The tragic farce of modern human rights discourse reached a grotesque milestone. According to the defenders of Palestinian “human rights,” Israel should not be allowed to defend itself—even when civilians are under direct rocket fire from foes eager to destroy the Jewish State.
Francesca Albanese, the UN’s so-called “Special Rapporteur on Palestine,” brazenly declared that Israel, as an “occupying power,” has no right to self-defense. In Albanese’s warped worldview, a Jew in Israel has no right to life.
Albanese claims that Israel cannot defend itself from Hamas, the popular and dominant Palestinian political party and ruling power in Gaza.
This is policy for many. When the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to fund Iron Dome, a purely defensive missile shield that intercepts rockets aimed at Israeli civilians, a coalition of radicals opposed it. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and Marjorie Taylor Greene— antisemitic-bedfellows —voted against the funding.
When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voted for the funding, the backlash from anti-Israel radicals was immediate. Vandals defaced her headquarters. They threatened her life. “How dare she support saving Jewish lives?” was the clear message, sprayed in graffiti.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez office vandalized after voting to fund Israel’s missile defense system
At Rutgers University, Noura Erakat, a Palestinian professor decried Iron Dome, essentially arguing that protecting Israeli civilians is an act of war. The Democratic Socialists of America demanded that Israel be isolated while defending itself in a multifront war. And many echoed the ridiculous claim that it is unjust for Israelis to have bomb shelters when Gazans do not—ignoring that Hamas has built hundreds of kilometers of military tunnels, used exclusively to shield terrorists and smuggle weapons, while civilians are left to die on purpose, to feed propaganda.
The global double standard is grotesque: Israel must accept rocket fire, massacres, and kidnappings—and not respond. Not defend. If it does, it is called an aggressor hell-bent on genocide. No country on Earth is asked to withhold defending its citizens.
The latest iteration of perverse Palestinian “human rights” demands that Jews die quietly, with neither fight nor protest. Palestinian “dignity” demands that Arabs stand atop Jewish graves, personal and physical manifestations mirroring the Islamic mosques sitting atop the Jewish Temples. Just as the world believes Jews should be silent at their holiest site, Jews must die quietly in their holy land.
When “human rights” for a particular group demands the sacrifice of another, basic moral math needs to be applied. When the perversion infects United Nations and U.S. government officials calling to strip and bind Jews in the Middle East, the terrifying equation yields a final solution.
History has a funny way of repeating itself—especially when bad ideas are recycled with new branding. Today, a new crop of political figures like Zohran Mamdani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are trying to sell New York City the same failed product that turned Venezuela from one of Latin America’s wealthiest nations into a humanitarian catastrophe: 21st century socialism.
Under this model, punitive taxes, price controls, and ideological purity take precedence over economic reality. In Venezuela, Hugo Chávez’s promise of wealth redistribution and justice led to runaway inflation, widespread shortages, and the exodus of the country’s professional class. In Cuba, the same story played out decades earlier. Today, both nations are global case studies in how socialism destroys wealth, opportunity, and individual liberty.
Now that same ideology is creeping into American cities, and nowhere is it more potent than in New York. With Mamdani eyeing the mayor’s office, the parallels to California’s decline are alarming. Like Los Angeles and San Francisco, New York is already suffering from the early symptoms of the disease: wealthy residents fleeing the city, a stagnating middle class, and neighborhoods burdened by crime and decay. The situation became so bad in California that the state tried imposing wealth taxes and exit taxes of anyone leaving the state.
Rampant theft due to police not enforcing the law made stores close and leave California cities in San Francisco and Los AngelesLeftward California is losing its population to conservative states of Arizona and Texas according to Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Immigrants—especially those from Latin America—see through the facade. They’ve lived the reality of socialist populism. They know what it looks like when government promises everything and delivers ruin. And it’s no surprise that Mamdani’s support is concentrated among young, white, college-educated progressives. According to polls cited by the socialist Jacobin, he’s significantly behind Andrew Cuomo among Black and Hispanic voters—communities that understand firsthand the cost of broken systems.
If Mamdani’s vision becomes reality, New York may return to the bad old days of the 1970s: crime-ridden streets, garbage-lined sidewalks, fiscal insolvency, and a paralyzed government. But unlike the past, this isn’t just urban mismanagement—it’s ideological. The goal isn’t to fix the system. It’s to remake it in the image of a failed dream.
New York City almost went bankrupt in the 1970s. Crime was rampant. It can happen again.
The antisemitic New York City Democratic Socialists of America endorsed Mamdani. So has Linda Sarsour. Do you think Jews will remain in the city while antisemitism spikes throughout the United States and the mayor is bought by Jew haters?
Jews were 4.5 times more likely to suffer a hate crime than a Black person and 22 times more likely than a Hispanic person in 2023. The antisemitic incidents have risen considerably since then.Anti-Israel and its supporters Linda Sarsour is actively pushing the vote for Mamdani
21st century socialism is not progress. It’s financial and moral regression. And unless voters wake up, New York may once again become the national symbol of urban collapse—this time by choice, not chance.
The Democratic Socialists of America rescinded its endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez for appearing to care about American Jews.
In its July 10, 2024 statement, the DSA focused on three offenses committed by AOC: “a vote in favor of H.Res.888”; cosigning “a press release on April 20, 2024, that “support[s] strengthening the Iron Dome and other defense systems”; and hosting “a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.”
July 10, 2024 statement from the DSA as to the reason it has rescinded its endorsement of AOC
The reasons say much about the vile antisemitic extremism of the DSA.
For starters, H.Res 888 was a bipartisan resolution sponsored by many Jews and non-Jews. It had four key components in addressing Israel’s defensive war against Hamas which committed a brutal massacre of civilians in Israel and has promised to repeat the atrocities again and again. The four statements were that: Israel has a right to exist; denying such right is a form of antisemitism; rejects calls for Israel’s destruction; and condemns Hamas’s attack.
H.Res. 888 had broad Congressional support in defending Israel in its war against the U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization, Hamas
Secondly, Israel’s self-defense is a basic national responsibility and should be embraced by all of its allies. Denying self-defense systems in a region surrounded by radical jihadi regimes and terrorist groups is a call for the destruction of the Jewish State.
Lastly, finding AOC’s discussion of “Antisemitism and the Fight for Democracy” with two progressive Jewish women was not remotely controversial. The panelists and AOC repeatedly said that criticism of the Israeli government’s policies is not antisemitic, as does the IHRA definition of antisemitism. AOC is rightly appalled that too many far left comrades have decided to target Jews and Jewish institutions.
And such defense and association is unacceptable the socialist-jihadi group DSA.
The DSA is not simply targeting Israel for destruction but ostracizing any Zionist or people who associate with Zionists. The group has become an American front for Hamas, minus throwing gays off of rooftops.
The “Squad” of far-left American politicians pulled out all of the antisemitic dog whistles in their fight to defend the unpopular congressman Jamaal Bowman in the New York Democratic primary. In response to his resounding defeat, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez said “I think we need to have a real conversation about AIPAC,” the pro-Israel group supported by many Jews.
In truth, all the alt-left did was talk about AIPAC for the prior months and did so in the most vile and slanderous manner. As such, we must have a conversation about alt-left politicians’ repulsive antisemitism.
The smears were:
AIPAC is a bunch of White supremacist racist MAGA billionaires
AIPAC doesn’t want Black and Brown people to have positions of power
AIPAC supports genocide of Black and Brown people
The people behind AIPAC are operating in the shadows
AIPAC is buying off politicians and congress
AIPAC and backers are seeking to oppress minorities around the world
The Squad is operating to defend working class people from the AIPAC racist money machine
It’s a war of us versus them
This is repulsive and mimics Nazi propaganda against Jews in the 1930s and 1940s. These are carefully organized scripts to inflame a war against Jews in the United States and around the world.
White Supremacists and Racists
Bowman’s posts on X were replete with calling the backers of his opponent George Latimer, himself a progressive, as racists of the worst sort, who try to keep Black people down.
Comments included:
“White supremacists… targeting me, our first Black Representative with racist attacks & dog whistles… don’t want to see people like us in power.” [note that lower Westchester voted for Mondaire Jones, a Black gay progressive in 2020]
“Big-money groups like AIPAC don’t like seeing people like me in power.”
“AIPAC and their MAGA billionaires don’t want to see us in power. They don’t want to see Black and brown working class people rising up.”
“We’re fighting against AIPAC and their Republican billionaires… trying to buy NY-16… our communities are not for sale.”
Billionaires Buying Politicians
Bowman, AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders made the fight about a handful of racist billionaires buying politicians, rather than discuss issues.
Comments included:
“AIPAC and their right-wing billionaires are trying to buy this district like they bought my opponent. They don’t want to see people in power.”
“AIPAC and their Republican billionaires are spending millions to try to buy our district… their money will never defeat the people.”
“My opponent sold out to AIPAC and their right-wing billionaires. They’re spending millions to try to buy our district.”
“He’s [Latimer] so bought out by AIPAC… pawns for special interests.”
“Fight back against AIPAC and right-wing billionaires.”
“AIPAC has already spent $6 million against us. Why? because we stand for peace and justice! MAGA Republicans are trying to buy NY-16… we decide the future of our district, not them.”
“Defeat MAGA billionaires trying to buy NY-16”
AOC wrote “Big money, from AIPAC to Wall Street have poured millions to buy this election.”
Bernie Sanders wrote “tell billionaires and their corporate PACs that no, they cannot buy our democracy.”
UAW wrote “The billionairess are coming for Jamaal Bowman because he stands up for the working class… they think they can buy off Congress.”
AIPAC Supports Genocide
Bowman and friends made clear that these wealthy racists are genocidal, coming for Black and Brown people in the U.S. and Israel.
Comments included:
“AIPAC’s attack campaign against us is breaking spending records every week… Our movement is scaring their pro-genocide, pro-Netanyahu, racist MAGA donors.”
“The Israeli government is committing a genocide and OUR taxpayer money is funding it. Why do we have billions to send to mass murder”
“This election is a working class educator… against a multimillionaire handpicked by MAGA to support genocide.”
“We won’t let AIPAC stop us from fighting for peace and justice.”
“Our struggles are all connected. The same evils harming our communities here are harming communities across the world.”
Comrade Rashida Tlaib shared “Palestinian liberation and Black liberation are interconnected. From Detroit to Cleveland to Gaza.”
AIPAC Is Coming After Black And Brown Communities
Bowman framed the primary race of two progressives, one Black who is extremist and anti-Israel, and the other White and pro-Israel, as an existential battle between peace-loving working class minorities against evil nefarious forces. It’s appalling and ridiculous as Latimer has decades of strong relationships and dozens of endorsements from Black and Brown politicians, and AIPAC is focused on Israel, not local race relations.
Comments included:
“AIPAC, a right-wing lobby… don’t care about us or our communities.”
“Big money doesn’t belong in our communities Reject AIPAC”
“Black and Brown communities have been left behind for too long. We don’t need more career politicians who only cater to their billionaire friends.”
Bowman retweeted “Thanks to funding from right-wing billionaires, AIPAC is targeting progressives of color”
The Working Families Party shared the article “No One Should Be Surprised a Black Politician Is the Canary in AIPAC’s Coal Mine”
Bowman added “The people are rising up against AIPAC and their republican billionaires. We won’t let them buy our communities in NY-16 or anywhere!”
Hiding In The Shadows
AOC made clear that these racist billionaires keeping minorities down are being funded by “dark money.”
Bowman retweeted AOC comments including:
“Dark money has spent the largest sum in history to unseat Jamaal Bowman… these lobbies don’t care about the Bronx and Westchester.”
“we rallied 1200 people in the Bronx to take on dark money”
“It’s time to fight back against AIPAC and their megadonors.”
The Alt-Left Against AIPAC
The far-left wing demonized a pro-Israel group as the epitome of evil: racist White supremacists who support genocide against minorities in the U.S. and Israel and who don’t care about anyone. They are agents who do not belong in the district or to have a voice in American politics.
Rep. Cori Bush said that these pro-Israel people “meddle in our Democratic elections,” meaning that they do not belong.
As such, they all ran under a banner of RejectAIPAC; to rally against a bipartisan organization that supports the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. To demonize the only Jewish state. To call anyone involved in pro-Israel activities pro-genocidal maniacs who should be cast from society. To strip the beleaguered Jewish State of all defenses.
No lobbying group is tarnished in such fashion by politicians. We don’t call Americans who are involved with the National Rifle Association or Planned Parenthood as “genocide supporters.” Elected officials do not slam teacher’s unions as “dark money” that “meddle” in the political process.
But the far-left has called open season on Jews loudly and repeatedly. It’s us versus them.
And it’s a completely manufactured lie. A vicious antisemitic campaign attempting to vilify Jews and push them from the public square.
We need to have a conversation about the vile antisemitism that is rife at woke colleges and among far-left politicians.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman has long ignored the Jewish residents in his district and vilified the Jewish State. As the Democratic primary neared on June 25, he opted to raise the temperature on a hot day, riling up a crowd in the South Bronx to go to war with Westchester County, and for the Black and Brown communities to go to war with the Jews.
Bowman went to a park in the Bronx and started cursing and slamming chairs on stage. Calling himself the “hip hop congressman,” he got the crowd to chant about the south Bronx. He then said “We are gonna show f*cking AIPAC the power of the mother-f*cking South Bronx.”
He continued “People ax me why I’ve got a foul mouth. What am I supposed to do? You comin’ after me! You comin’ after my family. You comin’ after my children. I’m not supposed to fight back? I’m not supposed to fight back? We gonna show them who the f*ck we are!” He then started to jump up and down and throw his arms around in circles.
“We gonna show them who the f*ck we are! Bowman! Bowman!“
And it’s all a lying and dangerous circus. No one ever said anything about Bowman’s family and children. It was Bowman who repeatedly over many years came after Jews and the Jewish State, yet he inverted the entire cause-and-effect of the primary battle.
The unhinged rant from the deeply unpopular congressman continued his embarrassing and appalling tenure in congress. Despite being the incumbent, his challenger, Westchester County Executive George Latimer received almost all of the endorsements of the Democratic Party, including from:
Hillary Clinton (former Secretary of State and Senator from New York)
Mondaire Jones (former Congressman for lower Westchester County 2021-2)
Nita Lowy (former Congresswoman for lower Westchester County)
Eliot Engel (former Congressman for the Bronx)
David Paterson (former Governor of New Jersey)
and a very long list of state and county legislators
The sick rantings of Bowman are even starting to bring current members of Congress to endorse George Latimer, including Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ). More may follow as we enter election day on June 25.
But Bowman wasn’t alone in his antics.
Alexandria “Big Money” Ocasio-Cortez joined Bowman’s rants with her own fist pumping as she yelled “I am ready to fight!”
She asked the crowd “Are we ready to take on AIPAC? Are we ready to kick some Wall Street ass?! Good!“
Not satisfied with slamming a bipartisan group which backs many Black and Latin progressives, AOC went on to continue to lie about Latimer. “He [Bowman] is being primaried by racism. He is being primaried by greed. He is being primaried by corruption of our politics. And we cannot let them win.”
The statement is beyond preposterous. Latimer is a long-time civil servant who works closely with people of all races and religions. Many Black and gay leaders in Westchester have decades of experience working with him and have endorsed him.
AOC added “The Bronx is built different. We are built different…. There’s a reason this borough [the Bronx] sent Jamaal Bowman to congress.”
But it didn’t. With redistricting, NY’s 16th district consists of 87% lower Westchester County and 13% of the Bronx. Bowman won in 2020 with very different lines that had much more of the Bronx.
AOC’s and Bowman’s claims that Latimer is being funded by outside money is another inversion of facts. The vast majority of Latimer money is coming from inside district 16 while only 10% of Bowman’s contributions are local.
The alt-left is angry that it cannot do a quick massive redistribution of wealth and power from the Westchester towns which are predominantly White with a significant Jewish population, to the predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods in the Bronx. So they are inciting riots.
Jamaal Bowman and AOC have declared a war between the South Bronx and Westchester, as well as between the Black/Brown Majority-Minorities and the beleaguered Jewish Minority-Minority. How is this progressive? Why are these alt-left extremists in office?
A raucous crowd of Jew-haters descended on Wall Street in New York City to protest an exhibit about the slaughter of people at the Nova Dance Festival in Israel on October 7, 2023. Some politicians were quick to condemn the vile and vocal antisemitism.
Not so, for members of the alt-left “squad.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17) had previously attended the exhibit which showed evidence of peaceful music lovers being brutally slaughtered by Palestinian Arab terrorists. At 8:43PM on June 10, the evening of the NYC antisemitic riot, Lawler wrote on X that he was appalled that Jewish Americans were trapped inside the exhibit while an antisemitic mob screamed outside.
A short while later at 10:35PM, Rep. Ritchie Torres (NY-15), joined Lawler in condemning the heinous antisemites who revealed themselves to be “barbaric.”
It took until the following afternoon, on June 11 at 2:41PM, for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) to condemn the antisemitic rioters.
Only after seeing fellow “squad” member AOC condemn the disgusting antisemitism, did Rep. Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), decide to post something about the vile protestors, at 3:27PM.
Both AOC and Bowman pretended that the “protestors” were really about “peace” and “human dignity” even though the rioters called for another murderous “intifada” and to repeat the atrocities of October 7.
Jihadists in New York City on June 10 with a banner “long live October 7th”
New York City and its suburbs have the greatest number of Jews outside of Israel, in the Jewish diaspora. There are members of Congress in New York who take leadership roles in defending their Jewish constituents, like Reps. Lawler and Torres, and those who protect their attackers, like Reps. AOC and Bowman. The latter practice a jihadi-socialist game called “condemn antisemitism while protecting antisemites,” a dog-whistle to go for the Jews more discreetly.
Members of the far-left “squad” in congress like to portray themselves as for the working people in a grassroots movement fighting against the rich and corporations.
The data of where some of them rake in the money tells a different story.
According to collection records assembled by the non-partisan group OpenSecrets, only two members of the squad did not take most of their contributions from large donors, Ilhan Omar (42.2% from large donors) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (25.6% from large donors). All of the rest went for the big donor checks.
Summer Lee took in the vast majority of her fundraising – a whopping 71.5% – from large contributions. Rashida Tlaib was just behind her at 69.2% and Jamaal Bowman at 64.4%.
It is interesting to look at the overall fundraising for the candidates as well. AOC continues to be the major fundraiser as she’s been for years. However, this year, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are close behind, likely because of Democrats funding the two Muslim members of congress who are upset about the destruction in Gaza (rather than disgust for Hamas). Cori Bush and Ayanna Pressley have barely been able to raise any money.
Taking the two charts together points to a frightening realization about Summer Lee and Jamaal Bowman: they’ve raised a small amount of money and it’s mostly coming from major donors. They are essentially “owned” by a few big contributors. For Bowman it’s worse, as most of the contributors are from out of his district.
As the left-wing extremists launch a “Protect the Squad” campaign with appeals for money, keep in mind that Summer Lee and Jamaal Bowman are the embodiment of unpopular, big money politicians who pretend to have the backs and backing of their constituents.
For a detailed review of New York’s Democrat and Republican spending in the 2022 congressional races, click here.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is not just a favorite of the alt-left; she is the cash register.
In the 2022 election cycle, AOC raised and spent way more than any other candidate running for congress from New York State, a whopping $9.9 million. As the incumbent, she had no primary challenger and easily defeated her Republican challenger in a deeply blue district.
So AOC spends her time and resources to back other far left-wing colleagues in other districts to further empower her and spread her radical policies in districts which do have such values.
She has started in NY District 16, where fellow extremist Jamaal Bowman has a tenuous seat in lower Westchester County, having been bumped out of the Bronx in redistricting last year. She has started with tweets this week to raise money for the unpopular Bowman.
The ad is a long string of lies and misdirection.
AIPAC. Why start an ad against a bipartisan pro-Israel group? Because the essence of what AOC and Bowman represent is hyper-partisan anti-Israel legislation.
Establishment executive. Bowman is the multi-term incumbent! He’s the powerful member of congress whom AOC is trying to reframe as the underdog fighting the “establishment.” It’s code for a race war, where the “establishment executive” is a White man trying to take on a Black man.
Brother in The Bronx. District 16 is 97% comprised of lower Westchester. There is only a small nub of the district in the Bronx. Both AOC and Bowman are wildly out-of-touch with the values of lower Westchester County.
Funneling dark money. It is AOC who is the big megaphone and cash register coming from outside District 16, not AIPAC. AIPAC has many enthusiastic backers in the district.
Target… working class candidates of color. AOC has gone full race war. She accuses the pro-Israel organization of being racist when they are nothing of the sort. AIPAC and its sister group, Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI) are anti-Bowman because he stands against Israel not because of his race. Both groups support Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY15) in the neighboring district who is Black, Hispanic and gay. They supported Mondaire Jones who used to represent NY16, who is also Black and gay. They did so because of their pro-Israel records. Vilifying them as racist is not just slander but highlights AOC’s racism against a White person having the temerity to challenge a powerful Black incumbent.
Misleading attack ads. Bowman has a long history of terrible policies, votes and actions in office, all public. Airing his record is a public service (short recap below) and not at all misleading.
Undermine democracy. AOC is using her big name, reach and bags of money to back a candidate in a different district to undermine the will of the people in the district. Who is undermining democracy?
Contribute $5. This is a way of making the movement seem like a working-class, grass roots initiative when it is nothing of the sort. AOC is the money king, deceiving people as she buys another seat in congress to cement her power.
The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission is chaired by Ken Jenkins, a Democrat who lives in NY16. He has been given the green light by the courts to redraw district lines and may do so to put Bowman back in the Bronx where his voice is more in tune with the local choir, and out of lower Westchester which despises his policies.
The essence of AOC and Jamaal Bowman is hyper-partisan, left-wing anti-Israel policies, and they are embarking on a vicious race war to tear down a peaceful multi-ethnic community to maintain their grips on power and money.
A short recap of why Bowman is out of touch with Westchester voters:
Supports “Defund the police”
Supports “Abolishing ICE”
Supports Critical Race Theory in schools
Supports a broad redistribution of wealth, including payments to Black people for historic slavery
Supports packing the Supreme Court
Supports abandoning the electoral college
Lies to constituents about backing the Infrastructure bill
Lies to constituents about mainly taking small donations
Lies to constituents that he brings money into the district when almost all of it went to New York City
Hypocrite attacking fellow Democrats for not backing Infrastructure bill and then he voted against it
Anti-charter schools
Anti-capitalism
Called for taxing unrealized capital gains
Anti- Abraham Accords extending peace in the Middle East
Boycotted liberal Israeli president speech to Congress
Penned resolution to call founding of Israel a “catastrophe”
Blamed USA for the problems in Central America
Strange coziness with the government of China
Backed by extremist alt-left and anti-Israel groups
One of the least partisan members of congress
Contempt for moderate voters
Perpetual race baiter
ACTION ITEM
Email Ken Jenkins at kjenkins@westchestercountyny.gov or call (914) 995-2909 “NY16 does not want Jamaal Bowman as its congressman. Riverdale didn’t want him two years ago either. Do not protect him in redistricting.”
New York State’s 16th Congressional District is made up of lower Westchester County and a small nub of the Bronx
On September 23, 2022, six liberal members of Congress wrote a letter to Yeshiva University denouncing its decision to not officially recognize a LGBTQ+ club. The letter is full of inaccuracies and fuels anti-religious hatred at a time that anti-Semitic crimes are already at record highs.
Penned by outgoing Congressman Mondaire Jones, and cosigned by Representatives Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), it contends that Yeshiva University prohibited the formation of a Pride Alliance Club which is completely false. The club already exists. YU just did not give it official recognition as it runs counter to the school’s religious mission.
I could not disagree more with your letter to Yeshiva University, both in tone and summary of your impressions on the matter.
1. The school does not discriminate against any student, counter to your claims. There is no team, club, class, event or any activity that is available to some students and not others. It is a disgraceful slur to state that the school does not treat some of its students “as full human beings.”
2. There is already a Pride Alliance at the school. There is membership and events that have been going on for years. The school took no actions to ban the group.
3. The existing group asked for official recognition by the school, which the school declined to do – as it does for all groups that run counter to its beliefs as a religious institution. That is not selective discrimination against the LGBT community. It would have rejected a Cheeseburger Club as well. It is outrageous for a member of Congress to suggest, let alone dictate, how and what a religious institution can approve and sanction.
4. The courts sided with the Pride Alliance solely because it does not believe that YU is a religious institution and thinks it a secular one. The fact is that YU is non-binary, being both religious and secular, a situation that does not fall neatly into the legal charter boxes. It is a position that members of the LGBTQ+ community should understand.
5. This case has nothing to do with discrimination but the government’s refusal to recognize the religious character of a leading Jewish modern Orthodox institution. Your letter feeds a false narrative targeting religious Jews as discriminating against LGBT students and fuels anti-Semitic sentiment which is already at terrible levels. In fact, it is the government that has refused to recognize the university’s non-binary status, and now you are attempting to dictate how a religious institution should operate.
Over the past weeks, we have followed the Supreme Court’s rulings affecting LGBTQ+ students at Yeshiva University who wish to form a peer support club, the YU Pride Alliance. Many of these students are our constituents.
We write to express our support for these students and for the rights of all LGBTQ+ students to equal treatment in New York State’s educational institutions. We urge the University to do everything possible to care for its LGBTQ+ students as full human beings in the campus community, including to recognize their student group.
We understand the LGBTQ+ students at Yeshiva University seek to form a student group that provides a safe space for discussion and connection. Research confirms that LGBTQ+ students face discrimination, isolation, higher rates of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and other challenges as they navigate their college years. Gay-straight alliances and student-led clubs that provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students to support each other and discuss issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity are critical to student health and success. Other proudly religious universities in New York have navigated this terrain, recognizing LGBTQ+ student groups as a critical resource for their students; it is time for Yeshiva University to do the same.
We are disappointed with the University’s recent decision to suspend all student groups in order to avoid recognizing the YU Pride Alliance. This move pits students against each other and risks further isolating LGBTQ+ students at Yeshiva University. We also believe this action to be in tension with your recent statement that Yeshiva University’s “commitment and love for [its] LGBTQ students are unshakeable.”
As members of Congress representing New York, we believe that the equal treatment of LGBTQ+ students and the provision of safe spaces for their well-being are consistent with established federal public policy. We know our concerns for the well-being of LGBTQ+ students at Yeshiva University are shared by many who care deeply about the institution—Jewish clergy, University faculty, alumni, current students, and local elected officials.
We encourage the University to extend its hand to its LGBTQ+ students, and their allies, who have bravely come forward telling you what they need to flourish as students and community members at Yeshiva University.
J Street markets itself as “the political home of pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans” in an effort to make someone believe that its primary goal is supporting Israel. The group dismissed criticisms when it advocated against the desires of the Israeli government in supporting the Iran nuclear deal and condemning Jews living in the “West Bank” as simply opposing particular Israeli policies. It really didn’t have a response when it effectively lobbied the Obama administration to allow the anti-Israel United Nations Security Resolution 2334 to pass.
As the “pro-Israel” veneer washed away long ago, it has freed the group to become unabashedly pro-Progressive, pouring money AGAINST pro-Israel candidates in favor of extreme leftists.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX28) has proven many times that he understands Israel and supports the democratic Jewish State. On February 1, 2022, he tweeted in response to the false libels of the Amnesty report on Israel “Israel is not an apartheid state. Full stop. These inaccuracies incite antisemitic behavior against the Jewish people. Lies that incite violence, but do nothing to help the Palestinian people. Let’s work together, not tear each other down.“
In December 2021, he co-authored a letter to Secretary of State Blinken to take a tough stand against Iran as it continued to pursue nuclear weapons. In sharing the letter, Cuellar said “We cannot let an aggressive actor threaten Israel—our strongest ally in the Middle East.“
It is therefore not a surprise that Cuellar has received endorsements from many pro-Israel organizations like Pro-Israel America.
For progressive groups who do not care about Israel or are actively hostile to Israel, the primary lens is simply that he is too moderate.
Justice Democrats, the far-left group behind Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) poured money into the campaign of his primary challenger, Jessica Cisneros. She’s received endorsements from far left politicians including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and AOC. The Sunshine Group – which gained infamy for its DC Chapter boycotting the presence of Zionist groups advocating for voting rights – also backs her.
Rep. AOC stumping for far left wing candidate Jessica Cisneros in Texas to unseat moderate Democrat Henry Cuellar
Other far left-wing groups actively hostile to Israel also back Cisneros. The list includes Move On and The Working Families Party, which pushed politicians to boycott the pro-Israel AIPAC conference. Daily Kos, a left wing media outlet which equated the Palestinian political-terrorist group HAMAS which calls for killing Israelis and the destruction of Israel, and Israel’s Likud as “Two despicable organizations,” also supports Cisneros.
Joining the list of alt-left wing groups – many anti-Israel – in endorsing Cisneros is J Street PAC. J Street is spending $100,000 in digital ads to help Cisneros defeat Cuellar in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2022. To put that sum in context, J Street spent $272,000 nationally in getting Joe Biden elected president in 2020.
Consider that Cisneros hasn’t said a single word about Israel. Her “Issues” list doesn’t mention Israel or the Middle East.
Yet J Street, which markets itself as primarily concerned with Israel is putting a huge amount of money behind someone who has no opinions on Israel, and against a moderate Democratic politician who staunchly supports the Jewish State.
J Street is a progressive PAC first and foremost, which thinks nothing of standing alongside left wing groups that despise Israel. In backing Cisneros in Texas, it is proving again that the organization has nothing to do with being pro-Israel.
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