In this blog posting:
- Support pro-Israel candidates
- CAMERA on the New York Times
- Action Alert: Encourage our representatives and senators to support holocaust education
- King Bibi – Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival
1. Support pro-Israel Candidates for President and Congress
The President of the United States has almost exclusive reign over US foreign policy, including related to the Palestinian conflict with Israel. At the same time Congress has a significant influence through statutes and resolutions, providing or withdrawing popular and financial support for/vetting of foreign adventures (whether diplomatic or military); authorization of tariffs, sanctions, and boycotts; appropriation of funding for diplomatic and foreign aid initiatives; approval of treaties; and related activities.
This is why we strongly urge our members to be involved in the political process – through volunteering and contributing to campaigns. Further, we recommend you send your contributions through pro-Israel Federal Election Commission (FEC)-registered organizations. Doing so helps to strengthen the message that being pro-Israel is important.
Here are a couple of Pro-Israel FEC-registered organizations we suggest:
The Washington PAC, (http://washingtonpac.com/) is a political action committee that has been an effective pro-Israel PAC for over 30 years. They contribute to pro-Israel senators who are up for re-election, and to key House leaders of the foreign relations, intelligence, and armed services committees.
Contribute smaller amounts and to specific candidates through Pro-Israel America. Membership is free, and you can choose which of their endorsed candidates you’d like to support. Consider contributing through their website. More information is available here. To see how Pro-Israel America works watch their 1 minute video:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XNFisuMsYk&feature=youtu.be)
2. CAMERA on the New York Times
SFMEW advocates that our members monitor and respond to the media, as well as proactively write op-eds and letters setting forth the facts and case for Israel. We need to watch and respond to anti-Israel rhetoric used by reporters, editorialists, and community letter writers. You receive our “Action Alerts” when something needs response. We model this approach after CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting, which has been monitoring US (and international, including Israeli) media for decades.
Many of us grew up reading the New York Times. We trusted what we read and believed the world was as depicted. As we know, though, the NYT has a negative Israel viewpoint. CAMERA has been pointing out the NYT’s significant errors in commission and omission regarding its depiction of Israel and the Palestinian conflict. Now CAMERA has produced an explanatory video demonstrating the bias that the NYT’s own public editor reported in 2014. Take 4 minutes to watch.
3. Holocaust education
Last year SFMEW and Jewish Federation of New Mexico leaders met with NM Representative and Speaker of the House Brian Egolf, encouraging the state legislature to mandate Holocaust education in the public schools.
Most Holocaust survivors and death camp liberators are now deceased; all are elderly. Most can only testify to the egregious nature of the international crimes of the Holocaust through video recordings like the Spielberg archives. Yet we cannot let the lessons of the Holocaust be forgotten. The ADL has been producing excellent Holocaust Education Materials for years.
Now the US House and Senate are taking up the issue through the “NEVER AGAIN (HOLOCAUST) EDUCATION ACT OF 2019,” S. 2085/H.R. 943. You can see the text of the House bill here; the Senate bill here.
This Act would:
- establish a fund at the U.S. Department of Education to help teachers develop and improve Holocaust education programs.
- authorize $2 million in federal appropriations for this project for each of the next five years and encourages the acceptance of donations in a classic public-private partnership.
- provide funding directly to teachers to develop individualized programs that best suit their students.
- cover expenses such as training for educators, textbooks, transportation and housing for teachers to attend seminars, transportation for survivors to be brought to a school, and field trips. It also
- create a Holocaust education website as a central hub of resources and best practices for teachers interested in Holocaust education.
The Never Again Education Act was introduced earlier in the year in the House H.R. 943, and now has 240 co-sponsors . It was introduced in the Senate last month (S. 2085). To date only one of New Mexico’s Members of Congress (MOCs), Representative Deb Haaland from the Albuquerque area, has co-sponsored this legislation.
Take Action: We need to ask our other 4 MOCs to co-sponsor as well. Please take a quick moment to email our House members Ben Ray Lujan and Xochitl Torres-Small, and Senate members Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall, and ask them to co-sponsor the legislation (H.R. 943 and S. 2085 respectively). Their contact information can be found here. Also please send a note to Deb Haaland thanking her for co-sponsoring the legislation.
4. King Bibi – Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival 
Don’t miss the next Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival offering, “King Bibi,” at the Screen, Wednesday, August 28, 7:30 pm.
Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister. From time-to-time we hear in Santa Fe from friends who will say “I love Israel, but I don’t like Netanyahu.” Sometimes they use this argument to refuse to engage in pro-Israel activities.
Our advice: don’t like Bibi? What do you really know about him? Are you fully informed? Is it his personality? Policies? Biography? Power politics? See the documentary, “King Bibi,” to understand more of his history and rise to power. For tickets Visit www.santafejff.org or call 505.216.0672.
SFMEW is a beneficiary organization of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico.