BRIEFING ROOM

Jewish Democrats are growing increasingly uneasy. We are watching antisemitism rise, even in places where our community has long felt at home. At the same time, we remain deeply committed to the values that have long defined our engagement in American public life: a strong democracy, equality, reproductive freedom, racial justice, immigrant rights, gun violence prevention, and the separation of church and state.

On Tuesday night, the JAC Education Foundation hosted Antisemitism, Israel, and the Democratic Party: Navigating the Current Moment as Jewish Democrats, featuring Amanda Berman of The Zioness Movement and Oren Jacobson of Project Shema.

As Amanda said during our conversation, “We are being asked, as liberal, progressive, and Democratic Jews, to choose. Do you care about liberal values and democracy, or do you care about Jewish particularism, Zionism, and Jewish safety? And the answer is… I completely reject that false choice. Because I’m all of those things.”

A healthy, functioning democracy is essential to our security. As a Jewish community in the U.S., we recognize that our safety and well-being are deeply connected to the health of the country and its democratic institutions. We therefore cannot separate our commitment to Jewish values and Jewish safety from our commitment to democracy, equality, reproductive freedom, racial justice, immigrant rights, climate action, and other progressive values.

The answer is not to retreat from the Democratic Party or to abandon our progressive values. It is to show up, participate in the conversation, build relationships, and make our expectations clear to every candidate we meet.

“We cannot be people who simply slam the door on everyone. We have to keep our hands open because when you are a small minority group, you need a broad coalition,” Oren said.

That means staying engaged. But that engagement does not mean silence or unconditional support. As Oren said, our votes are earned, not owed. We should set clear red lines around Jewish safety, identity, self-determination, and the right to participate fully in American political life. When candidates cross those lines, we should say so. When they show a willingness to listen and learn, we should engage with them.

Our support should go to candidates who share JAC’s commitment to a strong democracy, a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, combating antisemitism, and protecting the values and freedoms that matter to our community and our country. We build relationships and hold candidates accountable. Most importantly, we show up.



We should not have to choose between being Jewish and being progressive, or between Jewish safety and democracy.

We just need to choose to be involved.