carolina can enjoy open trade."
Reproductive Rights
Clinton Seizes Chance To Introduce Abortion Rights In Debate 
With abortion rights barely touched upon nearly two hours into the Democratic debate, front-runner Hillary Clinton brought up the issue unprompted. Pivoting from a question on paid family leave, Hillary blasted Republicans for their attacks on Planned Parenthood.
Read Full Article

The Effort to Defund Planned Parenthood Isn't About Fetal Tissue, by Cecil Richards

Earlier this week, a fifth congressional committee was set up targeting Planned Parenthood - despite a lack of evidence of wrongdoing.The stated goal of these politicians is to defund Planned Parenthood - blocking patients who rely on public health programs from coming to Planned Parenthood health centers for contraception, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infection, and other preventive care. They've been trying to do this for years.
Finally, a Crack Down on Deceptive Anti-Abortion Centers
California on Friday became the only state to target anti-abortion pregnancy centers with a law cracking down on deceptive practices some have used to prevent or dissuade women from having an abortion.
University of Texas Students Prepare New Fight Against Guns - With Dildos
Texans will soon be able to carry concealed firearms into public universities. But some will come out swinging with other weapons: dildos. "It's really telling about our society and the way we glorify violence but then vilify sex and sexuality," Garate said. "How can you be outraged about the idea of people carrying dildos, but not all the people getting gunned down and the violence we see day in and day out? I thought [the protest] was a pretty brilliant move."
Separation of Religion & State
Biggest Presidential Campaign contributors include major anti-choice and fundamentalist donors
Just 158 families have provided nearly half of all the money donated to White House contenders so far. But the two families that have contributed the most to presidential campaigns also give prolifically to anti-choice groups and candidates.
Beyond the Core
Saturday Night Live "Guns" PSA starring Amy Schumer

CA Governor bans concealed guns on campus
A week after a gunman killed nine people at an Oregon college, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Saturday that will ban the carrying of concealed guns on school and university campuses in this state.
Read Full Article

Juliette Moore launches Gun Safety Campaign
Joining forces with Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the U.S., Moore is now launching the Everytown Creative Council, which includes members of the creative community who support gun violence prevention.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article35371278.html#storylink=c
Read Full Article
 
Supreme Court decision on Highland Park's gun law on hold
Gun rights and gun control advocates alike will have to wait a little longer to find out if the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a Highland Park firearms ban. The high court is now expected to decide at the earliest on Monday if it will take the case, which involves a gun owner who sued the North Shore community over its ban on semi-automatic "assault weapons" that carry more than 10 rounds.
Gun Industry Loses Major Court Battle, Ordered to Pay Millions
On Tuesday, a jury ordered gun store Badger Guns to pay $6 million for its role in an illegal gun sale, which ultimately led to two officers getting shot in the face. More importantly, the jury found Badger Guns to have been negligent in making that sale. 
What Alabama Can Learn from California on Voting Rights
Bringing Republicans to the climate change table
The critical thing to understand is that a Republican-compatible strategy to slow the changing climate does exist. 
Political Byte
The House Freedom Caucus, explained
The group is relatively new - it was only founded in January - and it keeps its membership rolls secret. But it's been waging an increasingly open rebellion against Boehner and his leadership team.
Read Full Article

Wanted: House Speaker Willing to Compromise, Poll Says
Even though conservative rebels within the GOP conference want a staunch conservative to replace Speaker John A. Boehner, most Americans say they'd prefer a new House leader who is willing to compromise, a new poll found.
Angry GOP Senate freezes out Obama nominees
Right now, eight ambassadorial nominees are waiting on the Senate floor to be confirmed, and more than 100 other nominations are languishing in committee.
Planet of the Dems
On everything from Planned Parenthood to the Iran deal to family leave to climate change, the differences within the parties are relatively minor, while the differences between the parties are spectacularly major.
FYI
Ben Carson is Wrong on Guns and the Holocaust 
To anyone who studies Nazi Germany and the Holocaust for a living, as I do, Ben Carson's statement about gun control are difficult to fathom.
Read Full Article

Scholars debunk 'Times' article on Temple Mount
[W]hat happens when a marginal, crackpot theory makes its way into a major media outlet, where it has been deployed, consciously or not, for insidious political purposes? This bears repeating: Two temples dedicated to the God of Israel certainly stood on the Temple Mount.
Read Full Article

Image Source:

'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is this generation's 'Meet the Press'
One month into his gig as host of CBS's "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert has shown he's a different kind of late-night personality - and Washington is taking notice.Colbert is taking late-night television by storm by making politics a central part of his show.

Our members count on JACPAC to provide information on current events, candidates, and elections.  JACPAC depends on membership support to make this possible.

 

If you have not renewed your membership, please consider doing so today, to help us pursue a strong US-Israel relationship, reproductive rights, and separation of religion and state.  Together we can make this a better world!

   

Sincerely,

 
Janna Berk, President
Marcia Balonick, Executive Director
Joy Malkus, Research Director 

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Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a national network committed to the special relationship between the US and Israel and a social agenda that includes reproductive rights and separation of religion and state.  JACPAC supported US Senate and House candidates who uphold this agenda and maintains ongoing dialogue with those it helps elect.  In addition, JACPAC serves as a political resource for the Jewish community, furnishing information about candidates, elections and issues.

www.jacpac.org