July 15, 2016
Nice Truck Attack
Following this week's horrifying extremist attack on revelers in France, read what world leaders had to say.

"On behalf of the American people, I condemn in the strongest terms what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians.... We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack."
President Barack Obama

"Every American stands in strong solidarity with the people of France, and we say with one voice: we will not be intimidated. We will never allow terrorists to undermine the egalitarian and democratic values that underpin our very way of life."
Hillary Clinton

Reaction from World Leaders




A Reception with
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
in support of
Russ Feingold for U.S. Senate
(D-WI)
July 20
Chicago
Click for details
_________________________

Will you be in Philadelphia on July 25th?
_________________________ 

For more information and to RSVP, contact the JAC office at 847.433.5999 or [email protected]


Featuring Guest Speaker 
Humorist 
Andy Borowitz


 
MEET MIKE PENCE
 


Trump & Pence: A Disaster for Choice
   
Donald Trump once said women should be punished for having an abortion. He found the man who is the leader of a state that literally criminalized a woman for having an abortion, led the national fight to shut down the government over Planned Parenthood funding, and who has said he "longs for the day that Roe v. Wade is sent to the ash heap of history." 

Combined with Donald Trump's proposal to criminalize a woman who has an abortion and his threat to appoint Supreme Court justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade, a Trump-Pence ticket could spell out a scary reality for American women and our families.

Here are some all-time lows of Pence's anti-choice record:
  • Repeatedly cosponsored legislation to make abortion illegal nationwide in almost all cases, and ban common forms of birth control, stem-cell research, and invitro fertilization.
  • Repeatedly voted for the 'Federal Abortion Ban,' a law that criminalizes some abortion services, with no exception to protect a woman's health, and carries up to a 2-year prison sentence for doctors.
  • Led multiple drives to defund Planned Parenthood
  • Repeatedly voted for the 'Unborn Victims of Violence Act,' a bill intended to give separate legal status to an embryo or fetus ('Personhood').
  • Repeatedly voted for impossibly complex national parental-notification mandates.
  • Voted to deny abortion coverage in the health insurance exchanges nationwide.
  • As governor, repeatedly signed into law TRAP measures subjecting abortion providers with burdensome restrictions not applied to other medical professionals.
  • As governor, signed into law a bill prohibiting abortion coverage in the entire state's private insurance market.

Trump and Pence: the wrong Choice for women and women's reproductive rights.

 

Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America 

Hillary Clinton: A Supporter of Women
   
"I am a proud lifelong fighter for women's issues, because I firmly believe what's good for women is good for America. ..." 

Hillary will: 
  • Unequivocally support Roe w Wade
  • End abortion restrictions such as Hyde Amendment
  • Champion access to emergency contraception
  • Strengthen a woman's right to make her own health decisions
  • Defend Planned Parenthood, which provides critical health services including breast exams and cancer screenings to 2.7 million women a year
  • Ensure equal pay for women
  • Fight for paid family leave and affordable child care
Click here for Hillary's record on supporting women


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Israel & the Middle East
Egyptian Foreign Minister Meets Netanyahu in Israel Visit 
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, the first such visit in nearly a decade.

Netanyahu: Arab Countries View Israel as Ally, Not Enemy 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says rise of radical Islam has brought Israel closer to Arab states in region. "Advancement of relations with the Arab world could help to promote a sober and stable peace between us and the Palestinians," he said.
New British PM Seen as Supporter of Israel 
Home Secretary Theresa May, set to succeed David Cameron as Britain's prime minister this week, is widely regarded as a good friend of the Jewish community, and of Israel.
 
U.S. Support of Israel Helps Both Countries 
Despite what some might wish us to believe, the United States does not provide aid to Israel out of charity. Rather, it is a strategic investment, closely tied to US interests in the region: safeguarding the only reliable ally that the US has in that corner of the world; stabilizing the Arab-Israeli conflict and deterring Israel's neighbors from resorting to war; and much more.
'Hezbollah Hasn't Been Stopped' 
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Dannon presented evidence of Hezbollah re-arming and fortifying positions in civilian centers in Lebanon to the U.N. Security Council, ten years after U.N. Resolution 1701 ended the second Lebanon War.
Anti-Semitism & BDS
Facebook Sued for Providing Place for Incitement & Violence 
Israeli and American families of victims of Palestinian attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Facebook, claiming the social network is providing a platform for militants to spread incitement and violence.
Reproductive Rights
House GOP to D.C. Residents: No Protection for You 
Republicans led the U.S. House of Representatives in a vote to repeal a District of Columbia law that protects employees from retaliation over their reproductive health-care choices. The amendment's author said the repeal would protect employers' religious liberty.

House Passes Religious Refusal Bill 
The House voted this week 245-182 to approve a bill to strengthen federal protections for health care providers who will not provide abortion care based on religious objections.
A Year After the Smears, Planned Parenthood Is Even Stronger
Exactly one year ago, the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress released the first in a series of secretly recorded videos purporting to show that Planned Parenthood sold fetal body parts after abortions. Today, following witch-hunts, Congressional hearings, and confirmation that the videos were false, the organization is more popular than ever.
 
Abortion Politics in the Age of Zika  
It is never the time to play politics with women's health or their rights. As things stand now, Congress refuses to help women avoid pregnancy, while some states are hell-bent on burdening access to abortion for women whose pregnancies are unwanted. In the coming months, more and more Zika-infected women will become pregnant and many will have fewer options than others, depending on where they live.
Read Full Article

Introducing Spot On   
If there's one thing Planned Parenthood knows, it's periods and birth control. But it's not enough for them to be experts on this stuff. Everyone who has a period should feel empowered to understand their body too -- so they created the new Spot-On app to help you do just that.
Separation of Religion & State
Republican Platform Takes "Traditionalist" (Theological) Bent 
The platform demands that lawmakers use religion as a guide when legislating, stipulating "that man-made law must be consistent with God-given, natural rights." It also encourages the teaching of the Bible in public schools because, the amendment said, a good understanding of its contents is "indispensable for the development of an educated citizenry."

Gingrich: We Should 'Test' Every U.S. Muslim 
"Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be," the former House speaker said. "Western civilization is in a war. We should frankly test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported. Sharia is incompatible with western civilization." The proposal would likely violate Constitutional protections of the free exercise of religion and of due process.   
Read Full Article

Religious Groups: Bill Is 'Gov't Sanctioned Discrimination'  
Some 22 liberal groups, most of them Jewish, condemned a bill that would protect individuals and nonprofits that oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds from government sanction. The First Amendment Defense Act would prevent any federal agency from denying a tax exemption, grant, contract, license or certification to an individual, association or business based on their belief that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.
Beyond the Core
Powerless in the Face of White Supremacy and a Gun
While out shopping in Georgia at my favorite bookstore a white man in camouflage entered the store openly carrying a gun on his hip. In my home state, we recently allowed licensed individuals to bring their guns into bars, churches, and college campuses, all for the sake of "safety." Yet, in this moment, at the bookstore, I realized that such gun control laws only ensure certain people feel safe, while others who do not wish to own a gun are left feeling powerless. 

House GOP to Punt on Gun Bill
Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his GOP leadership team have decided to punt on any gun-related legislation until after the long summer recess. The latest shootings across the country led Republican leaders to believe that debating and voting on contentious gun control bills now would only inflame an already violent situation.

President Obama Holds Town Hall on Violence
Left with few options as police tensions spiral, President Barack Obama is leading a national soul-searching on race that he once said would be unproductive for him to lead. A reluctant mediator between blacks and the police, Obama shelved most of his schedule this week to try to quell the uproar and fear triggered by deadly confrontations that have laid bare a deep rupture in American society.
Read Full Article

New Bill Would Transform, Streamline Voter Registration 
Senior congressional lawmakers introduced the Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2016, a transformative bill that would add up to 50 million new voters by automatically registering eligible citizens to vote. The initiative, led by Rep. Robert Brady (D-PA) with Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT),  Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), would also cut costs and improve the accuracy and security of America's voter rolls.
Read Full Article
Political Byte
David Duke Plans to Run for Congress 
The former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and ex-candidate for Louisiana governor said he is heavily leaning towards challenging Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise is the No. 3 Republican in the House who reportedly once called himself "David Duke without the baggage." 

The (GOP) Party's Over 
Thomas Friedman has argued for a while now that there is only one thing worse than one-party autocracy, and that is one-party democracy. At least a one-party autocracy can order things to get done. A one-party democracy can't do anything big, hard, or important. 

When to Freak Out over Polls, by Nate Silver 
People have learned to trust the polling average more than individual polls - and that's a good lesson. However, they sometimes take this a step too far, forgetting that the average is composed of individual polls. The average isn't an excuse to ignore data you don't like.
Read Full Article

GOP Convention Will be Short on Jews, Long on Mystery  
They're elusive, but show up in the right place at the right time - and you might find one! No, we're not talking about the latest iteration of Pok�mon Go. This is about tracking prominent Jewish GOPers and Jewish organizational representatives attending the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland.

Cleveland Officials Say Protesters May Carry Guns  
Cleveland officials said they will uphold the right of protesters at the Republican National Convention to carry firearms even as they expressed opposition to the state's open carry laws. But no water pistols, toy guns, knives, aerosol cans, rope, or tennis balls are allowed. 
#ImWithHer
Hillary Clinton: Our Children Are Watching This Election
Hillary Clinton: Our Children Are Watching This Election

Understanding Hillary - the Interview
Why is the Hillary Clinton described to me by her staff, her colleagues, and even her foes so different from the one I see on the campaign trail?  

Clinton Calls Trump a 'Threat' to Democracy  
Clinton delivered a largely somber speech on respecting racial and ethnic differences amid escalating gun violence in accusing the GOP candidate of turning the Party of Lincoln into the "Party of Trump."
Trump Watch
Justice Ginsburg and Donald Trump
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told NPR's Nina Totenberg that earlier comments she made about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump were "incautious."  

For Whites Sensing Decline, Trump Speaks Their Language 
In countless collisions of color and creed, Donald J. Trump's name evokes an easily understood message of racial hostility. Defying modern conventions of political civility and language, Mr. Trump has breached the boundaries that have long constrained Americans' public discussion of race. 
Read Full Article

How Trump Has Veered to the Right Of Netanyahu on Israel  
Under Candidate Trump, the Republican Party seems unmoored. With the apparent acquiescence of the presumed nominee, the GOP flat-out rejected endorsement of a two-state solution, which has been the official policy of U.S. administrations under both parties for decades and has been supported, at least rhetorically, by Netanyahu himself.
FYI
Holocaust Museum, Auschwitz: No Pok�mon Go
Officials at the Holocaust Museum and Poland's Auschwitz Memorial are calling on Pok�mon Go maker Niantic to take their sites off the locations where players can hunt cartoon creatures in the popular augmented reality app, saying it dishonors Holocaust victims.

Pew Report: How Politics Correspond with Religion 
A new report from the Pew Research Center shows how Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are doing among religious and non-religious voters.

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,

 
Marcia Balonick, Executive Director
Joy Malkus, Research Director

Dana Gordon, Membership & Outreach

Hollis Wein, Communications Director 

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Joint Action Committee for Political Affairs (JACPAC) is a pro-Israel PAC with a domestic agenda. We support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship and advocate for reproductive health and the separation of religion and state and incorporate other issues of importance to the Jewish community, including gun violence prevention and climate change. In addition to providing financial support for U.S. Senate and House campaigns, JACPAC educates our membership with outreach events designed to inform and activate their participation in the political process.
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